Kulkarni is a surname. The name "Kulkarni" is a combination of two words (kula and karni). Kula means "family", and Karanika means "archivist". Historically, Kulkarni was the title given to the village record keeper.[1]
As per the historian P.J. Marshall, both Kulkarni and Deshpande were specialized scribes who "served great households and enhanced other, familiar, administrative mechanisms at their disposal".[2]
History
Before British rule, the Maharashtra region was divided into many revenue divisions. The medieval equivalent of a county or district was the pargana. The chief of the pargana was called Deshmukh and record keepers were called Deshpande.[3][4] The lowest administrative unit was the village. Village society in Marathi areas included the Patil or the head of the village, collector of revenue, and Kulkarni, the village record-keeper. These were hereditary positions. The Patil usually came from the Maratha caste. The Kulkarni was usually from literate communities such as Brahmin (mainly from Deshastha[5][6] and the Karhade sub-castes[7]) and CKP castes. The Kulkarni operated at the village level but at a pargana level, the recordkeeper had titles such as Deshkulkarni, Deshpande, or Nadkarni (in Karnataka).[8][9][10][11] The Kulkarni watans (land rights) were abolished in 1950.[12]
Notable Kulkarni
Saints
- Dnyaneshwar: Pre-sainthood name Dnyandev Kulkarni (1275–1296)
- Eknath: Pre-sainthood name Eknāth Kulkarni (1533–1599)
- Samarth Ramdas: Pre-sainthood name Narayan Kulkarni (Thosar) (1608–1681)
- Nivruttinath: Pre-sainthood name Nivrutti Kulkarni, elder brother and teacher of Dnyaneshwar
- Sopan: Pre-sainthood name Sopan Kulkarni
- Muktabai: Pre-sainthood name Mukta Kulkarni
- Mahipati: Chronicler of many Indian saints, author of the Bhaktavijaya (1715–1790)
Historic figures
- Ramchandra Pant Amatya (1650–1716): The third Peshwa, Finance Minister (Amatya) to Emperor (Chhatrapati) Shivaji and Imperial Regent (Hukumat Panah)
- Parshuram Trimbak Kulkarni (1660–1718): Held post of Pant Pratinidhi, the fifth Peshwa and the founder of Aundh and Vishalgad princely states.
Entertainment
- Atul Kulkarni: Marathi film and theater actor
- Chandrakant Kulkarni: Film director
- Girish Kulkarni: Marathi film actor
- Mamta Kulkarni: Bollywood actress
- Mrinal Dev-Kulkarni: Marathi television actress.
- Saleel Kulkarni: Marathi singer and composer
- Sandeep Kulkarni: Marathi actor
- Sonali Kulkarni: Bollywood actress
- Sonalee Kulkarni: Marathi film actress
- Umesh Vinayak Kulkarni: Film Director
Literature
- G. A. Kulkarni (1923–1987): Short story writer
Sports
- Nilesh Kulkarni: Indian cricketer
- Raju Kulkarni: Former Indian cricketer
- Shubhangi Kulkarni: Indian woman cricketer and secretary of the Women's Cricket Association of India
- Vineet Kulkarni: Indian cricket umpire
Professionals
- Ravi S. Kulkarni (born 1942): Indian mathematician
- Sudha Kulkarni Murty: Kannada writer, Founder of Sudha Murty Foundation and wife of N. R. Narayana Murthy
- Srinivas Kulkarni (born 4 October 1956): US-based astronomer born and raised in India
See also
- Marathi people
- Deshpande
- Patwari
- Patil
- Indian honorifics
- Indian feudalism
- Deshmukh
- Jagirdar
- Lambardar
- Mankari
- Sarpanch
- Zaildar
- Zamindar
References
- ↑ Formation of the Marathi Language{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. Motilal Banarsidass Publ.(1970). ISBN 978-81-208-2322-8
- ↑ The Eighteenth Century in Indian History: Evolution Or Revolution?{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. Oxford University Press(2005). ISBN 978-0-19-567814-7
- ↑ The Marathas 1600-1818{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. Cambridge University(1993). ISBN 978-0521268837
- ↑ Gandhi's Tiger and Sita's Smile: Essays on Gender, Sexuality, and Culture{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. Yoda Press(2005). ISBN 9788190227254
- ↑ Maharashtra: society and culture{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. Books & Books(2000). ISBN 9788185016580
- ↑ Home, Family and Kinship in Maharashtra{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. Oxford University Press
- ↑ Bombay Teachers and the Cultural Role of Cities{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. University of California, Berkeley(1973)
- ↑ John Briggs in Maharashtra: A Study of District Administration Under Early British rule{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. Mittal(1987). ISBN 9780836422504
- ↑ Template:Cite magazine
- ↑ The Quarterly Review of Historical Studies - Volume 8({Template:Year).
- ↑ The Life and Work of Malik Ambar{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. Idarah-i Adabiyat-i Delli(1978)
- ↑ The Bombay Paragana and Kulkarni Watans' (Abolition) Act 1950. Bombay High Court.