Ramchandra Bhikaji Gunjikar
Encyclopedia
Ramchandra Bhikaji Gunjikar (Devanagari
: रामचंद्र भिकाजी गुंजीकर) (1843 - 1901) was a Marathi
writer from Maharashtra
, India
.
He was born on April 10, 1843 in the town of Jamboti in Belgaum District
.
He graduated in 1864 from Elphinstone High School in Mumbai
, and started teaching in the same school three years later. In 1988, he assumed the headmaster's position in the Anglo-vernacular High School in Hubli, and moved on four years later to be an assistant deputy educational inspector for Belagaum district.
In 1867, Gunjikar became the first editor of the monthly Wiwidha Dnyan Wistar (विविधज्ञानविस्तार)
which was founded with the objective of disseminating information on varied topics, including sciences, biographies, literary criticisms, and philosophical/ethical ideas. He stayed in that position for seven years to turn the magazine into a prestigious monthly. His proficiency in Sanskrit
, Marathi
, Gujarati
, Kannada, Bengali
, and English
languages helped him in his editorial and literary works. His articles included ones on Marathi poetry, Marathi grammar, and Marathi as a language.
He also invented a Marathi shorthand script.
Gunjikar became the first historic novelist in Marathi leterature when he wrote the novel Mochangad (मोचनगड) in 1871. The novel vividly describes life in Maharashtra in the first half of the17th century. He died before he could finish his second historic novel Godawari (गोदावरी) pertaining to Portuguese
rule in Goa
.
Devanagari
Devanagari |deva]]" and "nāgarī" ), also called Nagari , is an abugida alphabet of India and Nepal...
: रामचंद्र भिकाजी गुंजीकर) (1843 - 1901) was a 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...
writer from Maharashtra
Maharashtra
Maharashtra is a state located in India. It is the second most populous after Uttar Pradesh and third largest state by area in India...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
.
He was born on April 10, 1843 in the town of Jamboti in Belgaum District
Belgaum district
Belgaum district is a district in the state of Karnataka, India. The city of Belgaum is the district headquarters in North Karnataka. By the 2011 Census of India, it had a population of 4778439...
.
He graduated in 1864 from Elphinstone High School in 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 started teaching in the same school three years later. In 1988, he assumed the headmaster's position in the Anglo-vernacular High School in Hubli, and moved on four years later to be an assistant deputy educational inspector for Belagaum district.
In 1867, Gunjikar became the first editor of the monthly Wiwidha Dnyan Wistar (विविधज्ञानविस्तार)
which was founded with the objective of disseminating information on varied topics, including sciences, biographies, literary criticisms, and philosophical/ethical ideas. He stayed in that position for seven years to turn the magazine into a prestigious monthly. His proficiency in 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...
, 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...
, Gujarati
Gujarati language
Gujarati is an Indo-Aryan language, and part of the greater Indo-European language family. It is derived from a language called Old Gujarati which is the ancestor language of the modern Gujarati and Rajasthani languages...
, Kannada, Bengali
Bengali language
Bengali or Bangla is an eastern Indo-Aryan language. It is native to the region of eastern South Asia known as Bengal, which comprises present day Bangladesh, the Indian state of West Bengal, and parts of the Indian states of Tripura and Assam. It is written with the Bengali script...
, and 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...
languages helped him in his editorial and literary works. His articles included ones on Marathi poetry, Marathi grammar, and Marathi as a language.
He also invented a Marathi shorthand script.
Gunjikar became the first historic novelist in Marathi leterature when he wrote the novel Mochangad (मोचनगड) in 1871. The novel vividly describes life in Maharashtra in the first half of the17th century. He died before he could finish his second historic novel Godawari (गोदावरी) pertaining to Portuguese
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
rule in Goa
Goa
Goa , a former Portuguese colony, is India's smallest state by area and the fourth smallest by population. Located in South West India in the region known as the Konkan, it is bounded by the state of Maharashtra to the north, and by Karnataka to the east and south, while the Arabian Sea forms its...
.
Literary work
The following is a list of titles of Gunjikar's major works:- मोचनगड (1871)
- रोमकेतुविजया (Translation of Shakespeare's play Romeo and JulietRomeo and JulietRomeo and Juliet is a tragedy written early in the career of playwright William Shakespeare about two young star-crossed lovers whose deaths ultimately unite their feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular archetypal stories of young, teenage lovers.Romeo and Juliet belongs to a...
) (1872) - कौमुदीमहोत्साह (Translation of Bhattoji Dikshit's Sanskrit volumes titled सिद्धान्तकौमुदी concerning Sanskrit grammar) (1877-79)
- लाघवी लिपी किंवा अतित्वरेने लिहिण्याची युक्ती (1878)
- सरस्वती मंडळ (1884)
- भ्रमनिरास (1884)
- सुबोधचंद्रिका (A critique in Marathi on Sanskrit Bhagavad GitaBhagavad GitaThe ' , also more simply known as Gita, is a 700-verse Hindu scripture that is part of the ancient Sanskrit epic, the Mahabharata, but is frequently treated as a freestanding text, and in particular, as an Upanishad in its own right, one of the several books that constitute general Vedic tradition...
(1884) - सौभाग्यरत्नमाला (1886)
- कन्नडपरिज्ञान (1895)
- अभिज्ञान शाकुंतल (Translation of Kalidas's 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...
play AbhijñānaśākuntalamAbhijñānaśākuntalamAbhijñānashākuntala or Abhijñānaśākuntalam) , is a well-known Sanskrit play by Kālidāsa. Its date is uncertain, but Kalidasa is often placed in the period between the 1st century BCE and 4th century CE....
) - रामचंद्रिका