Researcher documents 41 poetesses on celluloid

Dr Jaya Jagtap-Patil (31), a Marathi researcher, is a perfect example that people can pursue their passion regardless of the hurdles. She covered 18 districts in the state, covering about 5,500 km, in search of 41 unknown dalit poetesses. And after her yearlong work, Jagtap-Patil made a documentary titled ‘We Daughters of Sun'. The documentary would soon be screened and be available on YouTube. A student of the University of Pune's (UoP) Marathi department, Jagtap-Patil completed her masters in 2004 followed by MPhil in 2005. She registered for a Phd and after five years of hard work, she completed her doctorate in 2011 in ‘Contribution of Dalit Poetess in Dalit Literature'.u00a0

An Unconventional Choice: u00a0Dr Jaya Jagtap-Patil

Where it began
"After completing my doctorate I decided to extend my work to audio-visual format. I started working on the documentary in January 2012 and completed the entire shoot in a month's time. During my journey from Nanded to Gadchiroli and from Mumbai to Amravati, I interacted and interviewed 41 dalit poetesses," Jagtap-Patil said.

Screening time
Commenting on her work, Dr Manohar Jadhav, Marathi department head of the UoP, said, "Though Marathi literature includes dalit literature as one of its forms, which first emerged some 50 years ago, its still a neglected one. That's why Jaya's work is of immense importance. u00a0In the years to come, the documentary will amass archaeological value." The department has organised a small function tomorrow to screen the documentary, which would be inaugurated at the hands of noted Marathi writer Dr Nagnath Kotapalle. A day after the documentary is screened, it will be made available on YouTube for public viewing.