{{Short description|Marathi language poet (1880–1951)}} {{For|the seventeenth century [[Varkari]] saint|Bahinabai}} {{Infobox poet | name = Bahinabai Chaudhari | native_name_lang = mr | birth_place = [[Asoda]], [[Bombay Presidency]], [[British India]]<br />(in-present [[Jalgaon district]], [[Maharashtra|Maharashtra, India]]) | birth_date = {{birth date text|24 August 1880}}<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.lokmat.com/maharashtra/video-kavantri-bahinabai-chaudhari-birthday/|title=कवयत्री बहिणाबाई चौधरी जन्मदिवस|publisher=Lokmat|access-date=24 August 2016}}</ref> | death_date = {{death date and age|3 December 1951|24 August 1880|df=y}} | death_place = [[Jalgaon]], [[Bombay State]], [[India]]<br />(in-present [[Maharashtra|Maharashtra, India]]) | occupation = Farmer | language = [[Khandeshi language|Khandeshi]], [[Marathi language|Marathi]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://m.lokmat.com/maharashtra/video-kavantri-bahinabai-chaudhari-birthday/|title = Video : कवयत्री बहिणाबाई चौधरी जन्मदिवस|date= 24 August 2016}}</ref> | education = None | period = 1880-1952 | genre = Dramatic | subject = * Father's house, life, farmer's life, harvest, agricultural equipment, [[Pola (festival)|Pola]], Maharashtra's festivals | children = 3 | spouse = {{marriage|Nathu Chaudhari|1893|1910|end=died}} }} '''Bahinabai Chaudhari''' (24 August 1880 – 3 December 1951) was a [[Khandeshi language]] language poet from [[Jalgaon district]] of [[Bombay State]], India. She became a noted poet [[Posthumous publication|posthumously]].
==Early life== Bahinabai was born in a [[Mahajan]] family at Asode in [[Khandesh]] region of the present-day [[Jalgaon district]] on the 24 August 1880, on the day of [[Naga Panchami]]. Her mother's name was Bhimai, and her father's name was Ukhaji Mahajan. She had three brothers - Ghama, Gana, and Ghana, and three sisters - Ahilya, Sita, and Tulsa. At the age of 13, in 1893, she was married to Nathuji Khanderao Chaudhari of Jalgaon. Following her husband's death in 1910, she led a very difficult life because of the economic, social, cultural, and emotional circumstances arising out of widowhood.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://marathilevasamaj.org/bahinabai-chaudhary.html|title=Marathi Leva Samaj|website=marathilevasamaj.org|access-date=2016-11-17|archive-date=2017-04-23|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170423025131/http://marathilevasamaj.org/bahinabai-chaudhary.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> She had a daughter named Kashi and two sons, Omkar and Sopandev (1907-1982).
== Poetic compositions == Bahinabai composed her songs verbally in ''ovi'' (ओवी) metre in a mixture of two dialects: Khandeshi and Levaganboli.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1">{{Cite journal|last=Zelliot|first=Eleanor|year=1982|title=A Note on Bahinabai Chaudhari|journal=Journal of South Asian Literature|volume=17|issue=1|pages=102}}</ref> Her son Sopandev, who became a well-known poet, transcribed them.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /> According to one account, Sopandev read the story of Savitri and Satyavan to his mother from his textbook, and by the next morning, she had composed a song of the tale.<ref name=":0" /> Impressed by her talent, he began writing down of her songs in a notebook. Her poetry is characterized as reflective and abstract with iconic and realist imagery.<ref name=":0" /> It captures the essence of her life, reflects the culture of village and farming life, and presents her wisdom.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.nmu.ac.in/bcsrc/en-us/home.aspx|title=Kavayatri Bahinabai Chaudhari Study and Research Centre > Home|last=Centre|first=Kavayatri Bahinabai Chaudhari Study and Research|website=www.nmu.ac.in|access-date=2016-11-17|archive-date=2016-11-17|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161117144830/http://www.nmu.ac.in/bcsrc/en-us/home.aspx|url-status=dead}}</ref>
== Posthumous publication == After his mother's death on 3 December 1951, Sopandev found the notebook and shared one of her poems with [[Pralhad Keshav Atre|Prahlād Keshav (Acharya) Atre]]'s attention. Atre recounts calling the first of Bahinabai's poems he heard "pure gold" in his introduction to the collection published under the title ''Bahinabainchi gani'' ('''Bahinabai's Songs''') in 1952 by Suchitra Prakashan.<ref name=n>{{cite web|url=http://www.nashikcorporation.com/html/personalities/index.shtml|title=Famous Personalities|publisher=Nashik Municipal Corporation|access-date=2009-08-13|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090315090159/http://nashikcorporation.com/html/personalities/index.shtml|archive-date=2009-03-15|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite book|title=Women Writing in India|last1=Tharu|first1=Susie|last2=Lalita|first2=K.|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=1993|isbn=0195631951|volume=1|location=New Delhi|pages=352–53}}</ref>
==Legacy== * [[North Maharashtra University]] was renamed the ''Kavayitri Bahinabai Chaudhari North Maharashtra University'' in her honour.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2018-03-24|title=बहिणाबाई चौधरी विद्यापीठ नामांतराच्या श्रेयासाठी लढाई|url=https://www.loksatta.com/maharashtra-news/north-maharashtra-university-bahinabai-chaudhari-1650593/|access-date=2021-03-24|website=Loksatta|language=mr-IN}}</ref> *[[Yashwantrao Chavan Maharashtra Open University]] has recommended ''Bahinabainchi Gani'' as a part of their curriculum since June 2012. * [[Balbharati]] includes her poems in school textbooks of Marathi language in [[Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education|Maharashtra state board]] schools.<ref>https://www.cart.ebalbharati.in/BalBooks/pdfs/701010001.pdf&ved=2ahUKEwjpv-z5ycnvAhXP73MBHQvJDYo4ChAWMAd6BAgAEAI&usg=AOvVaw1qqkNRF4T0YF4L9_Ehf8Fo{{Dead link|date=December 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=2015-05-22|title='बालभारती' मध्ये कविता राऊत|url=https://www.loksatta.com/krida-news/kavita-raut-savarpada-express-in-balbharti-1105465/|access-date=2021-03-24|website=Loksatta|language=mr-IN}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Chaudhari, Bahinabai}} [[Category:1880 births]] [[Category:1951 deaths]] [[Category:Marathi-language poets]] [[Category:Hindu poets]] [[Category:20th-century Indian poets]] [[Category:Poets from Maharashtra]] [[Category:20th-century Indian women poets]]