Bahinabai Chaudhari

Bahinabai Chaudhari (24 August 1880 – 3 December 1951) was a Marathi language poet from Jalgaon district of Bombay State, India. She became a noted poet posthumously.

For the seventeenth century Varkari saint, see Bahinabai.
Bahinabai Chaudhari
Native name
बहिणाबाई चौधरी
Born24 August 1880 (1880-08-24)[1]
Asoda, Bombay Presidency, British India
(in-present Jalgaon district, Maharashtra, India)
DiedDecember 3, 1951(1951-12-03) (aged 71)
Jalgaon, Bombay State, India
(in-present Maharashtra, India)
OccupationFarmer
LanguageKhandeshi, Marathi[2]
EducationNone
Period1880-1952
GenreDramatic
Subject
  • Father's house, life, farmer's life, harvest, agricultural equipment, Pola, Maharashtra's festivals
Spouse
Nathu Chaudhari
​
​
(m. 1893; died 1910)​
Children3

Early life

Bahinabai was born in a Mahajan family at Asode in Khandesh region of the present-day Jalgaon district on the 24 August 1880, on the day of Naga Panchami. Her mother's name was Bhimai, and her father's name was Ukhaji Mahajan. She had three brothers - Ghama, Gana, and Ghana, and three sisters - Ahilya, Sita, and Tulsa. At the age of 13, in 1893, she was married to Nathuji Khanderao Chaudhari of Jalgaon. Following her husband's death in 1910, she led a very difficult life because of the economic, social, cultural, and emotional circumstances arising out of widowhood.[3] She had a daughter named Kashi and two sons, Madhusudan and Sopandev (1907-1982).

Poetic compositions

Bahinabai composed her songs verbally in ovi (ओवी) metre in a mixture of two dialects: Khandeshi and Levaganboli.[4][5] Her son Sopandev, who became a well-known poet, transcribed them.[4][5] According to one account, Sopandev read the story of Savitri and Satyavan to his mother from his textbook, and by the next morning, she had composed a song of the tale.[4] Impressed by her talent, he began writing down of her songs in a notebook. Her poetry is characterized as reflective and abstract with iconic and realist imagery.[4] It captures the essence of her life, reflects the culture of village and farming life, and presents her wisdom.[6]

Posthumous publication

After his mother's death on 3 December 1951, Sopandev found the notebook and shared one of her poems with Prahlād Keshav (Acharya) Atre's attention. Atre recounts calling the first of Bahinabai's poems he heard "pure gold" in his introduction to the collection published under the title Bahinabainchi gani (Bahinabai's Songs) in 1952 by Suchitra Prakashan.[7][4]

Legacy

References
  1. "कवयत्री बहिणाबाई चौधरी जन्मदिवस". Lokmat. Retrieved 24 August 2016.
  2. "Video : कवयत्री बहिणाबाई चौधरी जन्मदिवस". 24 August 2016.
  3. "Marathi Leva Samaj". marathilevasamaj.org. Retrieved 2016-11-17.
  4. Tharu, Susie; Lalita, K. (1993). Women Writing in India. Vol. 1. New Delhi: Oxford University Press. pp. 352–53. ISBN 0195631951.
  5. Zelliot, Eleanor (1982). "A Note on Bahinabai Chaudhari". Journal of South Asian Literature. 17 (1): 102.
  6. Centre, Kavayatri Bahinabai Chaudhari Study and Research. "Kavayatri Bahinabai Chaudhari Study and Research Centre > Home". www.nmu.ac.in. Retrieved 2016-11-17.
  7. "Famous Personalities". Nashik Municipal Corporation. Archived from the original on 2009-03-15. Retrieved 2009-08-13.
  8. "बहिणाबाई चौधरी विद्यापीठ नामांतराच्या श्रेयासाठी लढाई". Loksatta (in Marathi). 2018-03-24. Retrieved 2021-03-24.
  9. https://www.cart.ebalbharati.in/BalBooks/pdfs/701010001.pdf&ved=2ahUKEwjpv-z5ycnvAhXP73MBHQvJDYo4ChAWMAd6BAgAEAI&usg=AOvVaw1qqkNRF4T0YF4L9_Ehf8Fo
  10. "'बालभारती' मध्ये कविता राऊत". Loksatta (in Marathi). 2015-05-22. Retrieved 2021-03-24.
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