Inspired by Sahitya Akademi Award winner, Satara’s Mardhe may be Maharashtra’s first ‘village of poetry’

Recently, the Maharashtra Sahitya Parishad of Satara submitted a proposal to the state government, aiming to develop Mardhe as a ‘village of poetry’. The proposal has been forwarded to Tourism and Cultural Affairs Department of Maharashtra government.

The late Bal Sitaram Mardhekar, a renowned Marathi poet and Sahitya Akademi Award recipient, was often compared with French poet Charles Pierre Baudelaire. Like Baudelaire, who is believed to have coined the term ‘modernity’ in French poetry, Mardhekar is regarded as the litterateur who introduced an element of novelty in Marathi poetry. Mardhekar hailed from the village Mardhe, a small village in Satara district, located about 90 kms from Pune.
Recently, the Maharashtra Sahitya Parishad of Satara submitted a proposal to the state government, aiming to develop Mardhe as a ‘village of poetry’. The proposal has been forwarded to the Tourism and Cultural Affairs Department of the Maharashtra government.
“About eight years ago, the state government had sanctioned a fund of Rs 37 lakh to build a memorial in the memory of Mardhekarji. The memorial was completed about three years ago but wasn’t inaugurated till now. It remained a structure, though the original plan was to convert it into a site for the collected works of Mardhekar…,” said Vinod Kulkarni, a member of the Maharashtra Sahitya Parishad (Satara). “Two years ago, the Mardhekar Smarak Samiti was formed to plan the memorial’s future activities. But since the past one year, no meeting has taken place,” said Kulkarni, who is also a member of Mardhekar Smarak Samiti.
A few months ago, when Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis visited Mardhe, the proposal to develop Mardhe as a ‘village of poetry’ was submitted to him.
“Our aim is to turn this memorial in Mardhe into a one-stop centre for finding information related to the best Marathi poets over the last 700 years… that will make it a ‘village of poetry’. Given that the place is dedicated to Mardhekar, it will have all the information related to him, as well as his works and photographs,” said Kulkarni.
Mardhekar had completed his primary education from Bahaddarpur, and his secondary education from Faizpur. After completing his BA from Fergusson College, he went to England to appear in the British Administrative Service exam, but couldn’t succeed.
It was during this period that he was introduced to European literature, including the works of T S Elliott, James Joyce, Virginia Woolf and others. He started writing in the early 1930s and in 1938, he joined All India Radio, where he worked till his death.
Some of his celebrated works include Shishiragam, Kahi Kavita, Kiti Tari Divsat, and more. His novels include Raatricha Divas, Tambdi Maati, Paani and Mardhekaranchya Kadambarya, among others. In 1956, he won the Sahitya Akademi Award for his work Saundarya Ani Sahitya.
“Mardhekar made revolutionary changes in both poetry and expressions in Marathi poetry. Even when his poems spoke of gloomy and depressing situations, he succeeded in presenting them beautifully and poignantly, that touched the heart of the readers,” said Kulkarni.