Annbhau Sathe- A realist writer

If a famous writer had written Anna Bhau’s biography, then that biography would have been greatly appreciated. But whatever Anna Bhau had written was right or wrong is known to everyone from Maharashtra to Moscow. His books Chitra and Fakira have been translated into the Russian language. His books named Gulam, Barbadaya Kanjari, and Bandkhor Tatya were translated into Zhek, German, and Polish languages. His stories were also translated into many Indian languages like Gujarati, Hindi, Telugu, Malayali, Tamil, Bengali, etc. Anna Bhau’s writings were appreciated all over Maharashtra. His literature got royal recognition.

Anna Bhau was born on 1 August 1920 in a small village of Sangli district named Vategaon in Maharashtra. His father’s name was Bhau, and his mother’s name was Valubai. In the last seven generations of Anna Bhau no had a formal education due to the societal structure of that time. He started earning from early age to support his family; instead of attending school, he had to work hard. But his mother kept telling him to go to school and study. Then Anna Bhau’s reassuring answer to his mother was, “If I don’t go to school, I will not die, and if I go to school, there’s no surety that I will be able to live.” And he proved it.

In 1931, Anna Bhau Sathe’s father migrated to Mumbai with his whole family. Anna Bhau couldn’t get much education but asked his cousin brother Gyanu to help him. He met Gyanu when he used to sell children’s clothes on foot all over Mumbai with a man named Martand. After some time, Anna Bhau’s job of selling clothes stopped. After that, Anna Bhau used to go to Gyanu’s house every evening. Gyanu used to read for two to three hours after coming from work. Anna Bhau used to pay attention and listen to Gyanu; he did this for one year without doing any work. Anna Bhau learned about books like Ramayana, Harivijay, Pandav Pratap, etc., Just by listening to Gyanu; in this way, Anna Bhau started recognizing and remembering words.

Anna Bhau started working as a Mill worker in Mumbai. After some time, he joined the labor movement. There he began writing songs and powadas. Also, he sang some historical powadas. At that time, he wrote a poem on the battle of Panipat. At that time, Anna bhau read all the available books related to the labor movement. He read the history of the Russian Revolution and worker’s related literature, which changed his revolutionary vision. Until then, Anna Bhau used to do fasting, but after that, he abandoned it and became a devotee worker. After reading worker’s related literature, his vision became more advanced and detailed.

Anna Bhau was an outstanding writer. His poems included a unique way of representing art; they had an effective narration style and dialogues that touched thousands of people’s hearts and were written in simple language. He wrote songs according to the context of every movement. Anna Bhau could never accept any injustice that happened to people. Therefore, he made use of his pen to strike against the injustice. His continuous efforts and selfless dedication to the movement made him the new poet of the backward class.

In 1945, He wrote a play named ‘Akelechi Gosht,’ with only two to three characters. They were the farmer, milkmen, and a moneylender. A girl also had a character in this play; the play had to start and end with the work of the girl. At the end of this play, it is shown that the farmer wins. The story of this play was very transparent and easy to understand. This play gave glimpses of politics, illuminating Anna Bhau’s character. The farmers immensely loved this play. This play was shown to people near about 200 times; this depicts the popularity of this play among people.

Anna Bhau formed an art squad along with Gavhankar and Shahir Amar Sheikh. This squad visited different places and put their work and songs before the people. They had a show in Nagpur where Rashtra Tukdoji Maharaj was also present. In his speech, he said, “When I got the invitation for this program, I discussed this invitation with some of my friends. My friends recommended a no for a visit to this event by saying that visiting this event would be a waste of time. Even then, I thought that if someone would call nectar poison, why should we reject such poisonous nectar? If this proves to be poison, then I might die; if not, I will become an immortal soul. Praising the work of this squad, Saint Tukdoji Maharaj says that I have never seen drama, cinema, or spectacle in my life. One similarity between me and these people is that we both sing bhajans, but my hymns lack liveliness which can be witnessed in their hymns. This squad represents an innovative and creative work of art. The blessings of Sharda devi bless Anna Bhau and his other companions are working for the benefit of the public. Appreciating their art, I request you to welcome these people in whichever village they visit.

The person who makes Mumbai the economic capital of India by uniting his blood and sweat, the same person is destined to live on half a stomach; what can be a more significant misfortune than this? We find such yearnings in the songs written by Anna Bhau. All the farmers and laborers of this country should unite and strengthen themselves. Anna Bhau kept writing and expressed his sympathy through such mediums. He believed that not having truth as the basis of life can be referred to as the talent one holds, is like a mirror present in darkness. No matter how much effort is made, the reflection will only be visible once and when the darkness vanishes, and the light of hope comes through the mirror.

– Vijendra Sonawane (vijendra.sonawane@ssfoffice.in)

Reference –

Majha Bhau Anna Bhau- Write- Shankar Sathe