The funeral of Marathi poet Mangesh Padgaonkar at Sion Crematorium. He was accorded full state honour. — Shripad Naik
The funeral of Marathi poet Mangesh Padgaonkar at Sion Crematorium. He was accorded full state honour. — Shripad Naik
Padma Bhushan awardee Mangesh Keshav Padgaonkar, a Marathi poet who taught a generation how to love life and what is meant by love through his poetry, passed away on Wednesday morning after a brief illness. His death drew a lament from the intelligentsia and the writers. Eminent writers expressed deep sorrow over his death. His last rites were accorded full state honour.
Born on March 10, 1929 in Vengurla, Sindhudurg district in Maharashtra, Padgaonkar 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 favoured by two or three generations of people.
Along with poets Vinda Karandikar and Vasant Bapat, Padgaonkar was part of many poetry recitation programmes that were held in Maharashtra in the 1960s and 1970s.
In 1983-84, he also penned University of Pune’s theme song Punyamayee De Amha Akshar Vardaan. It was Pu La Deshpande who had asked Padgaonkar to write this song in one day. It was then composed by music director Bhaskar Chandavarkar.
He taught Marathi at Ruia College for some years, and then between 1970–1990 served as an editor at the US Information Service, both in Mumbai. In 2012, he was also honoured with ‘Jeevan Sadhana Gaurav Puraskar’ by University of Pune for his contributions in the field of literature.
Padgaonkar had 40 publications to his credit. The US Library of Congress has acquired 31 of his publications.
Padgaonkar also published his experiences in writing poetry in the book “Shodh Kavitecha”. Padgaonkar received several awards, including the Sahitya Academy Award in 1980 for his collection of poems Salam.
