Durga Narayan Bhagwat

Durga Narayan Bhagwat Biography

Durga Narayan Bhagwat was an Indian scholar, socialist and writer. She is shortly known as Durga Bhagwat. Being a rebel by nature, she highly opposed Government during The Emergency (India) and has also been arrest. She has also refused Indian government honours like Jnanpith and Padmashri. She has travelled a lot through the jungles of Maharstra to learn about tribal people and their social life. Based on those researches, she has written many books in Marathi. She studied Sanskrit and Buddhist literature. Her sister Kamala Sohoni is the first woman scientist of India.

Durga Bhagwat was born in 1910 in a Karhade Brahmin family. Social activist Rajaram Shastri Bhagwat was her grandmother’s brother. Her father was a scientist who discovered the procedure of making Ghee from oil. Though he received good job offers from American companies, he shared it with TATA without any penny. Similar to her father, she too was attracted to Gandhi’s principles and took part in freedom struggle movement as well. She completed her studies from Wilson College and used only Khadi clothes during this period. She later went for a research on tribal culture. She fell ill and couldn’t complete doctorate course. But now, students are doing researches on her literal pieces! Her long illness took long years to cure and she didn’t start a family life too.

Durga Bhagwat was elected President of the 51st Marathi Sahitya Sammelan, held in Karad in 1975. She was only the second woman to get this honour. She published her short stories titled Poorva. Her published novel is Mahanadichya tiravar. Tulshiche lagna, Vanwasi rajputra and Chandralekha ani aath chor are her children’s book. Other published books include - Rajaram Shastri Bhagwat yanche charitra, Doob, pais, Ketkaki kadambari, Satyam Shivam Sundaram, Dupani and Rutuchakra.

Published: N/A

Updated: February 18, 2014