Iconic Marathi poet and Padma Bhushan recipient Mangesh Keshav Padgaonkar has passed away at the age of 86. Mr. Padgaonkar had 40 publications to his credit. The U.S. Library of Congress has acquired 31 of his publications. He has written a collection of essays and published it under the title Nimbonichya Zaadamage. Mr. Padgaonkar translated works of Mirabai and published a book Mira in 1965. He also translated works of Kabir and Surdas in Marathi along with Shakespeare’s plays The Tempest, Julius Ceasar and Romeo and Juliet.
About Padgaonkar
- 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 Mumbai.
- 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, both in Mumbai.
- 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 was President of the 2nd Vishwa Marathi Sahitya Sammelan held in Dubai in 2010 and organised by the Akhil Bharatiya Marathi Sahitya Mahamandal.
- Mr. Padgaonkar 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, Mr. Padgaonkar was awarded with Maharashtra Bhushan Award.
