In 1915, when Mahatma Gandhi and Rabindranath Tagore met for the first time at Santiniketan, it also marked a turning point in the life of Dattatreya Kalelkar, who was a teacher in Santiniketan at the time. Since then, he became a devoted follower of Gandhiji and the cause of India's independence. Though his first language was Marathi, Kalelkar was equally at home in Hindi & Gujarati as well as in Bengali & English. A prolific writer in Gujarati, he came to be regarded as one of the towering figures of Gujarati literature. Mahatma Gandhi honoured him with the title of Savai Gujarati.
We are now pleased to offer an extremely rare First Edition of his book on the rivers of India — Jivan-Lila — that was commissioned by the newly-formed Sahitya Akademi in the 1950s. Widely travelled across the length and breadth of India, Kakasaheb Kalelkar was a writer of travelogues par excellence. First published in 1956, this book is one of the finest panegyrics ever written on the rivers of India. This book was built upon his earlier book in Marathi — Lok Mata — with the addition of substantial new content.
This rare First Edition features engrossing essays on the rivers Markandi, Krishna, Ganga, Yamuna, Godavari, Tungabhadra, Pinakini, Jog Falls, Sabarmati, Narmada, Amba & Chenab, Tawi, Sindhu, Bagmati, Gandaki, Phalgu, Sonbhadra, Chambal, Shivnath & Ib, Tendula & Sukha, Chandipur, Airavati etc.
A notable aspect of this rare book are the detailed endnotes that are included in the appendix of over 85 pages.
The author's preface, the complete table of contents, and several other images of this precious First Edition are attached herewith to better understand the unique quality of this rare book.
JIVAN-LILA
Author: Kakasaheb Kalelkar
Publisher: Navjivan Prakashan Mandir, Ahmedabad on behalf of Sahitya Akademi, Delhi, 1956 — Highly Rare & Hard–to–Find First Edition
Format: Hardcover. Professionally hardbound in grey Rexine with the titles embossed in golden lettering on the front cover and on the spine.
Size: 18.4 cm x 12.5 cm
Pages: xx + 344 pages.
Condition: Pre-Owned. Excellent. Pages clean and unmarked. Binding tight and firm. Natural yellowing/foxing of the pages owing to age.
Inscription: The name and address of the original owner is handwritten on the top right corner of the preface (image attached).
Remarks: The value of this particular book that we are offering lies in its extreme rarity for being the very First Edition published in 1956 in excellent condition.
Please email us on kumarclassicbookpoint@gmail.com for cost and availability, or for any further queries in order to serve you better. Delivery in Mumbai is free.
