Manohar Rai Sardesai (18 January 1925 – 22 June 2006) was an Indian

Konkani __NOTOC__ Konkani may refer to: Language * Konkani language is an Indo-Aryan language spoken in the Konkan region of India. * Konkani alphabets, different scripts used to write the language **Konkani in the Roman script, one of the scripts used to ...

poet, writer and French translator. He received his ''Doctorat ès lettres françaises'' for his thesis "L'image de l'Inde en France" from the

University of Sorbonne The University of Paris (), known Metonymy, metonymically as the Sorbonne (), was the leading university in Paris, France, from 1150 to 1970, except for 1793–1806 during the French Revolution. Emerging around 1150 as a corporation associated wit ...

. He has been credited for an upsurge of modern Konkani poetry. Sardesai died in 2006.

Early life

Manohar Rai Sardesai was born on 18 January 1925. He passed his matriculation examination in 1942 from the Bhatikar Model High School in

Margão Margao (, ) is the commercial capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Goa. It stands on the banks of the river Sal River (India), Sal. It is the district headquarters of South Goa district, South Goa, and administr ...

. He obtained a First Class First in Bachelor of Arts from the

University of Bombay University of Mumbai is a public university, public List of largest universities and university networks by enrollment, state university in Mumbai. It is one of the List of largest universities and university networks by enrollment, largest univ ...

in 1947. He successfully completed his Master of Arts, also with the First Class First in French and in Marathi from the same university in 1949. He obtained his ''Doctorat ès lettres françaises'' in 1958 from the

, Paris and taught French in Bombay at the University of Bombay and the

University of Goa Goa University is a public state university headquartered in the city of Panaji, in the Indian state of Goa. The traditions of Goa University date back to the 17th century,Prôa, Miguel Pires. "Escolas Superiores" Portuguesas Antes de 1950 (e ...

. He was the son of the eminent short story writer Lakshmanrao Sardesai. Being surrounded by books, he started writing at an early age and was known for his very direct and penetrating Konkani poetry. Sardesai broadcast songs, poems, talks, plays and features on

All India Radio All India Radio (AIR), also known as Akashvani (), is India's state-owned public broadcasting, public radio broadcaster. Founded in 1936, it operates under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (India), Ministry of Information and Broa ...

Panaji Panaji (; , , )also known as Panjim, is the capital of the Indian state of Goa and the headquarters of North Goa district. Previously, it was the territorial capital of the former Portuguese India. It lies on the banks of the Mandovi river est ...

, Goa and

Doordarshan Doordarshan (), abbreviated as DD, is India's State-owned enterprise, state-owned public broadcasting, public television broadcaster. Established by the Government of India on 15 September 1959, it is owned by the Ministry of Information and B ...

in Bombay and Pune. He travelled all over Europe and India and wrote in Konkani, English, French, Portuguese and Marathi.

Poems

Sardesai was a member of the executive board,

Sahitya Akademi The Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters, is an organisation dedicated to the promotion of literature in the languages of India. Founded on 12 March 1954, it is supported by, though independent of the Indian government. Its off ...

, representing

, and also wrote for the

National Book Trust National Book Trust (NBT) is an Indian state-owned publishing house, headquartered in Delhi, India, founded in 1957 as an autonomous body under the Ministry of Education of the Government of India. NBT publishes reading material in several Indi ...

of India. Notable collections of his poems are ''Ayj re dholar podli bodi'' (1961), ''Goema tujya mogakhatir'' (1964), ''Jayat jage'' (1964), ''Jay punnyabhui, jai Bharat'' (1965), ''Bebyachem kazar'' (1965), ''Jayo juyo'' (1970) and ''Pisollim'' (1979). He also edited an anthology of poems for the

, Delhi and published several works of prose, drama and children's literature. It was also Sardessai who introduced the two line poems called ‘tikli’.

Translations

He translated many works from French into Konkani. The translations of "La Vie de Vivekananda" by

Romain Rolland Romain Rolland (; 29 January 1866 – 30 December 1944) was a French dramatist, novelist, essayist, art historian and Mysticism, mystic who was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1915 "as a tribute to the lofty idealism of his literary pro ...

in 1994 (Vivekananda) and "Les Mots" by

Jean-Paul Sartre Jean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre (, ; ; 21 June 1905 – 15 April 1980) was a French philosopher, playwright, novelist, screenwriter, political activist, biographer, and literary criticism, literary critic, considered a leading figure in 20th ...

in 2000 ("Utram"), comprise some of his works. He also produced the ''Konkani-English Dictionary'' in 2004 and was Chief Editor for the four-volume ''Konkani Encyclopedia'', published by

Goa University Goa University is a public state university headquartered in the city of Panaji, in the Indian state of Goa. The traditions of Goa University date back to the 17th century,Prôa, Miguel Pires. "Escolas Superiores" Portuguesas Antes de 1950 ...

in 1999.

Awards and honours

The French Government conferred him with the title "

Chevalier de l'Ordre des Palmes Académiques Chevalier may refer to: Honours Belgium * a rank in the Belgian Order of the Crown * a rank in the Belgian Order of Leopold * a rank in the Belgian Order of Leopold II * a title in the Belgian nobility France * a rank in the French Legion d'h ...

" in 1988, in recognition of his services to the French language and culture. Dr. Sardesai also won many awards for his literary contributions and in the teaching profession. Most notable among the awards was the

, Delhi for ''Pisollim''. He chaired the 8th Session of the

All India Konkani Parishad The All India Konkani Parishad is a national conference held in India. It is meant to support the Konkani people and Konkani language, and conducts various activities to achieve that goal, aided by local authorities History The Konkani Parisha ...

which was held at

Margao Margao (, ) is the commercial capital of the Indian state of Goa. It stands on the banks of the river Sal. It is the district headquarters of South Goa, and administrative headquarters of Salcete sub-district. It is Goa's second largest ci ...

, Goa on 26 and 27 May 1962 – the first of its kind after

Goa Goa (; ; ) is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is bound by the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north, and Karnataka to the ...

was liberated from Portuguese rule on 19 December 1961,Souvenir of 28th Session of the

, Goa, 2012 and later became president of Konkani Bhasha Mandal, Goa. He was also a life member of "Alliance Française de Goa" and Founder President of the University Teachers' Association, Goa.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sardesai, Manohar Rai 1925 births 2006 deaths Indian male poets Recipients of the Sahitya Akademi Award in Konkani Chevaliers of the Ordre des Palmes Académiques Konkani-language poets Poets from Goa 20th-century Indian poets 20th-century Indian male writers