Shakuntala Karandikar

Shakuntala Bhupendra Karandikar (née Shakuntala Chandrashekhar Agashe; 20 July 1931 – 1 June 2018) was an Indian biographer and philanthropist, best remembered for writing Vishwasta, a biography of her father in Marathi, and for her advocacy and philanthropy towards women's causes in Dahanu.

Biography Early life and family: 1931–1953 Karandikar was born in Pune, Bombay Presidency on 31 July 1931, into an aristocratic and entrepreneurial Chitpavan brahmin family of industrialist Chandrashekhar Agashe and wife Indirabai Agashe (née Dwarka Gokhale). Her father was a member of the aristocratic Agashe gharana of the village of Mangdari in the Bhor State, while her mother was from the aristocratic Gokhale gharana of Dharwad.

She was the second eldest daughter, as well as the second eldest of nine siblings who survived to adulthood. She had two younger brothers, Panditrao Agashe and Dnyaneshwar Agashe. Through her brother Dnyaneshwar, she was a paternal aunt to Mandar, Ashutosh, and Sheetal Agashe. Some of Karandikar's other prominent relations include Bapu Gokhale, a Third Anglo-Maratha War general under Peshwa Baji Rao II of the Maratha Empire, musician Ashutosh Phatak, historian Dinkar G. Kelkar, and scientist P. K. Kelkar.

Marriage, writings, and philanthropy: 1953–2018 Karandikar initially studied painting. After matriculating, she married Bhupendra "Rajabhau" Karandikar, of the Karandikar gharana of Dahanu in 1953. They would go on to have three children, a daughter and two sons. She would aid him in his forestry and salt pan businesses. While in Dahanu, she was a prominent member of society. She advocated and supported various women's organisations and charities in support of various women's causes. She would go on to serve as president of the Rotary Inner Wheel Club and was the founding president of the Wednesday Women's Circle of Dahanu, frequently organizing fundraising activities for the clubs. She was also associated with various education institutions in Dahanu.

In June 1992, Karandikar and her siblings considered commissioning a biography on their father Chandrashekhar Agashe and his company the Brihan Maharashtra Sugar Syndicate. Karandikar would go on to pen the biography herself based on the collated writings of her maternal uncle Mukundrao Gokhale, and those of Dattaji Kulkarni, and the biography previously written by Narubhau Limaye. The book was published on Ashadha Ekadashi as per the Indian national calendar, or on 10 July 1992 as per the Gregorian calendar, by Shri Prakashan in Shaniwar Peth, Pune. In April 2002, she contributed an essay for her brother Dnyaneshwar's festschrift published on the occasion of his sixtieth birthday.

Death and legacy: 2018 Karandikar died on 1 June 2018 in Dahanu after a short illness.

Published works Books

Essays