“At heart, I am a village person”: An interview with Bhalchandra Nemade

Abstract

Bhalchandra Nemade is the author of six novels, ranging from Kosla (1963) to Hindu (2010). He has also published two collections of poetry and several substantial books of criticism. He occupied a significant place in Bombay literary life in the 1960s and is at the center of the Marathi canon today. In this interview, conducted in Dahisar, Mumbai in 2011 and continued in 2015 in Santa Cruz, Mumbai, Nemade discusses his studies in Pune, and his early encounters with the Marathi tradition, his arrival in Bombay and involvement with the journal Rahasyaranjan. He recounts his move to Aurangabad and his part in establishing the little magazine Vacha, and his connections and collaborations with other writers in the intellectual and artistic milieu of the 1960s and after. Nemade also reflects on his defence of nativism or deshivad, and his misgivings about the place of English in Indian education.

Keywords:

• Rahasyaranjan
• Vacha
• nativism
• little magazines
• Marathi literature
• Aurangabad

Acknowledgment

The photograph of Bhalchandra Nemade is reproduced with permission from Madhu Kapparath.

Notes

1. Jotiba Phule (1827–90) was a social reformer and writer, founder of the Satyashodhak Samaj (society of the seekers of truth), who organized activism against caste-based and gender-based inequalities.

2. The Mahanubhav sect was popularized in the 12th century by Chakradhar Swami. It advocated equality of caste, gender and creed. It became popular amongst many modern Marathi writers for its emphasis on the use of everyday language in writing texts.

3. Durga Bhagwat, scholar, folklorist and activist, has a formidable reputation in the Marathi cultural and literary world.

4. Originally published in 1968 on pages 17–28 of Vacha 2 and republished in Nemade (1990, 33–46). See also see the extract from the essay published in this special issue of the Journal of Postcolonial Writing.

5. The state literary council tasked with the advancement of Marathi language and literature.

6. Satyakatha was a Marathi literary periodical (1933–82) that wielded a singular publishing power (under the editorial guidance of Shri Pu. Bhagwat and Ram Patwardhan) in the post-1960 years in Bombay. The “little magaziners” rejected the editorial philosophy of this periodical and agitated against its overwhelming literary prestige.

7. See the newspaper account at http://maharashtratimes.indiatimes.com/cold-wave/samwad/kosala-bhalchandra-nemade/articleshow/26276899.cms.

8. R.J. Deshmukh, publisher of the first edition of Kosla.

9. Inspired by the radicalism of the Black Panthers in the United States, the Dalit activists and writers formed the Dalit Panthers in 1972. It disbanded in 1974 because of internal differences. See Anupama Rao’s article in this issue of the Journal of Postcolonial Writing for more details.

10. In the earlier of the two interviews, 2011. Also, see Nemade’s poem on the sathottari writers, “Kavi lok” [The Poets], translated into English in Nerlekar (2016, 72).

11. Raja Dhale, poet, Dalit activist, and associate in the little magazine movement in the 1960s. See the interview with Dhale in this issue of the Journal of Postcolonial Writing.

12. Namdeo Dhasal, well-known Marathi modernist poet, Dalit activist, founder member of the Dalit Panthers.

13. The nation’s highest award for literature, won by Nemade in 2015.

14. One crore denotes ten million in India.