Maharashtra
An early piece of Marathi literature is Bhawarthadeepika (known as Dnyaneshwari) by Dnyaneshwar. The religious songs called bhajans by Dnyaneshwar, Tukaram, Namdev,chokhamela,Savta Mali are very popular. Modern Marathi literature also has some great poets and authors like Jyotirao Govindrao Phule, Savitribai Jyotirao Phule, Dr.Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar, Anna Bhau Sathe, Namdev Dhasal, M.M. Deshmukh, P. L. Deshpande, Kusumagraj, Prahlad Keshav Atre and Vyankatesh Madgulkar. Many books are published every year in Marathi.