MAHARSHI KARVE
His Life Story in His Own WordsLOOKING BACK By DK KARVE (1936)
The Autobiography of Bharat Ratna Maharshi Dhondo Keshav Karve
(Book Review by Vikram Waman Karve)
Today – the 18th of April – is the Birth Anniversary of Bharat Ratna Maharshi Dhondo Keshav Karve (18.04.1858 – 09.11.1962).
I feel that – on this occasion – it would be apt to tell you about his life and work as written by him in his autobiography titled LOOKING BACK published in 1936.
Here is a picture of my copy of the book.
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| Looking Back by Dhondo Keshav Karve |
Dear Reader – you must be wondering why I am reviewing an autobiography written in 1936.
Well – sometime back – for 6 years of my life – I stayed in a magnificent building called Empress Court on
I share the same surname ( Karve ) as the author.
Also – I happen to be the great grandson of Maharshi Dhondo Keshav Karve.
But – beyond that – compared to him – I am a nobody – not even a pygmy.
Maharshi Karve clearly knew his goal, persisted ceaselessly throughout his life with missionary zeal and transformed the destiny of the Indian Woman.
The first university for women in India – SNDT University – and educational institutions for women under the aegis of the Hingne Stree Shikshan SamsthaPoona later renamed
The first university for women in India – SNDT University – and educational institutions for women under the aegis of the Hingne Stree Shikshan Samstha
In his preface – Frederick J Gould, renowned rationalist and lecturer on Ethics, writes that “the narrative is a parable of his career” – a most apt description of the autobiography.
The author tells his life-story in a simple straightforward manner, with remarkable candour and humility – resulting in a narrative which is friendly, interesting and readable.
Autobiographies are sometimes voluminous tomes – but this a small book – just 200 pages.
It is a very easy comfortable enjoyable read – that makes it almost unputdownable.
Dr. Dhondo Keshav Karve writes a crisp, flowing narrative of his life, interspersed with his views and anecdotes – in simple, straightforward style – which facilitates the reader to visualize through the author’s eyes the places, period, people and events pertaining to his life and times and the trials and tribulations he faced and struggled to conquer.
Dr. Dhondo Keshav Karve was born on 18th of April 1858.
In the first few chapters he writes about Murud, his native place in Konkan, Maharashtra – his ancestry and his early life – the description is so vivid that you can clearly “see” through the author’s eye.
His struggle to appear in the public service examination (walking 110 miles in torrential rain and difficult terrain to Satara) – and his shattering disappointment at not being allowed to appear for the examination (because “he looked too young”) – all this make poignant reading.
“Many undreamt of things have happened in my life and given a different turn to my career” he writes – and then he goes on to describe his high school – and later – his college education at The Wilson College Bombay (Mumbai) – narrating various incidents that convinced him of the role of destiny – and the role of serendipity in shaping his life and career as a teacher and then Professor of Mathematics.
He married at the age of 14 – but began his marital life at the age of 20...!!!
This was the custom of those days.
Let’s read the author’s own words on his domestic life:
“… I was married at the age of fourteen and my wife was then eight. Her family lived very near to ours and we knew each other very well and had often played together. However after marriage we had to forget our old relation as playmates and to behave as strangers, often looking toward each other but never standing together to exchange words ... We had to communicate with each other through my sister ... My marital life began under the parental roof at Murud when I was twenty …”
Their domestic bliss was short lived – as his wife died after a few years leaving behind a son.
“Thus ended the first part of my domestic life”… he concludes in crisp witty style.
An incident highlighting the plight of a widow left an indelible impression on him and germinated in him the idea of widow remarriage.
He married Godubai – who was widowed when she was only 8 years old – she was a sister of his friend Mr. Joshi – and now – she was a 23 years old widow – and she was studying at Pandita Ramabai’s Sharada Sadan as its first widow student.
He married Godubai – who was widowed when she was only 8 years old – she was a sister of his friend Mr. Joshi – and now – she was a 23 years old widow – and she was studying at Pandita Ramabai’s Sharada Sadan as its first widow student.
Let’s read in the author’s own words how he asked for her hand in marriage to her father:
“I told him…..I had made up my mind to marry a widow. He sat silent for a minute and then hinted that there was no need to go in search of such a bride...”
He describes in detail the ostracism he faced from some orthodox quarters and systematically enunciates his life work - his organization of the Widow Marriage Association, Hindu Widows Home, Mahila Vidyalaya, Nishkama Karma Math, and other institutions, culminating in the birth of the first Indian Women’s University (SNDT University
The trials and tribulations he faced in his life-work of emancipation of education of women (widows in particular) and how he overcame them by his persistent steadfast endeavours and indomitable spirit makes illuminating reading and underlines the fact that Dr. DK Karve was no arm-chair social reformer but a person devoted to achieve his dreams on the ground in reality.
These chapters form the meat of the book and make compelling reading.
