Dattatraya (alias Datta) Ganpat Bhagat (born 13 June 1945 in Waghi village of Nanded district, Maharashtra) is an Indian Marathi playwright, Ambedkarite thinker and one of the leaders of the Dalit theater movement in Marathi. He is a professor of Marathi at the Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University in Aurangabad, Maharashtra. [1]
His play Avart (whirlpool) was critically acclaimed for its use of the traditional forms of dindi and tamasha to reflect on Dalit oppression against the background of a pilgrimage to Pandharpur. [2]
His long plays like "Ashmak", "Khelia" were liked by most of his senior critics and was successfully produced. [3]
His other play Wata Palwata (Routes and Escapes) is also well known and included in the collection of Indian plays Drama Contemporary by Erin B Mee. It is considered to be 'a milestone in Marathi theater'. [4] He is also noted for his literary criticism, particularly the essay Dalit chetna aur Marathi Dalit Rangmanch (Dalit consciousness and Marathi Dalit theater). Datta Bhagat was selected as the President of the 37th Marathwada Sahitya Sammelan of Marathwada Sahitya Parishad at Jalna [5] in 2006 Datta Bhagat was selected as the President of the Akhil Marathi Natya Sammelan at Nanded.
Marathi literature is the body of literature of Marathi, an Indo-Aryan language spoken mainly in the Indian state of Maharashtra and written in the Devanagari and Modi script.
Vishnu Vaman Shirwadkar, popularly known by his pen name, Kusumāgraj, was a Marathi poet, playwright, novelist and short story writer, who wrote of freedom, justice and emancipation of the deprived.
Nanded is a city in Maharashtra state, India. It is the tenth largest city in the state and the seventy-ninth most populated city in India. It is the second largest city in Marathwada region. It is the district headquarters of Nanded district.
Nanded district is a district of Maharashtra state in central India. The city of Nanded is the district headquarters.
Ambajogai is a city and tehsil in Beed district of Maharashtra State in India. Regarded as the cultural capital of Marathwada, the town features attractions like the Shivleni Caves and monuments honoring Marathi poet Mukundraj, the author of "Viveksindu," the first Marathi literary work, as well as Dasopant.
Vishnudas Bhave was the leading dramatist of Maharashtra, India and considered as pioneer of Marathi theatre. He was born in Sangli and he staged the first Marathi-language play Sita Swayamvar in Sangli in 1843. In this venture, Bhave was supported by the then king of the princely state of Sangli. After the success of the play Sita Swayamvar, Bhave staged plays on various other episodes of the Ramayana. He traveled with his troupes for the plays. He also ventured into puppet shows. Bhave died on 9 August 1901.
Narhar Ambadas Kurundkar was a Marathi scholar, critic and writer who wrote on political philosophies in general and cultural matters and historical events in Maharashtra, India.
F. M. Shinde (Rupurkar) is a Marathi writer from Maharashtra, India.
Dr. Janardan Madhavrao Waghmare is an Indian politician and educationist. He has served as a Member of Parliament in the Rajya Sabha from Maharashtra. He was also the President of the Latur Municipal Council.
Nagnath Lalujirao Kottapalle was an Indian educationist and Marathi writer from Maharashtra. He was the vice chancellor of Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University, whose seat is in Aurangabad, Maharashtra. He was elected as a president of 86th Akhil Bharatiya Marathi Sahitya Sammelan scheduled to be held at Chiplun.
Namantar Andolan was a Dalit and Navayana Buddhist movement to change the name of Marathwada University, in Aurangabad, Maharashtra, India, to Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar University. It achieved a measure of success in 1994, when the compromise name of Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University was accepted. The movement was notable for the violence against Dalits and Navayana Buddhists.
Dalit literature is a genre of Indian writing that focuses on the lives, experiences, and struggles of the Dalit community over centuries, in relation to caste-based oppression and systemic discrimination. This literary genre encompasses various Indian languages such as Marathi, Bangla, Hindi, Kannada, Punjabi, Sindhi, Odia and Tamil and includes narrative-styles like poems, short stories, and autobiographies. The movement started gaining influence during the mid-twentieth-century in independent India and has since spread across various Indian languages.
