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Purushottam Laxman Deshpande (alternatively written as Pu La Deshpande; 8 November 1919 – 12 June 2000), popularly known by his initials ("Pu. La.") or as P. L. Deshpande, was a Marathi writer and humorist from Maharashtra. He was also an accomplished film and stage actor, script writer, author, composer, musician, singer and orator. He was often referred to as "Maharashtra's beloved personality".
Deshpande's works have been translated into several languages including English and
for a year-long training. After this, he spent some time in France and Kannada
Kannada (; ಕನ್ನಡ, ), originally romanised Canarese, is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by the people of Karnataka in southwestern India, with minorities in all neighbouring states. It has around 47 million native s ...
.
Early life
Purushottam Laxman Deshpande was born in Gamdevi Street, Chowpati,Mumbai
Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' fin ...
in a Gaud Saraswat Brahmin (GSB) family to Laxman Trimbak Deshpande and Laxmibai Laxman Deshpande. His maternal grandfather, Vaman Mangesh Dubhashi, was a Marathi poet and writer. He had translated Rabindranath Tagore
Rabindranath Tagore (; bn, রবীন্দ্রনাথ ঠাকুর; 7 May 1861 – 7 August 1941) was a Bengali polymath who worked as a poet, writer, playwright, composer, philosopher, social reformer and painter. He resh ...
's Gitanjali
__NOTOC__
''Gitanjali'' ( bn, গীতাঞ্জলি, lit='Song offering') is a collection of poems by the Bengali poet Rabindranath Tagore. Tagore received the Nobel Prize for Literature, for the English translation, Gitanjali:'' Song Off ...
into Marathi, with the title, "''Abhang Gitanjali''".
The family used to stay at Kenway House, Procter Road in the Grant Road
Grant Road (named after Sir Robert Grant, the Governor of Bombay between 1835 and 1839, formally Maulana Shaukatali Road) is a locality in South Mumbai. Grant Road railway station serves this area.
Grant Road along with Tardeo and Mumbai Cent ...
locality in Mumbai. His family then moved to Jogeshwari
Jogeshwari (Pronunciation: ͡ʒoɡeːʃʋəɾiː is a suburb located in the western part of Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. It is notable for its caves - 'Jogeshwari Caves', particularly one containing a shrine of the Hindu
Hindus (; ...
. His first 8 years at the newly formed Saraswati Baug Colony are described in the story titled 'Balpanicha Kaal Sukhacha' or ''Bālpaṇicā Kāḷ Sukhācā'' (translation: the happy days of childhood) in his book ''Purchundi''. The family then moved to Vile Parle
Vile Parle (, also known as Parle, pronounced "Parle" or "Parla"), is a neighbourhood and also the name of the railway station in the Western suburb of Mumbai. Vile Parle has a significantly strong base of Marathi and Gujarati population. It s ...
.
Education
Deshpande studied at Parle Tilak Vidyalaya. He attended Ismail Yusuf College after high school and thenFergusson College
Fergusson College is an autonomous public-private college offering various courses in the streams of arts and science in the city of Pune, India. It was founded in 1885 by the Deccan Education Society. Professor Vaman Shivram Apte was its fir ...
in Pune
Pune (; ; also known as Poona, ( the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million As of 2021, Pune Metropolitan Region is the largest i ...
for BA. Later, he attended Government Law College, Mumbai
The Government Law College, Mumbai, (GLC Mumbai), founded in 1855, is the one of the oldest law schools in Asia. The college, affiliated to the University of Mumbai, is run by the Government of Maharashtra.
Bal Gangadhar Tilak ,Pratibha Pa ...
for LLB. He completed Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in 1950 and then a Master of Arts (MA) degree from Willingdon College, Sangli
Sangli () is a city and the district headquarters of Sangli District in the state of Maharashtra, in western India. It is known as the Turmeric City of Maharashtra due to its production and trade of the spice. Sangli is situated on the banks ...
. He also took lessons in playing the harmonium from Dattopant Rajopadhye of ''Bhaskar Sangitalaya.
Personal life
His first wife, Sundar Divadkar, died soon after their wedding. On 12 June 1946, Deshpande married his colleague, Sunita Thakur. She (Sunita Deshpande) was to go on to become an accomplished writer in her own right. The couple did not have any children of their own. They raised Sunitabai's nephew,Dinesh Thakur
Dinesh Thakur (1947 – 20 September 2012) was an Indian theatre director, actor in theatre, television and Hindi film, where most notably he appeared as one of the leads in ''Rajnigandha'' 1974 and directed by Basu Chatterjee, which won both Fi ...
as their own son. Pu La wrote on Dinesh in his book Gangot.
Professional life
Educator
Both Deshpande and his wife served as teachers in Orient High School, Mumbai. He also worked for some years as a college professor in Rani Parvati Devi College, Belgaum inKarnataka
Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...
and Kirti College in Mumbai.
