Biography of Kaka Kalelkar
Kaka Kalelkar was born in 1885 AD in Satara district of Maharashtra. His original name was Dattatreya Balkrishna Kalelkar. His early education took place in the village and after that he did B.A. Did. Did. From Fergusson College, Pune. Studied. He was very talented. He was a polyglot. Apart from his mother tongue Konkani, he was an expert scholar in Marathi, Gujarati, Hindi, Sanskrit, English, and Bengali languages. Seeing his command over the Gujarati language, Gandhiji used to call himself Chauthai and he was called Sawai Gandhi. The name of Kaka Kalelkar also comes in the line of national leaders and great men who have shown special interest in the promotion of the national language. He has considered the propagation of the national language as a national program. In 1915 AD he came in contact with Mahatma Gandhi.
Kaka Kalelkar participated in all the movements under the leadership of Gandhiji and spent a total of 5 years in imprisonment. In 1930 AD, he spent significant time with Gandhiji in Yerwada Jail, Pune. His love for Hindi was further awakened by his contact with Mahatma Gandhi. He propagated Hindi in South India, especially Gujarat. He wrote powerful works on ancient Indian culture, policy, history, geography, etc. as well as on contemporary problems. He also worked as a teacher at Shanti Niketan, headmaster of Sabarmati Ashram, and Acharya of Rashtriya Shala in Baroda. He was the first director of the 'Gandhi Museum' built in memory of Gandhiji after his death. Being a freedom fighter, he went to jail many times. He was also a member of the Constituent Assembly. From 1952 to 1957, he was a member of the Rajya Sabha and chairman of several commissions. The Government of India has honored Kalelkar with 'Padma Bhushan' and the National Language Promotion Committee has honored him with the 'Gandhi Award'. He also remained in touch with Rabindranath Tagore and Purushottamdas Tandon. He died in Delhi in 1981 AD.
Literary Introduction of Kaka Kalelkar
Despite being a Marathi speaker, the interest that Kaka Kalelkar showed towards the propagation of the Hindi language is exemplary for Hindi speakers. His Hindi literature is available in the form of prose genres like essays, biography, memoirs, travelogue,s, etc. He not only composed many works in Hindi and Gujarati but also translated many of his Gujarati works into the Hindi language. The influence of many national leaders and litterateurs is reflected in his works. He also wrote many powerful works on the problems of that time. Various dimensions of Indian culture are visible in the works of Kalelkar Ji. He had access to the inner parts of a person's life, so when he analyzed someone's life, their personality would emerge in his writings.
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Creations of Kaka Kalelkar
The main creations of Kalelkar ji are as follows-
Essay collections- 'Jeevan Kavya', 'Jeevan Sahitya', and 'Sarvodaya'.
Travelogue- 'Himalaya Yatra', 'Yatra', 'Padosi Us Par' and 'Lok-Mata'.
Memoir- 'Bapu Ki Jhanki', Memoir.
Autobiography- 'Jeevan Leela' and 'Sarvodaya'. These contain a glimpse of Kaka Saheb's real life.
Kaka Kalelkar's language style
Kalelkar ji's language is sophisticated Khariboli. It has flow, energy, and artfulness. He was knowledgeable in many languages, which is why words from English, Arabic, Persian, Gujarati, and Marathi are also found in his works written in the Hindi language. In their language, all the word forms like Tatsam, Tadbhava, Deshaj, etc. can be seen together. He has also used idioms and proverbs. Language also has the quality of vigor as per the context. According to the subject and context, Kalelkar ji has adopted styles like introductory, analytical, autobiographical, descriptive, satirical, pictorial, descriptive, etc. Thus, according to the context and subject, his language style is very lively, simple, and effective.