Modernism in Marathi Literature: A New Poetic Sensibility
Modernism in Marathi literature found its most distinct expression in poetry during the mid-twentieth century. This movement marked a departure from romantic and traditional forms, embracing new themes, styles, and sensibilities shaped by global influences and India’s own social transformations. B.S. Mardhekar: The Pioneer of Modernism B.S. Mardhekar (1909–1956) is widely recognized as the originator of modernist trends in Marathi poetry. His early work, Shishiragama (1939), reflected the influence of Ravikiran Mandal and Balkavi Thombre. However, his second collection, Kahi Kavita (1947), radically altered The Tone of Marathi Poetry . In it, Mardhekar expressed irony, disillusionment, and the strangeness of human existence, themes that resonated with postwar European literature. Influenced by T.S. Eliot and Ezra Pound, his poetry introduced cynicism and fragmentation into Marathi verse. Later, in Anakhi Kahi Kavita (1951), Mardhekar attempted to reconcile Western rationalism wit...