G. A. Kulkarni (Gurunath Abaji Kulkarni), or known simply as "GA" (10 July 1923 – 11 December 1987), was an Indian

Sahitya Akademi Award The Sahitya Akademi Award is a literary honour in India, which the Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters, annually confers on writers of the most outstanding books of literary merit published in any of the 22 languages of the ...

winner

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 ...

writer of short stories. GA grew up in

Belgaum Belgaum (Kannada ISO 15919, ISO: ''Bēḷagāma'', ), officially known as Belagavi (also Belgaon), is a city in the Indian state of Karnataka located near its northern western border in the Western Ghats. It is the administrative headquarters ...

. After earning his master's degree, he taught English at JSS College in

Dharwad Dharwad (), also known as Dharwar, is a city located in the northwestern part of the Indian state of Karnataka. It is the headquarters of the Dharwad district of Karnataka and forms a contiguous urban area with the city of Hubballi. It was merged ...

for about 30 years. He had very strong liking for

and

. For medical treatment of his eyes, he reluctantly moved to

Pune Pune ( ; , ISO 15919, ISO: ), previously spelled in English as Poona (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1978), is a city in the state of Maharashtra in the Deccan Plateau, Deccan plateau in Western ...

in 1985. A major road in the Kothrud area of

, where GA lived for couple of years before his death, has been named after him. GA, who bought new strength and vitality to the Marathi short story, is admittedly the most distinguished exponent of that genre. A contemporary of Gangadhar Gadgil, Arvind Gokhale and

Vyankatesh Madgulkar Venkatesh Digambar Madgulkar (5 April 1927 – 28 August 2001) was one of the most popular Marathi language, Marathi writers of his time. He became well-known mainly for his realistic writings about village life in a part of southern Maharashtr ...

, he did not subscribe to the cause of modernism in literature. He charted his own separate course and cultivated new acuity and taste for a class of faithful readers. GA created a world of his own in his short stories where his characters are in pursuit of the unknowable destiny. A dark mode reflects the inscrutable ways in which destiny shadows his characters. His use of symbolism, allegory and irony provides his stories a unique texture and ethos. His world encompasses a wide diversity of locales, situations, characters and experiences; yet, in his earlier stories, it is demarcated by the region bordering

Maharashtra Maharashtra () is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. It is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the west, the Indian states of Karnataka and Goa to the south, Telangana to th ...

and

Karnataka Karnataka ( ) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed as Mysore State on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, States Re ...

. The mythic, allegorical experiences make it difficult to sort out the realities from the dreams, themes, and meditations. Yet, it is possible for the reader to identify with his characters, places, and experiences because of his keen observation of human, animal, and social worlds in their beauty and deformity. Critics observe that characters in GA's world are multifaceted, but they are not independent. They lead their lives as if they are puppets guided by an unseen hand and are unable to change the direction. Why they follow that path to their demise or why they cannot change it by their volition is not known. In that sense, his work is a reversal of direction fostered by the modernist short story in Marathi. GA's earlier short stories depicted the tragic and cruel aspects of the human situation. His later works were almost

Kafkaesque Franz Kafka (3 July 1883 – 3 June 1924) was a novelist and writer from Prague who was Jewish, Austrian, and Czech and wrote in German. He is widely regarded as a major figure of 20th-century literature. His work fuses elements of real ...

, without

Kafka Franz Kafka (3 July 1883 – 3 June 1924) was a novelist and writer from Prague who was Jewish, Austrian, and Czech and wrote in German. He is widely regarded as a major figure of 20th-century literature. His work fuses elements of real ...

-like black humour. Some of his later works were allegorical and reminiscent of Borges. Some of GA's short stories have been translated into English,

Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...

, and

Kannada Kannada () is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly in the state of Karnataka in southwestern India, and spoken by a minority of the population in all neighbouring states. It has 44 million native speakers, and is additionally a ...

. He was honoured in 1973 with a

for his collection of short stories ''Kajalmaya''. Critically acclaimed Marathi movie ''Kairee'', which was directed by

Amol Palekar Amol Palekar (born 24 November 1944) is an Indian actor, director and producer of Hindi and Marathi cinema. Early life and education Palekar was born to Kamlakara and Suhasini Palekar in a Marathi language, Marathi speaking middle-class family ...

, was based on one of his short stories. Based on GA's short story, Director Kranti Kanade made short film

Chaitra Chaitra () is a month of the Hindu calendar. In the standard Hindu calendar and India's national civil calendar, Chaitra is the first month of the year. It is the last month in the Bengali calendar, where it is called Choitro. Chaitra or Cha ...

that went on to win five National Film Awards in 2002. GA was a prolific correspondent. Though he had an obsession to keep his life private, he also longed to reach out through letters to his friends who shared his tastes. Four volumes of his letters were published after his death. He had written many of those letters to "Shri Pu" Bhagwat, Sunita Deshpande, Madhav Achawal, Jaywant Dalvi, Anantrao Kulkarni, and "Ma Da" Hatkanangalekar. GA translated five novels by Conrad Richter into Marathi in the 1960s for a project which USIS in India had initiated for getting some prominent American writings translated into Indian languages. He also wrote the book ''Manase Arbhat Ani Chillar'', which contains seemingly autobiographical musings. He translated Nobel laureate William Golding’s work “Lord of the Flies” to Marathi. William Golding had personally come for the ceremony of publication of GA’s Marathi translation.