Television
He also worked for Doordarshan, the state-owned TV channel. He was the first person to interview the then Prime Minister,Jawaharlal Nehru
Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru (; ; ; 14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was an Indian anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat—
*
*
*
* and author who was a central figure in India during the middle of the 20t ...
, on Indian television. He was seconded to the BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...West Germany
West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...
. It was this specific period and stays in these countries that his later travelogue
Travelogue may refer to:
Genres
* Travel literature, a record of the experiences of an author travelling
* Travel documentary
A travel documentary is a documentary film, television program, or online series that describes travel in general or ...
"Apoorvai" was to be based upon. His other travelogues are "Poorvaranga" and "Jave Tyanchya Desha".
Film and music
Pu La Deshpande was a man of many talents. Apart from writing, the talents he used in filmmaking included writing screenplays, directing, acting, composing music, and singing. He was a proficient inHindustani classical music
Hindustani classical music is the classical music of northern regions of the Indian subcontinent. It may also be called North Indian classical music or, in Hindustani, ''shastriya sangeet'' (). It is played in instruments like the violin, si ...
.He composed music for many marathi films of 1940s and '50s including 'Amaldar', 'Gulacha Ganapati', 'Ghardhani', 'Chokhamela', 'Dudhbhat', 'Dev Pavla', 'Devbappa', 'Navrabayako', 'Nave Birhad', 'Manache Paan' and 'Mothi Manase'. He was also the composer for many popular non-film songs in the
"bhavegeet" genre sung by singers such as Jyotsna Bhole
Jyotsna Keshav Bhole also known as Jyotsnabai Bhole ( mr, ज्योत्स्ना केशव भोळे) (11 May 1914 – 5 August 2001), was a veteran Marathi stage artist and a Hindustani classical singer. Along with Padmabai ...
, Manik Varma and Asha Bhosale.
Death
Deshpande died in Pune, Maharashtra, on 12 June 2000, due to complications fromParkinson's disease
Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a long-term degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that mainly affects the motor system. The symptoms usually emerge slowly, and as the disease worsens, non-motor symptoms becom ...
. He was aged 80. He died on the couple's 54th wedding anniversary.
Bibliography
Most of Deshpande's literary contributions are in the Marathi language. Although he wrote across several genres, he was particularly well known for his works of humor. He also adapted prominent works from other languages into screenplays - scripts - for films in the Marathi. Prominent examples include: * The 1952 film अंमलदार (Ammaldar), based on Nikolai Gogol's '' Inspector General'', * The 1962 book काय वाट्टेल ते होईल (Kay Wattel Te Hoeel), based on the translation of Helen and George Papashvily's script of ''Anything Can Happen
''Anything Can Happen'' is a 1952 American comedy-drama film directed by George Seaton, starring José Ferrer and Kim Hunter.
José Ferrer stars as Giorgi Papashvily, who emigrates from Georgia in the Soviet Union to the United States and gradu ...
'').
* Teen paishyacha tamasha based on The Threepenny Opera
''The Threepenny Opera'' ( ) is a " play with music" by Bertolt Brecht, adapted from a translation by Elisabeth Hauptmann of John Gay's 18th-century English ballad opera, '' The Beggar's Opera'', and four ballads by François Villon, with mu ...
(Die Dreigroschenoper) by Bertolt Brecht.
He referred to his adaptations as भावानुवाद (Bhawanuwad'' or paraphrasing) instead of as conventional "translation"s or "adaptation"s .
Filmography
* कुबेर (Kuber) – 1947: actor and playback singer * भाग्यरेखा (Bhagyarekha) – 1948: actor and playback singer * वंदेमातरम् (Wandemataram) – 1948: actor and playback singer * जागा भाड्याने देणे आहे (Jaga Bhadyane Dene ahe) – 1949: screenplay and dialogues * मानाचे पान (Manache Pan) – 1949: – story, screenplay, and dialogues; co-music director in collaboration with Ga Di Madgulkar * मोठी माणसे (Mothi Manase) – 1949: music director * गोकुळचा राजा (Gokulacha Raja) – 1950: Writer of Story, Screenplay, and Dialogues * जरा जपून (Jara Japoon) – 1950: Writer of Screenplay and Dialogues * जोहार मायबाप (Johar Maybap) – 1950: Actor * नवरा बायको (Nawara Bayako) – 1950: Music Director and Writer of Story, Screenplay, and Dialogues * ही वाट पंढरीची (Hi Wat Pandharichi) – 1950: Actor * पुढचे पाऊल (Pudhache Paool) – 1950: Actor and Writer of Screenplay and Dialogues in collaboration with Ga Di Madgulkar * वर पाहिजे (Var Pahije) – 1950: Actor and Writer of Screenplay and Dialogues in collaboration with Achyut Ranade * देव पावला (Dewa Pawala) – 1950: Music Director * दूध भात (Doodh Bhat) – 1952: Music Director and Writer of Story, Screenplay, Dialogues, and Lyrics * घरधनी (Ghardhani) – 1952: Music Director and Writer of Screenplay, Dialogues, and Lyrics * नवे बिर्हाड (Nawe Birhad) – 1952: Writer of Story and Screenplay * माईसाहेब (Maisaheb) – 1952: Music Director and Writer of Screenplay and Dialogues * संदेश (Sandesh)n Hindi
N, or n, is the fourteenth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''en'' (pronounced ), plural ''ens''.
