Apte, Hari Narayan

Born Mar. 8, 1864, in Berar; died Mar. 3, 1919, in Poona. Indian writer, enlightener. Wrote in Marathi. Born into the family of a minor professional worker.

Apte, the creator of modern artistic prose, laid the foundations of critical realism in Marathi literature. From 1890 until 1918 he published the magazine Karamnuk (Diversions), which printed almost all of his novels and articles. He was the author of 21 novels, 11 of them on themes of national history. The others made up the series Contemporary Stories: So Who Cares? (1890–93), I (1893–95), and Iashvantrao Kkhare (1892–95). Apte’s positive ideal is embodied in the portrayals of the representatives of the leading intelligentsia. In the historical novels, Apte associated the popularization of the heroic past with the necessity of educating his fellow countrymen in the spirit of patriotism and national pride (The Tiger of Mysore, 1890–91; Dawn, 1895–97; They Seized the Fortress, But Lost the Lion, 1903; Chandragupta, 1902–04). Apte was influenced by W. Scott.