Bhalchandra Nemade* Manohar Shankar Oak

Bhalchandra Vanaji Nemade (born 1938) is an Indian Marathi language writer, poet, critic and linguistic scholar. Beginning with his debut novel Kosala, Nemade brought new dimensions to the world of Marathi literature. This was followed by a tetralogy consisting of novels Bidhar, Hool, Jareela and Jhool. In 2013, Nemade published his magnum opus titled Hindu: Jagnyachi Samruddha Adgal (Marathi: हिंदू: जगण्याची समृद्ध अडगळ) which is regarded as his masterpiece. Nemade is a recipient of the Sahitya Akademi Award as well as the Jnanapith Award, the highest literary honour in India. In 2013, he was awarded the Padma Shri. Bhalchandra Nemade was born on 27 May 1938 in the village of Sangavi in the Khandesh region of Maharashtra. After doing his matriculation, he moved to Pune, and received his BA from Fergusson College in Pune and MA in Linguistics from Deccan College in Pune and English Literature from the Mumbai University in Mumbai. He received PhD and D.Lit. degrees from North Maharashtra University.