Shanta Shelke
Encyclopedia
Devanagari
Devanagari |deva]]" and "nāgarī" ), also called Nagari , is an abugida alphabet of India and Nepal...
: शांता शेळके) (Born October 19, 1922. Died June 6, 2002) was a gifted Marathi
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...
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 works or as songs sung by marathi greats like Lata Mangeshkar
Lata Mangeshkar
Lata Mangeshkar is a singer from India. She is one of the best-known and most respected playback singers in India. Mangeshkar's career started in 1942 and has spanned over six and a half decades. She has recorded songs for over a thousand Hindi films and has sung songs in over thirty-six regional...
, Asha Bhosale and Kishori Amonkar
Kishori Amonkar
Kishori AmonkarN- is an Indian singer who performs in the classical genre khyal and the light classical genres thumri and bhajan. Amonkar trained under her mother, classical singer Mogubai Kurdikar of the Jaipur gharana , but experimented with a variety of vocal styles in her career...
, to name a few.
Background
Shanta Shelke was born in IndapurIndapur
Indapur is a city and a municipal council in Pune district in the Indian state of Maharashtra.-Demographics: India census, Indapur had a population of 21,584. Men constitute 52% of the population and Women ~48%. Indapur has an average literacy rate of 69%, higher than the national average of...
, 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 ...
. She was educated 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 ...
's Sir Parshurambhau College
Sir Parshurambhau College
Sir Parshurambhau College is a college in Pune, Maharashtra, . Established in 1916, it is governed by the Shikshan Prasarak Mandali....
(S. P. College). She completed her M.A. in Marathi
Marathi language
Marathi is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people of western and central India. It is the official language of the state of Maharashtra. There are over 68 million fluent speakers worldwide. Marathi has the fourth largest number of native speakers in India and is the fifteenth most...
and Sanskrit
Sanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
and stood first in Bombay University. During this time she also won the Na. Chi. Kelkar and Chiplunkar awards.
She spent 5 years working as assistant editor of the weekly Navyug run by Acharya Atre. She then moved to Nagpur to work as a professor of Marathi in Hislop College, Nagpur
Nagpur
Nāgpur is a city and winter capital of the state of Maharashtra, the largest city in central India and third largest city in Maharashtra after Mumbai and Pune...
. She retired after a long service from Dayanand College, 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...
and settled 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 ...
.
During her working career in Mumbai, she also served in
- The Film Censor board
- The Theatre examination board
- The Govt. book award
Her work
She contributed extensively to Marathi literatureMarathi literature
Marathi literature is the body of literature of Marathi, a Sanskrit-derived language spoken mainly in the Indian state of Maharashtra and written in the Devanagari script.-Early Marathi Literature :...
in the form of Poems, stories, novels, character sketches, interviews, critiques, introductions, etc. She also helped translate English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
cinema and wrote for newspaper columns.
News paper columns
Some such newspaper columns were later converted into books. Examples include:- Ek pani (एक पानी)
- Translation: Single pager
- Madarangi (मदरंगी)
- Janta Ajanata (जाणता अजाणता)
- Translation: Knowning Unknowingly
Lalit Literature
She also produced lalit literature like- Anandache Jhad (आनंदाचे झाड)
- Translation: The tree of happiness
- Pavsaadhicha Paus (पावसाआधीचा पाउस)
- Translation:The rain before the rains
- Sansmarane (संस्मरणे)
- Translation:Memories
- DhoolPati (धूळपाटी) - an introspective autobiography.
- Avad Nivad (आवड निवड)
- Translation: Like dislikes
- Vadildhari Manase (वडीलधारी माणसे) - a collection of character sketches.
- Translation: Father figures
Collection of stories
She produced story collections like:- Anubandh (अनुबंध)
- Kachkamal (काचकमळ)
- Kaveri (कावेरी)
- Jahaj (जहाज)
- Gulmohar (गुलमोहर)
- Premika (प्रेमिका)*Mukta (मुक्ता)
- Savashna (सवाष्ण)
- Basari
Novels
She penned novels like:- Odh (ओढ)
- Dharma (धर्म)
- Punarjanma (पुनर्जन्म)
- Chikkhaldrayancha Mantrik (चिखलदर्यांचा मांत्रिक)
- Nararakshas (नरराक्शस)
- Bhishanchaya (भीषण छाया)
- Majha Khel Mandu De (माझा खेळ मांडू दे)
- Vijhti Jyot (विझती ज्योत)
Poetical and song collections
Though child literature was her favourite subject, she gained popularity as a poetess and music composer. Some of her famous song collections include:- Varsha (वर्षा)
- Godan (गोदन)
- Rupasi (रूपसी)
- Janmajanhavi (जन्म्जान्हवी)
- Kalyanche divas fulanchya rati (कळ्यांचे दिवस फ़ुलांच्या राती)
- Toch Chandrama (तोच चन्द्रमा)
- Purvasandhya (पूर्वसंध्या)
- Ityartha (इत्यर्थ)
She has touched all forms of literature except comedy and playwriting.
Songs
Apart from her contributions to the marathi literature, Shanta Shelke was equally famous for giving lyrics to marathi songs. having penned songs for more than 300 films.She wrote her first song for the film Ram Ram Pavna (राम राम पव्हण) in 1950. Her initial songs captured the imaginations of her audience and made her a household name:
- Reshmachya Reghanni (रेशमाच्या रेघांनी) - a marathi Laavani.
- Je ved majala lagale (जे वेड मजला लागले)
- Pavner Ga Mayela Karoo (पवनेर ग मायेला करू)
Some of her memorable creations include:
- Sung by Pandit Jitendra AbhishekiJitendra AbhishekiPandit Jitendra Abhisheki was an Indian vocalist, composer and scholar of classical, semi-classical, and devotional music...
- Kaanta Rute Kunala ( a Marathi "Ghazal")
Translations
She translated the following works:- JapaneseJapanese languageis a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
haikuHaiku' , plural haiku, is a very short form of Japanese poetry typically characterised by three qualities:* The essence of haiku is "cutting"...
to produce Panyavarchya Paklya (पाण्यावरच्या पाकळ्या). - The SanskritSanskritSanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
work by poet KalidasaKalidasaKālidāsa was a renowned Classical Sanskrit writer, widely regarded as the greatest poet and dramatist in the Sanskrit language...
Meghdoot into Marathi. - A Novel by Virendra Bhattachrya's Novel into Lokanche Rajya (लोकांचे राज्य)
- A Novel Little Women by Louisa May Alcott into Chaughijani (चौघीजणी)
Awards and recognitions
- Soor Singaar award for her song Mage ubha mangesh (मागे उभा मंगेश, पुढ़े उभा मंगेश)
- Govt. of India award of excellent for song-writing for her cinema Bhujang (भुजंग)
- Ga Di Madgulkar award in 1996.
- Yashvantrao Chawan Pratishan Award in 2001, for her contribution to Marathi literature.