Archives of Contemporary India
Supported by HDFC LTD.
Dr. Prabhakar Machwe (b.1917-d.1991) was a prolific writer, linguist and an authority on Indian literature.
He graduated from Vikram University, Ujjain and obtained Masters in Philosophy, 1937, and English Literature, 1945, Agra University; Sahitya Ratna and Ph.D, Agra University, 1957. Dr. Machwe started his career as a lecturer in Madhav College, Ujjain, 1938-48. He worked as a Literary Producer, All India Radio, Nagpur, Allahabad and New Delhi, 1948-54. He was closely associated with Sahitya Akademi from its inception in 1954 and served as Assistant Secretary, 1954-70, and Secretary, 1970-75.
Dr. Machwe was Visiting Professor in Indian Studies Departments at the University of Wisconsin and the University of California on a Fulbright and Rockefeller grant (1959-1961); and later Officer on Special Duty (Language) in Union Public Service Commission, 1964-66.
After retiring from Sahitya Akademi in 1975, Dr. Machwe was a visiting fellow at the Institute of Advanced Studies, Shimla, 1976-77, and Director of Bharatiya Bhasha Parishad, Calcutta, 1979-85. He spent the last years of his life in Indore as Chief Editor of a Hindi daily, Choutha Sansar, 1988-91. He was recipient of Soviet Land Nehru Award, Uttar Pradesh Hindi Sansthan Award, Hindi Academy Delhi Award, and Kedarnath Mishra ‘Prabhat’ Puraskar.
A gifted and creative writer, Dr. Machwe has written many plays and poems and over 100 books. Some of his important works include: ‘Swapana Bhang’, ‘Teil Ki Pakoudiyan’, ‘Anu-Kshan’ (poems), ‘Gali Ke Mod Par’, ‘Ek Tara’, ‘Parantu’, ‘Dwabha’ (plays), and books Reminiscences of a Writer: From Self to Self (autobiography) (1999), Hinduism: Contribution to Science, Communication and Civilization (1994), East Versus West: In Life and Literature (1973), Four Decades of Indian Literature (1979), Renaissance in Indian Literature (1979), and Tolstoy Aur Bharat (1969) (Hindi translation).
Dr. Machwe was also an artist and painter. His sketches are compiled in a book titled Shabd Rekha (sketches of eminent personalities).
About the Collection: Prabhakar Machwe papers throw light on his dedication to writing in Hindi, Marathi and English and related educational, literary and cultural activities for over five decades. These include correspondence with his contemporaries such as Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, Kishorlal G. Mashruwala, Haribhau Upadhyaya, B.V. Warerkar, Yashpal and Shivmangal Singh ‘Suman’. There are papers related to his tenure as Assistant Secretary and Secretary, Sahitya Akademi, and Director, Bharatiya Bhasha Parishad, Calcutta. The published and unpublished manuscripts of poems and short stories in the collection are seminal source material for the study of contemporary literature. The collection also contains Marathi and English translations; editorials in Chautha Sansar and articles on Hindi and Marathi literature; speeches, seminar/conference papers; press clippings, photographs and printed material. Some of his rare books in English, Hindi and Marathi are also a part of the donation. (Catalogue available)