Dr. Akshaykumar Malharrao Kale born 27 July 1953, is a critic of modern Marathi poetry, and was Professor and Head of Marathi Department in RTM Nagpur University, Nagpur, India. In the field of criticism of modern Marathi poetry, his contributions have attracted the attention of scholars of Marathi language and literature throughout Maharashtra. He was the president of prestigious 90th Akhil Bharatiya Marathi Sahitya Sammelan held in Dombivali. Kale is also member of general Council of Sahitya Akademi, India.
Marathi theatre is theatre in the Marathi language, mostly originating or based in the state of Maharashtra in India, and elsewhere with Marathi diaspora. Starting in the middle of the 19th century, it flourished in the 1950s and 1960s. Today, it continues to have a marked presence in the State of Maharashtra with a loyal audience base, when most theatre in other parts of India have had tough time facing the onslaught of cinema and television. Its repertoire ranges from musicals, humorous social plays, farces, historical plays like 'Vedat Marathe Veer Daudale Saat' by Bashir Momin Kavathekar, to experimental plays and serious drama of the 1970s onwards, by Vijay Tendulkar, P. L. Deshpande, Mahesh Elkunchwar and Satish Alekar, which have influenced theatre throughout India. In the post-independence era, Bengali theatre, and Marathi theatre have been at the forefront of innovations and significant dramaturgy in Indian theatre.
Maharashtra Sahitya Parishad is a literary institution situated in the Indian state of Maharashtra for the purpose of the "furtherance of Marathi language and literature". It was established in Pune in 1906. The Encyclopedia of Indian Literature considers it as Marathi's first representative literary body. The Parishad arranges annual conferences runs Maharashtra Sahitya Patrika a Marathi quarterly, provides a reference library, conducts qualifying examinations in Marathi language and literature and classes for non-Marathi speakers in Pune. It has undertaken the publishing a History of Marathi literature. It has constituted various awards in the field of literature. The Parishad according to Deshpande lead in the demand for the formation of a separate linguistic state – Maharashtra.
Waman Kendre is an Indian theatre director and academic. He has previously served as the Director of National School of Drama, (NSD) New Delhi from August 2013 to September 2018. He is married to Actress Gauri Kendre and also has a son
Vitthal Bhikaji Wagh is a Marathi poet, writer and artist. He is well known for writing in the Varhadi dialect, which is spoken in the Vidarbha region of Maharashtra. His career spans over five decades of writing work which includes writing poetry collections, dialogues for movies and dramas, songs, novels and one drama 'Andhar Yatra'. He is also famous for his glass craft technique, using which he decorates walls of houses using broken glasses.
Shri. Sadashiv Martand Garge was a Marathi Writer, Editor, Historian, and Social worker from Pune, Maharashtra, India. He was popularly known by his initials as स. मा..
Gangadhar Vithoba Pantawane was an Indian Marathi language writer, reviewer and Ambedkarite thinker from the state of Maharashtra. He was the follower of B. R. Ambedkar. He is one of the pioneers of the dalit literary movement in Maharashtra. In 2008, he was elected president of the first Marathi Vishwa Sahitya Sammelan that was held in the United States. His pioneering journal, Asmitadarsh, galvanised generations of Dalit writers and thinkers. In 2018, he was honored with the Padma Shri by the Government of India.
In 1960, the state of Maharashtra was formed. In 1961, four regional organizations involved in Marathi literature—Maharashtra Sahitya Parishad, Mumbai Marathi Sahitya Sangh, Marathwada Sahitya Parishad, and Vidarbha Sahitya Sangh—decided to form a central organization to address common issues related to the Marathi language, literature, and culture. This organization became the "Akhil Bharatiya Marathi Sahitya Mahamandal" abbreviated as ABMSM.