Hindi editor Paradkar's memorial to come up in his village

Journalists from Mumbai and Varanasi will build a memorial to eminent Hindi editor and journalist Baburao Vishnu Paradkar in his native village in Sindhudurg district of Maharashtra.

The memorial will serve as an inspiration for scribes and also help interconnect Hindi and Marathi languages, they said.

A pioneer of Hindi journalism, Paradkar (1883-1955) hailed from Parad village in Sindhudurg district and chose Varanasi as his workplace.

While working in the holy city of UP, he became editor of Hindi daily 'Aaj' and coined hundreds of Hindi words which were not in existence during the British rule in India.

The Mumbai Press Club and the Kashi Hindi Patrakar Sangh today, on the eve of Hindi Divas, held a discussion wherein the scribes from both the cities outlined the contributions made by Paradkar to Hindi journalism.

"The Mumbai Press Club and the Kashi Patrakar Sangh have joined hands to ensure that late Paradkar is remembered in a way that inspires journalists of our generation.

"Therefore, today we proposed to build a memorial at Parade with active participation from local residents, various organisations of journalists and journalism universities in the country that value Paradkar's contributions," said Kumar Ketkar, President of the Mumbai Press Club.

Dignitaries from Varanasi, Bhopal, Pune, Patna and Sindhudurg also attended the discussion and shared their views on how bond between the Hindi and Marathi journalism and literature can be fostered actively.

Subhash Singh, president of the Kashi Patrakar Sangh, said, "Varanasi is a city where people from all states live. However, the people from Maharashtra have made outstanding contributions to the city in terms of enriching its linguistic relationship. Therefore, we want to build a memorial in Paradkar's ancestral village."

Ram Mohan Pathak, a noted journalist from Varanasi, said, "It's heartening that the Gram Panchayat of Paradkar's village has agreed to allot land for the memorial. Now a collaborative effort will be made to involve governments of Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar in the project and make it a reality."

On the occasion, the Kashi Hindi Patrakar Sangh honoured 10 Hindi and Marathi journalists.

Senior scribe from Mumbai O P Tiwari, who moderated the session, said a delegation of journalists from the two cities will visit Paradkar's village tomorrow on the occasion of Hindi Divas.