Ratnakar Matkari
Encyclopedia
Ratnakar Ramkrushna Matkari (b. 1938) is a Marathi
writer, a movie and play producer/director, and a self-taught artist
from Maharashtra
, India
.
Matkari was born on November 17, 1938 in Mumbai
. After earning a degree in economics
from Mumbai University in 1958, he worked at the Bank of India
for the next twenty years. Since 1978, he has devoted his time exclusively to writing and production/direction of movies and plays. He is married to artist Pratibha Matkari.
in Mumbai. His play Pahuni (पाहुणी) was presented the next year at another venue.
Matkari worked as a columnist for newspapers and magazines in the 1970s. He wrote the column Soneri Savalya (सोनेरी सावल्या) in Apale Mahanagar (आपले महानगर) for four years.
Matkari's 98 works thus far
include 33 plays, 8 collections of his one-act plays, 18 books of his short stories, 3 novels, a book of poems for children, and 14 plays and three collections of plays for children. His works include Gudha Katha (गूढकथा) --mysteries-- for adults which maintain realism. Matkari wrote a few plays in Indian languages other than Marathi.
Many of Matkari's novellas have been adapted for the stage.
His plays include:
Matkari's plays for children include:
The musical play Char Diwas Premache (चार दिवस प्रेमाचे) has been presented to the public more than 850 times, and its translated versions in Hindi
and Gujarati
have also been presented. His play "Lokakatha 78" (लोककथा ७८) was presented in Marathi and Hindi.
s like "Adbhutachya Rajyat (अद्भुताच्या राज्यात).
Matkari has notably promoted art house theater. Thus, in 1972, he established Sootradhar (सूत्रधार), an institution which has produced thus far 12 art house plays.
Besides producing and directing plays for adults, Matkari notably established in 1962 Bal Natya Sanstha (बालनाट्यसंस्था), which has thus far produced 22 plays for children, most of them being one-act plays. He performed as an actor in many of these plays, including Sangati (सांगाती), "Sharvari (शर्वरी), "Chitratale Ghar" (चित्रातले घर), and "Tumachi Goshta (तुमची गोष्ट).
NIKHARE THE NEW PLAY
's English essay titled Greater Common Good.
Matkari has directed a few TV serial
s. He presented on TV channel Mumbai Doordarshan 13 episodes of Sharadache Chandane (शरदाचे चांदणे), which comprised interviews of some prominent Marathi writers. During 1976-78, he presented 25 monthly shows of Gajara (गजरा), also on Mumbai Doordarshan.
For some years, Matkari served as a member of the advisory committee of All India Radio, and as a member of the film scrutinizing committee during 1988-91.
He presided over Nirbhay Bano (निर्भय बनो) movement in 1995, Konkan Marathi Sahitya Sammelan, Mumbai branch in 2001, and Balkumar Sahitya Sammelan in Pune
, also in 2001.
As an artist, Matkari prepared drawings for some stage crafts and drapery, and oil-paintings for Narmada Andolan (नर्मदा आंदोलन). He has designed covers of a few books.
Matkari has received thus far 21 awards from different institutions. They include:
P. L. Deshpande
once said of Matkari:
Shanta Shelke
once said of Matkari:
Marathi people
The Marathi people or Maharashtrians are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group, that inhabit the Maharashtra region and state of western India. Their language Marathi is part of the southern group of Indo-Aryan languages...
writer, a movie and play producer/director, and a self-taught artist
Painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
from Maharashtra
Maharashtra
Maharashtra is a state located in India. It is the second most populous after Uttar Pradesh and third largest state by area in India...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
.
Matkari was born on November 17, 1938 in Mumbai
Mumbai
Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...
. After earning a degree in economics
Economics
Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...
from Mumbai University in 1958, he worked at the Bank of India
Bank of India
Bank of India is a state-owned commercial bank with headquarters in Mumbai. Government-owned since nationalization in 1969, It is India's 4th largest bank, after State Bank of India, Punjab National Bank and Bank of Baroda. It has 3415 branches, including 29 branches outside India...
for the next twenty years. Since 1978, he has devoted his time exclusively to writing and production/direction of movies and plays. He is married to artist Pratibha Matkari.
