Iconic poet Mangesh Padgaonkar passes away .
Mumbai : Iconic Marathi poet and Padma Bhushan recipient Mangesh Keshav Padgaonkar passed away here on Wednesday after a brief illness. 86-year-old Padgaonkar was cremated at the Sion Electric crematorium with state honours here same evening. Earlier a guard of honour was also given to Padgonakar outside his residence in Sion. Prime Minister Narendra Modi described Padgaonkar as a doyen of Marathi literature. “His poetry and writing influenced many. Saddened by his demise,” Modi tweeted. Paying tributes to Padgaonkar on behalf of people of Maharashtra, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said he enriched Marathi literature. “We have lost a poet who portrayed the stark reality of life and made us fall in love with life,” he said. NCP chief Sharad Pawar said Padgaonkar’s style of writing was refreshingly positive and adoringly youthful.
Actress Madhuri Dixit, paid tributes, saying “We’d never forget the poem you wrote for me.” In the poem, Padgaonkar had described the pangs of not having met Madhuri ever in his lifetime. Fadnavis and MNS chief Raj Thackeray were among those who visited the poet’s residence to pay their last respects. Born on March 10, 1929 in Vengurla, Sindhudurg district in Maharashtra, he received a Master of Arts degree in Marathi and Sanskrit from the University of Bombay. He taught Marathi at Ruia College for some years, and then during the 1970–1990 period served as an editor at the US Information Service, in Mumbai. The US Consulate Mumbai paid tributes, saying “Mangesh Padgaonkar served at the USIS for 20 years from 1970-1990. He truly exemplifies the US-India Dosti spirit.” Along with Vinda Karandikar and Vasant Bapat, Padgaonkar was part of many poetry recitation programmes that were held in Maharashtra in 1960s and 1970s. He has also written lyrics of many Marathi film songs.
Sung by Arun Date, his songs ‘Ya Janmawar, Ya Jaganyawar Shatada Prem Karawe’, ‘Bhatukalichya Khelamadhali’ and ‘Shukratara Mand Wara’ are well-known. In 1983-84, he also penned University of Pune’s theme song ‘Punyamayee De Amha Akshar Vardaan’. It was P L Deshpande who asked Padgaonkar to write this song in one day. It was then composed by music director Bhaskar Chandavarkar. In 2012, he was also honoured with ‘Jeevan Sadhana Gaurav Puraskar’ by University of Pune for his contributions in the field of literature. He was President of the 2nd Vishwa Marathi Sahitya Sammelan held in Dubai in 2010 and organised by the Akhil Bharatiya Marathi Sahitya Mahamandal. Padgaonkar had 40 publications to his credit. The US Library of Congress has acquired 31 of his publications. He had written a collection of essays and published it under the title ‘Nimbonichya Zaadamage’.
Padgaonkar translated works of Mirabai and published a book ‘Mira’ in 1965. He also translated works of Kabir and Surdas in Marathi alongwith Shakespeare’s plays ‘The Tempest’, ‘Julius Ceasar’ and ‘Romeo and Juliet’. His translations of ‘Bible: The New Testament’ was published in 2008. Along with translating the famous works of other authors, Padgaonkar also wrote forewords to these books wherein he has commented on the original authors, their styles of writing and literature of respective eras. Padgaonkar also published his experiences of poetry writing in the book ‘Shodh Kavitecha’. He received several awards, including the Sahitya Academy Award in 1980 for his collection of poems ‘Salam’, the MP Literary Conference Award in 1956, and the Maharashtra State Award in 1953 and 1955. In 2008, Padgaonkar was awarded with Maharashtra Bhushan Award, state’s highest civilian award.
