Kashibai Kanitkar (January 20, 1861 – January 30, 1948) was the first major woman writer in

Marathi Marathi may refer to: *Marathi people, an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group of Maharashtra, India **Marathi people (Uttar Pradesh), the Marathi people in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh *Marathi language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Mar ...

since the 15th century " sant" poet

Kanhopatra Kanhopatra (or Kanhupatra) was a 15th-century Marathi saint-poet, venerated by the Varkari sect of Hinduism. Little is known about Kanhopatra. According to most traditional accounts, Kanhopatra was a courtesan and dancer. These accounts typi ...

. Kashibai was born into a wealthy

Brahmin Brahmin (; ) is a ''Varna (Hinduism), varna'' (theoretical social classes) within Hindu society. The other three varnas are the ''Kshatriya'' (rulers and warriors), ''Vaishya'' (traders, merchants, and farmers), and ''Shudra'' (labourers). Th ...

family in the town of Ashte in Sangli District, and according to the social custom of her days, her marriage was arranged at the age of nine to Govind Vasudev Kanitkar (who was seven years older than her). Kashibai had no formal education, but with her progressive husband's strong encouragement, she learned to read, and gradually mastered many

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

, and English works.

John Stuart Mill John Stuart Mill (20 May 1806 – 7 May 1873) was an English philosopher, political economist, politician and civil servant. One of the most influential thinkers in the history of liberalism and social liberalism, he contributed widely to s ...

's ''The Subjection of Women'' had a powerful impact on her, and through her prolific and wide-ranging writings — both fiction and non-fiction — she promoted women's emancipation. The following is a partial list of Kashibai's works:

Novels

* ''Ranga Rao'' (रंगराव) * ''Palakhicha Gonda'' (पालखीचा गोंडा)

Collections of short stories

* ''Shewat Tar Goad Jhala'' (शेवट तर गोड झाला) * ''Chandanyatil Gappa'' (चांदण्यातील गप्पा)

Biography

* '' Dr. Anandibai Joshi'' (डॉक्टर आनंदीबाई जोशी)

References

Sarojini Vaidya : ''Smt. Kashibai Kanitkar : Aatmacharitra Ani Charitra'' (श्रीमती काशीबाई कानिटकर : आत्मचरित्र आणि चरित्र) (In Marathi) Meera Kosambi : ''Feminist Vision or 'Treason against Men'? : Kashibai Kanitkar and the Engendering of Marathi Literature'' (In English. It includes translations of most of Kashibai's works.) {{DEFAULTSORT:Kanitkar, Kashibai Marathi-language writers 1861 births 1948 deaths Writers from British India People from Bombay Presidency