Literary career
Matkari's first work, the one-act play Wedi Manase (वेडी माणसे), was presented in 1955 on All India RadioAll India Radio
All India Radio , officially known since 1956 as Akashvani , is the radio broadcaster of India and a division of Prasar Bharati. Established in 1936, it is the sister service of Prasar Bharati's Doordarshan, the national television broadcaster. All India Radio is one of the largest radio networks...
in Mumbai. His play Pahuni (पाहुणी) was presented the next year at another venue.
Matkari worked as a columnist for newspapers and magazines in the 1970s. He wrote the column Soneri Savalya (सोनेरी सावल्या) in Apale Mahanagar (आपले महानगर) for four years.
Matkari's 98 works thus far
include 33 plays, 8 collections of his one-act plays, 18 books of his short stories, 3 novels, a book of poems for children, and 14 plays and three collections of plays for children. His works include Gudha Katha (गूढकथा) --mysteries-- for adults which maintain realism. Matkari wrote a few plays in Indian languages other than Marathi.
Many of Matkari's novellas have been adapted for the stage.
His plays include:
- Dubhang (दुभंग)
- Aranyak (आरण्यक)
- Sate Lote (साटेलोटे)
- Ashwamedh (अश्वमेध)
- Brahmahatya (ब्रह्महत्या)
- Prema Kahani (प्रेमकहाणी)
- "Lokakatha 78" (लोककथा ७८)
- ”Khol Khol Pani (खोल खोल पाणी)
- Jawai Majha Bhala (जावई माझा भला)
- Ghar Tighanche Hawe (घर तिघांचे हवे)
- Char Diwas Premache (चार दिवस प्रेमाचे)
- Vinashakadun Vinashakade" (विनाशाकडून विनाशाकडे)
Matkari's plays for children include:
- Albatya Galbatya (अलबत्या गलबत्या)
- Nimma Shimma Rakshas (निम्माशिम्मा राक्षस)
- Achat Gawachi Aphat Mavashi (अचाटगावची अफाट मावशी)
The musical play Char Diwas Premache (चार दिवस प्रेमाचे) has been presented to the public more than 850 times, and its translated versions in Hindi
Hindi
Standard Hindi, or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi, also known as Manak Hindi , High Hindi, Nagari Hindi, and Literary Hindi, is a standardized and sanskritized register of the Hindustani language derived from the Khariboli dialect of Delhi...
and Gujarati
Gujarati language
Gujarati is an Indo-Aryan language, and part of the greater Indo-European language family. It is derived from a language called Old Gujarati which is the ancestor language of the modern Gujarati and Rajasthani languages...
have also been presented. His play "Lokakatha 78" (लोककथा ७८) was presented in Marathi and Hindi.
Theatrical career
Matkari has acted in his own plays like Prem Kahani", Vinashakadun Vinashakade", "Lokakatha 78", and Sate Lote. He has also presented popular one man showOne man show
The term one-man show often referred to comedian, who would stand on stage and entertain an audience. With the advent of feminism, words and phrases such as one-woman show and comedienne have entered the modern-day lexicon....
s like "Adbhutachya Rajyat (अद्भुताच्या राज्यात).
Matkari has notably promoted art house theater. Thus, in 1972, he established Sootradhar (सूत्रधार), an institution which has produced thus far 12 art house plays.
Besides producing and directing plays for adults, Matkari notably established in 1962 Bal Natya Sanstha (बालनाट्यसंस्था), which has thus far produced 22 plays for children, most of them being one-act plays. He performed as an actor in many of these plays, including Sangati (सांगाती), "Sharvari (शर्वरी), "Chitratale Ghar" (चित्रातले घर), and "Tumachi Goshta (तुमची गोष्ट).
NIKHARE THE NEW PLAY
Other activities
Matkari has presented a number of stage shows involving presentations of stories in front of Marathi audience in India, Maskat, and, in 1986, the U.S.. In 1999, he presented for different institutions 51 readings of the essay Tumhi Tithe Asayala Have (तुम्ही तिथे असायला हवे), which was a Marathi translation of Arundhati RoyArundhati Roy
Arundhati Roy is an Indian novelist. She won the Booker Prize in 1997 for her novel, The God of Small Things, and has also written two screenplays and several collections of essays...