Works

* ''Nilasavala'' (निळासावळा) (1959) * ''Hirave Rave'' (हिरवे रावे) (1960) * ''Parava'' (पारवा) (1960) * ''RaktaChandan'' (रक्तचंदन) (1966) * ''Kajalmaya'' (काजळमाया) (1972) * ''Pingalavel'' (पिंगळावेळ) * ''Sanjshakun'' (सांजशकुन ) (1975) * ''Ramalkhuna'' (रमलखुणा) (1975) * ''Ek Arabi Kahani'' (एक अरबी कहाणी) (1983) (Translated) * ''Onjaldhara'' (ओंजळधारा) (1984) (Translated) * ''Bakhar Bimmachi'' (बखर बिम्मची) (1986) (for children) * ''Mugdhachi Rangit Goshta'' (मुग्धाची रंगीत गोष्ट) (1986) (for children) * ''Pailpakhare'' (पैलपाखरे ) (1986) (Translated) * ''Akashphule'' (आकाशफुले) (Translated) * ''Manase Arbhat Ani Chillar'' (माणसे -अरभाट आणि चिल्लर) (1988) * ''Kusumgunja'' (कुसुमगुंजा) (1989; posthumous) * ''Sonpawale'' (सोनपावले) (1991; posthumous) * ''Dohakalima'' (डोहकाळिमा) (1987) (Collection of stories from GA's first four books) * ''Niyatidaan'' (नियतिदान ) (1992; posthumous) (Collection of

translation of GA's selected short stories) * ''Raan'' (रान) (1967) (Translated; Original – The Trees by Conrad Richter) * ''Gaav'' (गाव) (1967) (Translated; Original – The Town by Conrad Richter) * ''Swatantrya Ale Ghara'' (स्वातंत्र्य आले घरा) (1968) (Translated; Original – The Free Man by Conrad Richter)) * ''Ranatil Prakash'' (रानातील प्रकाश) (1968) (Translated; Original – The Light in the Forest by Conrad Richter) * ''Shiwaar'' (शिवार) (1968) (Translated; Original – The Fields by Conrad Richter) * ''Sonyache Madake'' (सोन्याचे मडके) (1991; posthumous) (Translated, Original – Crock of Gold by James Stephens) * ''Lord of the Flies'' (लॉर्ड ऑफ दी फ्लाईज) (1987) (Translated, Original –

Lord of the Flies ''Lord of the Flies'' is the 1954 debut novel of British author William Golding. The plot concerns a group of prepubescent British boys who are stranded on an uninhabited island and their disastrous attempts to govern themselves that led to ...

, By

William Golding Sir William Gerald Golding (19 September 1911 – 19 June 1993) was a British novelist, playwright, and poet. Best known for his debut novel '' Lord of the Flies'' (1954), Golding published another 12 volumes of fiction in his lifetime. In 19 ...

) * ''Vairyachi Ek Ratra'' (वैऱ्याची एक रात्र) (1982) (Translated, Original – I Survived Hitler's Ovens by Olga Lengyel) * ''Amrutphale'' (अमृतफळे) (1983) (Translated, Original – Apples of immortality by Leon Surmelian) * ''G.A. -nchi Nivadak Patre – Khand I, II, III, IV'' (जी.एं. ची निवडक पत्रे; खंड १,२.३.४) (1995,1998, 2006; posthumous) * ''G.A. -nchi PatraVela'' (जी.एं.ची पत्रवेळा; Letters to Kavi Grace and his daughter Mithila) (2010; posthumous) * ''Diwas Tudawat Andharakade'' (दिवस तुडवत अंधाराकडे ) (2015; posthumous) (Translated:1953, Original –

Long Day's Journey into Night ''Long Day's Journey into Night'' is a play in four acts written by American playwright Eugene O'Neill in 1939–1941 and first published posthumously in 1956. It is widely regarded as his magnum opus and one of the great American plays of the ...

Eugene O'Neill Eugene Gladstone O'Neill (October 16, 1888 – November 27, 1953) was an American playwright. His poetically titled plays were among the first to introduce into the U.S. the drama techniques of Realism (theatre), realism, earlier associated with ...

) * ''A Journey Forever: Iskilaar and Other Stories'' (2015; posthumous) (Collection of English translation of GA's selected short stories like Iskilaar. Translator:Vilas Salunke) * ''Shadows in the Desert: Vidooshak and Other Stories'' (2015; posthumous) (Collection of English translation of GA's selected short stories like Vidooshak. Translator:Vilas Salunke)

References

External links

G.A. Kulkarni info site #1

G.A. Kulkarni info site #2
* A few excerpts from GA's stories �

GA's Books Buying GA's Books

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kulkarni 1923 births 1987 deaths Marathi-language writers Recipients of the Sahitya Akademi Award in Marathi People from Belgaum People from Dharwad Indian atheists 20th-century Indian short story writers Indian male short story writers Writers from Karnataka 20th-century Indian male writers