- Namdeo Dhasal
-
Namdeo Laxman Dhasal Born 15 February 1940
Pune, IndiaOccupation Writer, Poet Language Marathi Nationality 
IndiaCitizenship IndiaGenres Dalit literature Notable work(s) Andhale Shatak
Golpitha
Moorkh Mhataryane
Tujhi Iyatta Kanchi?
Priya DarshiniNotable award(s) Padma Shri award
Soviet Land Nehru Award
Maharashtra State Award
Golden Life Time AchievementSpouse(s) Malika Amar Sheikh
Influenced- Baburao Bagul
Namdeo Laxman Dhasal (born February 15, 1949) is a Marathi writer and Dalit activist from Maharashtra, India.
Contents
Biography
Dhasal was born on February 15, 1949, in a village near Pune, India. A member of the Mahar Dalit class, he grew up in dire poverty. He spent his childhood in Golpitha, a red light district in Mumbai, where his father worked for a butcher.
Following the example of the American Black Panther movement, he founded the Dalit Panther with friends in 1972. This militant organization supported its radical political activism with provocative pamphlets. Dhasal was one of the famous and outspoken members of this group.
“ Khel
I have seen him
I have rejected him often
My corpse that wanders
From town to town
Wait in this evening's glow and stand still
A drunk is dialing God's number
Don't show me such pity
That degrades
May be our relationship is all spent
Shrug your shoulders and get rid of it
So that you could
Axe this water a couple of times
- Namdeo Dhasal,(1983) [1]” In 1973, he published his first volume of poetry, Golpitha. More poetry collections followed: Moorkh Mhataryane (By a Foolish Old Man) --inspired by Maoist thoughts--; Tujhi Iyatta Kanchi? (How Educated Are You?); erotic Khel; and Priya Darshini (about the former Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi).
Dhasal wrote two novels, and also published pamphlets such as Andhale Shatak (Century of Blindness) and Ambedkari Chalwal (Ambedkarite Movement), which was a reflection on the socialist and communist concepts of Dalit movement founder Babasaheb Ambedkar.
Later, he published two more collections of his poetry: Mi Marale Suryachya Rathache Sat Ghode (I Killed the Seven Horses of the Sun), and Tujhe Boat Dharoon Mi Chalalo Ahe (I'm Walking, Holding Your Finger).
Recently, Dhasal has been writing columns for the Marathi daily Saamana. Earlier, he worked as an editor for the weekly Satyata.[2]
Activist
In 1982, cracks began to appear in the Dalit movement. Ideological disputes gained the upper hand and eclipsed the common goal. Dhasal wanted to engender a mass movement and widen the term Dalit to include all oppressed people, but the majority of his comrades insisted on maintaining the exclusivity of their organization.
Serious illness and alcohol addiction of Dhasal overshadowed the following years, during which he wrote very little. In the 1990s, he once again became politically more active.
Dhasal currently holds a national office in the Indian Republican Party, which was formed by the merger of all Dalit parties. In 2006, he publicly joined the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh's call for "Hindu brotherhood".[3]
Literary style
The Dalit literature tradition is old, though the term "Dalit literature" was introduced only in 1958. Dhasal was greatly inspired by the work of Baburao Bagul, who employed photographic realism to draw attention to the circumstances which those deprived of their rights from birth have to endure. Dhasal’s poems broke away from stylistic conventions. He included in his poetry many words and expressions which only the Dalits normally used. Thus, in Golpitha he adapted his language to that of the red light milieu, which shocked middle class readers.
The establishment’s assessment of Dhasal’s political, as opposed to his artistic achievements may differ drastically, but for the writer they are inextricably linked. In an interview in 1982 he said that if the aim of social struggles was the removal of unhappiness, then poetry was necessary because it expressed that happiness vividly and powerfully. Later he stated, "Poetry is politics." Dhasal adheres to this principle in his private life. He told the photographer Henning Stegmüller, "I enjoy discovering myself. I am happy when I am writing a poem, and I am happy when I am leading a protest of prostitutes fighting for their rights."
Works
Poetry
- Golpitha (1973)
- Tuhi Iyatta Kanchi
- Khel
- Moorkh Mhataryane
- Priya Darshini
- Ya Sattet Jiv Ramat Nahi
- Gandu Bagichha
- Mi Marale Suryachya Rathache Sat Ghode
- Tuze Boat Dharoon Mi Chalalo Ahe
Dilip Chitre translated a selection of Dhasal's poems into English under the title Namdeo Dhasal: Poet of the Underworld, Poems 1972-2006.[1][4]
Prose
- Ambedkari Chalwal (1981)
- Andhale Shatak (1997)
- Hadki Hadavala
- Ujedachi Kali Dunia
- Sarva Kahi Samashtisathi
- Buddha Dharma: Kahi Shesh Prashna
Awards and honors
Following table shows list of awards won by Namdeo Dhasal.
Year Award For 1973 Maharashtra State Award for literature Literature 1974 1982 1983 1974 Soviet Land Nehru Award Golpitha 1999 Padma Shri Literature 2004 Sahitya Akademi's Golden Life Time Achievement [5][6] Personal life
Dhasal is married to Malika Amar Sheikh, the daughter of poet Amar Sheikh.
References
- ^ a b Namdeo Dhasal by Dilip Chitre
- ^ "International Literature Festival website - Namdeo Dhasal". http://www.literaturfestival.com/bios1_3_6_517.html.
- ^ RSS olive branch to Dalit ‘warriors’ The Calcutta Telegraph - October 30, 2006
- ^ Chitre, D. (tr.) (2006) Namdeo Dhasal: Poet of the Underworld, Poems 1972-2006, Navayana Publishing, New Delhi, ISBN 81-89059-10-6
- ^ 1 November 2004 Sahitya Akademi website.
- ^ Namdeo Dhasal, a special Sahitya Akademi Golden Jubilee award The Hub -Tehelka, October 23, 2004.
External links
Categories:- Marathi-language writers
- 1949 births
- Indian writers
- Marathi poets
- Marathi people
- Marathi literature
- Recipients of the Padma Shri
- Dalit activists
- Dalit writers
- Living people
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