"Shabdanche dhan (शब्दांचं धन)" a Marathi book by Maruti Chitampalli (मारुती चितमपल्ली). This (third) edition of the book is published by Sahitya Prasar Kendra (साहित्य प्रसार केंद्र) in 2011 and has 184 pages.
Maruti Chitampalli worked as a forest officer and has written extensively about wild life, flora & fauna and Nature. His specialization is birds.
This non fiction book is a collection of 20 articles. Each of these article was previously published in either newspaper or Diwali magazine (दिवाळीअंक) between 1977 and 1990.
Most of these articles are about a famous personality in the world of literature and/or art. Author has come in contact with some of these personalities in relation with literature or wildlife and author has learned something from each of them. Some are friends of author, some are aquitances, he has met some of them only a few times or even once and he has never met some of them. Each of the personality is nature lover and had some relation to wildlife and birds.
Some of these personalities are Writer Vyankatesh Madgulkar (व्यंकटेश तथा तात्या माडगुळकर), Painter Almelkar (चित्रकार आलमेलकर), Principal Narhar Kurundkar (प्रचार्य नरहर कुरुंदकर), Bird scientist Dr. Saleem Ali (डॉ. सलीम अली), Writer G.A. Kulkarni (जी.ए. कुळकर्णी), Common men like Sumantbhai (सुमंतभाई) and his wife (भाभीजी) and a security guard, Greek thinker Aristotle (अँरिस्टॉटल), Western writers Joy Adamson (जॉय अँडमसन) & Jane Gudal (जेन गुडाल), Saint Samartha Ramdas (समर्थ रामदास), Editor Umakant Thomre (उमाकांत ठोमरे), Writer Jaywant Dalvi (जयवंत दळवी), Japanese writer Sei Shōnagon (सी शॉनगॉन), Ancient Indian writer Hansadev (हंसदेव) and
J. Krishnamurthy (जे कृष्णमुर्ती).
The ones I liked most were Sei Shōnagonche The Pillow Book (सी शॉनगॉनचे दि पिलो बुक) where the author appears in his dream and they discuss her writing. I was amazed by Nisargapremi Samartha Ramdas (निसर्गप्रेमी समर्थ रामदास) who has enlisted about 300 plants (वनस्पती) in one composition (श्लोक) while segregating them by type in each stanza. Hansadevache mrugapakshishastra (हंसदेवाचं मृगपक्षीशास्त्र) was a very informative article introducing readers to a scientific book written by Hansadev, a few hundred years ago, about animals & birds, their classification and behavioral patterns.
Author has covered personalities from various geographical areas (India, Japan, USA, UK) and time period (Contemporary, 50-100 years ago, 300 years ago, 700 years ago, 1000 years ago). Though most of them are writers there are editors, painters and common men as well.
Some of the articles are very interesting and some are not so good. Some articles have a hint of boastfulness, but author has tried to be polite even in that.
Not a must read, but you can read it for a change.
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