Lakshmibai Tilak (1868–1936) was a Marathi writer from Maharashtra, India.

Life

Lakshmibai Tilak was married to Narayan Waman Tilak, at the age of 11, as per the social customs of the time. Narayan Waman Tilak was an accomplished poet. He gave his wife, the young Lakshmibai a basic formal education, to the extent where she could read and write basic Marathi. Lakshmibai was shocked and devastated when her husband converted to Christianity, however after some time, overcame her distaste for his conversion and became a Christian herself. She details her religious journey and narrates this story in a simple manner in her book Step By Step. With much encouragement from her husband, despite her rudimentary education, Lakshmibai Tilak also composed some excellent poetry. She also wrote an autobiography, titled Smritichitre (स्मृतिचित्रे; Literal translation - Memoirs), which is considered to be a paramount example of Marathi Literature. This autobiography was published in four parts, in between the years 1934 and 1937. It was translated into English by E. Josephine Inkster in the year 1950 under the title I Follow After. In 1910, Narayan Waman Tilak started composing an epic in Marathi, describing the works of Jesus Christ, called Khristayana (क्रिस्तायन). However, he only wrote 10 chapters before dying in 1919. Lakshmibai completed the epic, by adding 64 chapters of her own.

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