His dedication and meticulousness is evident in the appendices where he has given date-wise details of his engagements and subscriptions down to the paisa for his educational institutions from various places he visited around the world to propagate their cause.
He then describes his world tour, at the ripe age of 71, to meet eminent educationists to propagate the cause of the Women’s University, his later domestic life and ends with a few of his views and ideas for posterity.
At the end of the book, concluding his autobiography, he writes:
“Here ends the story of my life. I hope this simple story will serve some useful purpose”.
Maharshi Dhondo Keshav Karve wrote this book in 1936.
He lived on till the 9th of November 1962 – achieving so much more on the way – and was conferred the honorary degree of Doctor of Letters ( D.Litt.) by the famous and prestigious Banaras Hindu University (BHU) Varanasi in 1942, followed by University of Poona [Pune] in 1951, SNDT Women’s University in 1955, and the LL.D. by Bombay [Mumbai] University in 1957.
Maharshi Dhondo Keshav Karve received the Padma Vibhushan in 1955 and the India
“LOOKING BACK” is an engrossing and illuminating autobiography, written in simple witty readable storytelling style, and it clearly brings out the mammoth contribution of Maharshi Karve and the trials and tribulations he faced.
Personal Epilogue
I – Vikram Waman Karve – I was born in September 1956 – and I have fleeting memories of my great grandfather Maharshi Karve – when I was a small boy – during our visits – till 1962 – to the Hingne Stree Shikshan Samstha (now called Maharshi Karve Stree Shikshan Samstha).
My mother tells me that I featured in a Films Division Documentary on him during his centenary celebrations in 1958.
Here is a picture of me with my great grandfather Maharshi Karve taken in the year 1958 when he was 100 years old.
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Vikram Waman Karve with Maharshi Karve (1958) It is from some old timers, a few relatives, and mainly from books – that I learn of his pioneering work in transforming the destiny of the Indian Woman – and – I thought I should share this. I have written this book review with the hope that some of us – particularly the students and alumni of VIKRAM KARVE Copyright © Vikram Karve 1. If you share this post, please give due credit to the author Vikram Karve 2. Please DO NOT PLAGIARIZE. Please DO NOT Cut/Copy/Paste this post © vikram karve., all rights reserved. © vikram karve., all rights reserved.  This is a revised repost of my book review written 24 years ago in 1997 and posted online in my various blogs earlier a number of times including at urls: https://karve.wordpress.com/2006/05/11/book-review-the-autobiography-of-maharshi-karve/ and http://creative.sulekha.com/story-of-the-life-and-work-of-maharshi-karve_405802_blog and https://karvediat.blogspot.in/2011/08/maharshi-karve-his-life-story.html and http://karvediat.blogspot.in/2014/04/maharshi-karve-his-life-story.html and http://karvediat.blogspot.in/2016/04/looking-back-autobiography-of-maharshi.html and http://karvediat.blogspot.in/2017/04/maharshi-karve-his-life-story-in-his.html and http://karvediat.blogspot.com/2020/11/maharshi-dhondo-keshav-karve-his-life.html etc |
reminds me
ReplyDeletethere was....is a karve road in pune.
i remember this bcs of an incident i recall vaguely.
i reached pune to appear for an interview in iat pune foer a course entitled m.e. in guided missiles.my father had given me the address of his friend then employed in telco, pune. amidst heavy rains i wrongly went off karve road.
due to heavy rains i lost track and reached a wrong lane but the same apartment number.
coincidentally, this gentleman was also an employee of telco and seemed to kknow my dads friend but he was rushing to his work.
his wife took me to the right address in an auto who demanded double the fare due to heavily induntatted roads.......
the humour gammat part of this interviews was-
i had applied for this job innocently by by seeing a supplementary advt. of the main notice in the times of india while playing table tennis in my club back home. saw it and threw the paper. then in hindsight the other player gave me a pen to note the address, no paper...i again ignored. a guy on a chair was smokin, i borrowed his cigareete packet, jotted dwn the iat address and sent my hand written application in the format and forgot all.
later....
in iat, after the written test qualification i was one of the shortlisted fellows filtered for the next stage interview.
minutes b4 my interview an adjacent guy said, this is not just a pg degree but also for appointment as scientist b on completion of the course.i was shocked with self pity fr not knowing this.
this was not mentioned the addendum notice that i had seen in that casual table tennis, cigarette episode.
hurriedly i took a copy from him and saw the first detailed advt. and b4 i cud read it fully my name, number was called for the interview. and got
nervous.. till then my casual attitude changed.i was ushered into the deans chamber were 6-7 board membere were starin at me.
i surprised my self by getting selected as a then young lad.
this makes me think-some things r destined.
more on this later, but later i rejected a job in indian oil crp, ioc.as an engineer trainee in marketin divn
no regrets at this age.
comin back to karve road , i used to frequent this karve road to c my dads friend, family, got them csd canteen items from iat often.the next several weeks, months and even invited them once to visit the campuswhich they appreciated.