RATNAKAR MATKARI HAD BEEN WRITING STORIES CONSISTENTLY FOR LONGER THAN THE LAST SIX DECADES. STARTING WITH FAIRY TALES FOR ADULT READERS, HE FOUND HIS FORTE IN STRANGE STORIES. HE NOT ONLY MADE THE FORM IMMENSELY POPULAR WITH MORE THAN TWO HUNDRED & FIFTY STORIES BUT EARNED LAURELS FOR IT AS WELL, GETTING NUMEROUS LITERARY AWARDS. ALONG WITH HIS POPULAR STRANGE STORIES, HIS SOCIALLY SIGNIFICANT REAL LIFE STORIES HAVE BEEN SINGULARLY OUTSTANDING BECAUSE OF THE WRITER’S STAND AGAINST SOCIAL DISCREPANCY & INJUSTICE. NOT WITH STANDING THE THEME, SUBJECT OR CATEGORY, MATKARI ALWAYS LOOKED FOR THE HUMAN ELEMENT IN EACH OF HIS WORKS OF ART. NO WONDER THEN, THAT HIS SUPERBLY CRAFTED STORIES DEPICTING ETERNAL CONCEPTS OF FATE, TIME, DEATH, LOVE & SUCH HAVE ENTHRALLED READERS FOR YEARS & YEARS.
‘KRISHNAKANYA’ IS AN OFFERING OF UNFORGETTABLE STORIES TOUCHED BY MATKARI’S GENIUS. IT HAS THE UNIQUE DISTINCTION OF BEING A COLLECTION OF SOME OF THE LAST STORIES PENNED BY MATKARI PUBLISHED FOR THE FIRST TIME. THIS SPECIAL TREAT COULD BE UNDOUBTEDLY CHERISHED BY HIS ADMIRERS & FANS.
गेली साठहून अधिक वर्षं रत्नाकर मतकरींचं कथालेखन अविरत चालू होतं. परीकथांपासून सुरू झालेली मतकरींची कथा, सर्वाधिक रमली, ती ‘गूढकथा’ या कथाप्रकारात. अडीचशेहून जास्त कथांद्वारे मतकरींनी गूढकथांना अफाट लोकप्रियतेबरोबरच राजमान्यताही मिळवून दिली. आणि तरीही, त्यांचं सामाजिक कथालेखनही लक्षणीय राहिलं. या वास्तववादी सामाजिक कथांमधून मतकरी समाजातल्या विसंगतींविरुद्ध, अन्यायाविरुद्ध सातत्यानं आवाज उठवत राहिले. शैली कोणतीही असो, मतकरींनी कायम शोधला, तो माणसातला ‘माणूस.’ म्हणूनच नियतीची चेष्टितं, काळ, मृत्यू अशा अनादि-अनंत संकल्पनांची चित्तवेधक रचना करीत वाचकाला गुंगवून टाकणाऱ्या मतकरींच्या वैविध्यपूर्ण कथा चिरस्मरणीय ठरल्या.
‘कृष्णकन्या’ ही मतकरींचा परीसस्पर्श असलेल्या अशाच अनोख्या कथांची अमूल्य भेट. मतकरींच्या शेवटच्या अप्रकाशित कथांपैकी निवडक कथा प्रथमच पुस्तकरूपात आणणारा संग्रह म्हणूनही ‘कृष्णकन्या’चं महत्त्व अनन्यसाधारण असंच.