Shanta Gokhale

Shanta Gokhale (born 14 August 1939) is an Indian writer, translator, journalist and theatre critic. She is best known for her works Rita Welinkar and Tya Varshi.

Early life and education Born in Dahanu in Palghar district of Maharashtra, Gokhale's family moved to Shivaji Park neighbourhood in Mumbai in 1941 when her father, GG Gokahle, joined a newspaper, Searchlight. Her father later joined the Bennett and Coleman Group. She did her schooling from Bombay Scottish School, Mahim. At the age of 15 she left for England where she did her B. A. (Hons) in English literature at Bristol University. Returning to India, at the age of 21, she did her M. A. (Hons) degree in English literature from University of Mumbai. Subsequently, she joined Xavier's Institute of Communication, Mumbai, where she studied Communications and Video Production.

Career Shanta Gokhale has previously worked as a part-time teacher at Elphinstone College, and as a public relations executive at Glaxo Laboratories. In 2018, she released an anthology of her writings over the decades, titled The Engaged Observer, which was edited by her close friend, Jerry Pinto. She planned to release her memoirs with the tentative title of Here’s Looking at You, Body in 2018. It was later released as One Foot On The Ground: A Life Told Through The Body in 2019. In March 2020, she released Shivaji Park: Dadar 28: History, Places, People, a book that traced the history of the Mumbai neighbourhood where she lives.

She has written screenplays for several films and documentaries. She wrote the screenplay for the Hindi film, Haathi Ka Anda (2002) directed by Arun Khopkar for whom she has written many documentary scripts. She wrote the screenplay for the 2011 Marathi film, Ti Ani Itar, adapted from Manjula Padmanabhan’s 1986 play, Lights Out.

Gokhale has formerly been Arts Editor with The Times of India, Mumbai, and Sub-Editor at Femina. Hard-nosed journalism wasn't meant for her, as she didn't like to intrude on people's privacy or push for attention. In 2000, she published a critical study of Marathi theatre, Playwright at the Centre: Marathi Drama from 1843 to the Present. She has also edited The Scenes We Made: An Oral History of Experimental Theatre in Mumbai. The book was released in 2015. She credits her mother for inspiring her to translate the wealth of Marathi literature. In 2018, she published Smritichitre: The Memoirs of a Spirited Wife, translated from the original Marathi version published by Lakshmibai Tilak in four parts between 1931 and 1936.

Works Novels "The Theatre of Veenapani Chawla. Theory, Practice, Performance", Publisher: Oxford University Press, New Delhi 2014. .

Tyā varshī (Marathi). Mauja Prakashan. Griha, 2008. .

One Foot On The Ground: A Life Told Through The Body - autobiography. Speaking Tiger Books. 2018. Shivaji Park: Dadar 28: History, Places, People. Speaking Tiger Books. 2020.

Plays

As translator

Personal life Shanta Gokhale was married to Lt. Cdr. Vijaykumar Shahane, with whom she has two children, Girish Shahane, and noted film and television actress, Renuka Shahane. After their divorce, she was briefly married to noted filmmaker Arun Khopkar. She currently lives in Lalit Estate, Shivaji Park, Mumbai, with her two helpers, Alka Dhulap and Sanjay Pashte, and is neighbours with Jerry Pinto.

Over the years, Gokhale has served as a mentor for many, including poet Arundhathi Subramaniam.

Awards and accolades Two National Awards (for documentary film scripts) Two Maharashtra state awards for literary creation for her novels (one for Crowfall in 2008 and the previous one being the VS Khandekar Award for Rita Welinkar) Ooty Literary Festival Lifetime Achievement Award (2018) Tata Literature Live! Lifetime Achievement Award (2019) Sahitya Akademi Translation Prize 2021 for her translation Smritichitre :The Memoirs of a Spirited Wife originally written in Marathi by Lakshmibai Tilak.