Kiran Nagarkar facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Kiran Nagarkar
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2013 – at the bookfair of Leipzig, Germany
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| Born | 2 April 1942 Bombay, Bombay Presidency, British India (now Mumbai, Maharashtra, India) |
| Died | (aged 77) Mumbai, Maharashtra, India |
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| Literary movement | Indian |
| Notable awards | Sahitya Akademi Award, Order of Merit of Germany |
| Spouse | Tulsi Vatsal |
Kiran Nagarkar (born April 2, 1942 – died September 5, 2019) was a famous Indian writer. He wrote novels, plays, and screenplays for movies. He was also a well-known critic of plays and films. Many people consider him one of the most important writers in India after it gained independence.
Some of his most famous books include Saat Sakkam Trechalis (which means Seven Sixes Are Forty Three) from 1974 and Ravan and Eddie from 1994. He won the Sahitya Akademi Award in 2001 for his English writings. This award is given by India's National Academy of Letters. His novels written in English have also been translated into German. In 2012, he received the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany, which is a very high honour from Germany.
Contents
Kiran Nagarkar's Life Story
Kiran Nagarkar was born on April 2, 1942, in a city called Bombay, which is now known as Mumbai. He grew up in a middle-class family from Maharashtra. He was the younger of two sons. His grandfather, B. B. Nagarkar, was a special person who attended a big meeting called the Parliament of the World's Religions in Chicago in 1893.
His School and College Days
Kiran Nagarkar went to Fergusson College in Pune and S.I.E.S. College in Mumbai. He earned his first degree in 1964. Then, in 1967, he got a master's degree in English literature. After finishing his studies, he worked for 15 years writing advertisements.
In 2011, he spent several months in Zurich, Switzerland. He was invited there as a 'writer in residence'. This means he lived and worked there as a writer.
Kiran Nagarkar was married to Tulsi Vatsal. He was known for speaking his mind. He often criticized powerful groups and stuck to his political beliefs throughout his writing career.
He passed away on September 5, 2019. He had been admitted to the hospital a few days earlier after having a brain haemorrhage. He was 77 years old.
His Amazing Books
Kiran Nagarkar is special because he wrote popular novels in more than one language. His first novel, Saat Sakkam Trechalis, was published in the Marathi language in 1974. It was later translated into English in 1980 and published in 1995 as Seven Sixes Are Forty Three. This book is considered a very important work in Marathi literature.
Another one of his novels, Ravan and Eddie, was started in Marathi but finished in English. It was published in 1994. After Ravan and Eddie, all of Nagarkar's novels were written in English. Many of them were also translated into German.
More Notable Novels
It took him nine years to write God's Little Soldier. This book, published in 2006, tells the story of a Muslim boy who faces very strict religious rules.
In 2012, he released The Extras. This book is a follow-up to Ravan and Eddie. It shows what happens to Ravan and Eddie when they grow up and work in Bollywood, India's film industry. The third and final book in this series, Rest in Peace, came out in 2015.
His 2017 novel, Jasoda, is about a young woman and mother. She tries to raise her children in a dry, difficult area called Kantagiri. Jasoda clearly shows the tough traditions in these remote parts of India. The author said it was a tribute to the many women in dry regions who face hard choices.
His 2019 novel, The Arsonist, tells a new version of the life of Kabir. Kabir was a famous Indian poet and saint from the 1400s. This book also talked about the rise of Hindu majoritarianism in India.
Plays and Screenplays
In 1978, Kiran Nagarkar wrote a play called Bedtime Story. This play was partly based on the ancient Indian epic, the Mahabharata. However, some groups, including the Shiv Sena and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), stopped it from being performed for 17 years. These were Hindu nationalist political parties.
Nagarkar warned about censorship in India in his introduction to the play. He wrote that official censorship can be clumsy. But unofficial censorship, by groups outside the law, is very strong. It successfully stopped Bedtime Story from being shown for 17 years.
In an interview in 2018, Nagarkar said he wasn't too worried about censorship. He remembered times when groups in Mumbai threatened to stop his plays. He said, "these things happen from time to time, and only then can we be assured that art is still living." This meant that if art is causing a stir, it's still important and alive.
Nagarkar also wrote other plays like Kabirache Kay Karayche and Stranger Amongst Us. He wrote screenplays for films such as The Broken Circle, The Widow and Her Friends, and The Elephant on the Mouse, which was a film for children. He even had a small acting role, called a cameo appearance, as Brother Bono in the movie Split Wide Open.
Awards and Recognition
Kiran Nagarkar received many awards for his writing. These include the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany and the Sahitya Akademi Award. He also received a special grant from the Rockefeller Foundation and a scholarship from the city of Munich.
- 2001: He won the Sahitya Akademi Award.
- 2012: He received the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany. This award is known as the highest honour Germany can give to individuals.
- 2013: His novel The Extras was shortlisted for The Hindu Literary Prize.
His Published Works
Novels
- 1974: Seven Sixes are Forty Three (translated from Saat Sakkam Trechalis).
- 1994: Ravan and Eddie
- 2006: God's Little Soldier
- 2012: The Extras
- 2015: Rest in Peace
- 2017: Jasoda: A Novel
- 2019: The Arsonist
Plays and Screenplays
- 1978: Bedtime Story
- Kabirache Kay Karayche
- Stranger Amongst Us
- The Broken Circle
- The Widow and Her Friends
- The Elephant on the Mouse
- Black Tulip
See also
- List of Indian writers
- Shyam Benegal
- Tapan Kumar Pradhan
- Dia Mirza
