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Time of India
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Secretly yours, NVJ: A pseudonym that cloaked Narlikar's sci-fi writing debut
Pune: AP Deshpande, honorary secretary of Marathi Vidnyan Parishad , and a long-time associate of Jayant Narlikar , said that the first time the renowned astrophysicist wrote science fiction was in 1974. "Narlikar took inspiration from his PhD guide Fred Hoyle who was also a science fiction writer. The astrophysicist was president of Marathi Vidnyan Parishad in 1973 at Jalna in Marathwada. That year, he distributed prizes for our science fiction story-writing competition. It was here that the thought of writing occurred to him. Until then, Narlikar had never penned fiction." He decided to participate in the competition the next year. "It was the fourth year of the contest. He wrote the story as there were no Marathi typewriters at TIFR. He realised that someone would recognise his handwriting. So, he told his wife Mangala to copy it," Deshpande added. Narlikar chose not to submit the story under his name to avoid influencing the jury. Instead, he created the pseudonym Narayan Vinayak Jagtap (NVJ), reversing his JVN initials, Deshpande added. "The story won the first prize. Our panel comprised an expert with a science background and another in literature. After the results, he wrote to us revealing who Narayan Vinayak Jagtap was. The story — Krushna Vivar (Black Hole) — was published in his short story collection in 1978 by Mouj Prakashan. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like 2025 Top Trending local enterprise accounting software [Click Here] Esseps Learn More Undo He mentioned this episode in the preface," he said. Durga Bhagwat was president of Marathi Sahitya Sammelan in 1974 when she referred to Narlikar and his work. Well-known humorist Pu La Deshpande too acknowledged his contributions in 1975. "Marathi Vidnyan Parishad opened a new chapter in Marathi literature by introducing science fiction. What set Narlikar apart from other writers was his aim to explain science through storytelling which drew much criticism. Some argued that if literature had a specific 'intention' or agenda, it was reduced to second-grade writing. In his early stories, he included diagrams to illustrate scientific concepts. But over time, he evolved as the leading voice among science fiction writers in Marathi," Deshpande said.
Indian Express
05-05-2025
- Health
- Indian Express
Islamic scholar Maulana Ghulam Vastanvi passes away at 75
Renowned maulana Ghulam Vastanvi, a native of Surat district, passed away due to a progloned illness at his home in Maharashtra Sunday afternoon. He was 75. Sharing more details, maulana's son, Mufti Uzaifa Vastanvi (45) said: ' My father was a diabetic patient for the last 10 years. For the last three years, he had been undergoing kidney dialysis. He had suffered an injury followed by an infection as a result of which he was not keeping well for the last two months'. 'He received medical treatment in multiple hospitals in Maharashtra. For the last two days, his body was not responding to medicines, following which he was brought to Akkalkuwa (Nandurbar district), where he breathed his last on Sunday afternoon,' said Mufti Uzaifa. Mufti Uzaifa, who is presently pursuing his PhD on an Urdu subject said, 'My father had set up an empire to impart education to Muslim people'. Meanwhile, the cleric's funeral procession was attended by hundreds of people at his home in Akkalkuwa town in Maharashtra's Nandurbar district Monday. The social media platforms were also flooded with condolence messages from different parts of the country and abroad. Maulana Vastanvi, a cleric from the remote Kosadi village in Surat district, had set up an institution, Jamia Islamia Ishaatul Uloom, imparting education covering engineering sector, medical and paramedical courses. The students were taught in English and Urdu medium. Apart from providing education from Class 1 to 12, the institution also offered diplomas, bachelors and masters courses. Presently, over 15000 students are studying in the educational institution set up by Vastanvi. The cleric also served as a vice chancellor in Darul Uloom Deoband, one of the highest Islamic seminaries in India, in 2011. He had to resign amid an uproar by the board members over his statements praising the then Gujarat chief minister and now Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Apart from this, he also had started an MBBS college at Jalna in Aurangabad. Maulana Vastanvi is survived by three sons and six daughters. All the daughters are married. His eldest son, Mohammed Saeed Vastanvi had died five years ago. His other two sons, Mufti Uzaifa and Mufti Uvesh Vastanvi, look after his empire. 'Today, a large number of people not only from Gujarat and Maharashtra, but also from different parts of the country like UP, Bihar, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, etc. attended my father's funeral procession. There were over 50,000 people present. I prayed namaz-e-janaza (final prayer for the deceased) for my father. He was active in India and had also received great recognition in Saudi Arabia, where he was engaged in charity and educational work,' said Mufti Uzaifa.