's English essay titled Greater Common Good.
Matkari has directed a few TV serial
Serial (radio and television)
Serials are series of television programs and radio programs that rely on a continuing plot that unfolds in a sequential episode by episode fashion. Serials typically follow main story arcs that span entire television seasons or even the full run of the series, which distinguishes them from...
s. He presented on TV channel Mumbai Doordarshan 13 episodes of Sharadache Chandane (शरदाचे चांदणे), which comprised interviews of some prominent Marathi writers. During 1976-78, he presented 25 monthly shows of Gajara (गजरा), also on Mumbai Doordarshan.
For some years, Matkari served as a member of the advisory committee of All India Radio, and as a member of the film scrutinizing committee during 1988-91.
He presided over Nirbhay Bano (निर्भय बनो) movement in 1995, Konkan Marathi Sahitya Sammelan, Mumbai branch in 2001, and Balkumar Sahitya Sammelan in Pune
Pune
Pune , is the eighth largest metropolis in India, the second largest in the state of Maharashtra after Mumbai, and the largest city in the Western Ghats. Once the centre of power of the Maratha Empire, it is situated 560 metres above sea level on the Deccan plateau at the confluence of the Mula ...
, also in 2001.
As an artist, Matkari prepared drawings for some stage crafts and drapery, and oil-paintings for Narmada Andolan (नर्मदा आंदोलन). He has designed covers of a few books.
Accolades
During 1983-84, Matkari received a two-year scholarship from the Directorate of Culture and Education of Government of India for being an artist with social awareness.Matkari has received thus far 21 awards from different institutions. They include:
- Dadasaheb Phalke Award (1986) (for the script of the film Majhe Ghar, Majha Sansar (माझे घर, माझा संसार))
- Jyotsna Bhole Award from Akhil Bharatiya Natya Parishad (1978) ('for his work for children's stage)
- 'Natya Darpan Nana Oak Award (for being an all-round artist)
- Deval Award from Akhil Bharatiya Natya Parishad (1985)
- The Best Playwright Award from Atre Foundation (1985)
- Maharashtra State Government's Gadkari Award (1995) (for best playwright)
- Gangadhar Gadgil Award (1997)
- S. L. Gadre Matoshri Award (1998)
- Natyavrati Award (1999)
- V. V. Shirwadkar Award for writing plays (2002)
- Sangeet Natak Akademi AwardSangeet Natak Akademi AwardSangeet Natak Akademi Puraskar is an award given by the Sangeet Natak Akademi, India's National Academy of Music, Dance & Drama. It is the highest Indian recognition given to practicing artists. The award consists since 2003 of Rs. 50,000, a citation, an angavastram , and a tamrapatra...
(2003–04)
P. L. Deshpande
P. L. Deshpande
Purushottam Laxman Deshpande was a Marathi writer from Maharashtra, India. He was popularly known by his initials पु. ल. Purushottam Laxman Deshpande (8 November 1919 – 12 June 2000) was a Marathi writer from Maharashtra, India. He was popularly known by his initials पु. ल. Purushottam Laxman...
once said of Matkari:
During the last forty years, I have seen some of Matakri's plays, and I am amazed to see that he has been able to maintain freshness and creativity in his writing during all those years. He has not selected the stage as his “profession”; he is committed to Marathi Drama. The status he has achieved in writing, directing, and producing plays reflects his innate skills and loyalty to the stage.
Shanta Shelke
Shanta Shelke
Shanta Janardan Shelke was a gifted Marathi poetess and writer. Apart from this she has been a journalist, a professor, composer, story writer, translator, written child literature, presided over literature gatherings and more.Some of her compositions became immortal as either stand-alone poetic...
once said of Matkari:
Enigmatic stories are the most attractive and fascinating manifestation of Matkari's creations. His stories have achieved much success, and they mostly relate to that part of life which is beyond comprehension. It will not be justifiable to categorize his stories as merely entertaining or pleasing; they are also thought-provoking. The facets of life reflected in his writings are amazing, yet they are simultaneously pitiful and frightful, and capable of making our senses numb.