History
...
nbsp;– 1952: Writer of Story, Screenplay, and Dialogues (translated by Mir Asgar Ali)
* देवबाप्पा (Dewabappa) – 1952: Music Director and Writer of Story, Screenplay, Dialogues, and Lyrics
* गुळाचा गणपती (Gulacha Ganapati) – 1953: Director, Music Director, actor, and Writer of Story, Screenplay, Dialogues, and Lyrics
* फूल और कलियाँ (Phool Aur Kaliyan) n Hindi
N, or n, is the fourteenth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''en'' (pronounced ), plural ''ens''.
History
...
nbsp;– 1960: Story writer –
* सुंदर मी होणार (This novel was adopted to make Hindi movie Aaj Aur Kal Aaj aur Kal) n Hindi
N, or n, is the fourteenth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''en'' (pronounced ), plural ''ens''.
History
...
nbsp;– 1966: Story writer –
* चिमणराव गुंड्याभाऊ (Chimanarao Gundyabhau) – : Narrator
* एक होता विदूषक ( Ek Hota Vidushak) – 1993: Screenplay and Dialogues
Awards and recognition
* Punyabhushan
The Punyabhushan award ( mr, पुण्यभूषण, translation: ''Jewel of Pune'') is awarded every year to an eminent personality from the field of art, music, culture, science, industry, social service, or sports in a special public funct ...
– 1993
* Padma Bhushan
The Padma Bhushan is the third-highest civilian award in the Republic of India, preceded by the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan and followed by the Padma Shri. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is given for "distinguished service ...
– 1990
* Maharashtra Gaurav (Bahurupi) Award
* Padma Shri
Padma Shri ( IAST: ''padma śrī''), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is conf ...
– 1966
* Sahitya Akademi Award
The Sahitya Akademi Award is a literary honour in India, which the Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters, annually confers on writers of the most outstanding books of literary merit published in any of the 22 languages of the ...
( Marathi for ''Vyakti Ani Valli'') – 1965
* Sangeet Natak Akademi Award – 1967
* Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship – 1979
* Maharashtra Bhushan Award – 1996
* Kalidas Samman
The Kalidas Samman ( hi, कालिदास सम्मान) is an arts award presented annually by the Government of Madhya Pradesh in India. The award is named after Kālidāsa, a renowned Classical Sanskrit writer of ancient India. The ...
– 1987
* Honorary Doctor of Literature
Doctor of Letters (D.Litt., Litt.D., Latin: ' or ') is a terminal degree in the humanities that, depending on the country, is a higher doctorate after the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree or equivalent to a higher doctorate, such as the Docto ...
Degrees from Rabindra Bharati University
Rabindra Bharati University is a public research university in Kolkata, India. It was founded on May 8, 1962, under the Rabindra Bharati Act of the Government of West Bengal in 1961, to mark the birth centenary of the poet Rabindranath Tagore. ...
(1979), University of Pune
Savitribai Phule Pune University (SPPU), formerly the University of Poona, is a collegiate public state university located in the city of Pune, India. It was established in 1949, and is spread over a campus in the neighbourhood of Ganeshk ...
(1980) and Tilak Maharashtra University (1993)
* First interviewer to interview Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of India, for the then newly founded Doordarshan
* The "P. L. Deshpande Maharashtra Kala Academy" was established by the Government of Maharashtra in Mumbai
Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' fin ...
to honour his contributions to Marathi literature– 2002
* A garden, '' Pu. La. Deshpande Udyan'' (also known as "Pune-Okayama Friendship Garden"), in Pune
Pune (; ; also known as Poona, ( the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million As of 2021, Pune Metropolitan Region is the largest i ...
was named after him in commemoration
Commemoration may refer to:
*Commemoration (Anglicanism), a religious observance in Churches of the Anglican Communion
*Commemoration (liturgy)
In the Latin liturgical rites of the Catholic Church, a commemoration is the recital, within the Li ...
* On 8 November 2020 (his 101st birth anniversary), Google honoured him with a Google Doodle
A Google Doodle is a special, temporary alteration of the logo on Google's homepages intended to commemorate holidays, events, achievements, and notable historical figures. The first Google Doodle honored the 1998 edition of the long-running an ...
* A computer font
A computer font is implemented as a digital data file containing a set of graphically related glyphs. A computer font is designed and created using a font editor. A computer font specifically designed for the computer screen, and not for print ...
titled ''PuLa 100'', which mimicked his handwriting, was made available in 2020
Social work
Pu La Deshpande donated and participated in several social and philanthropic causes. * Seed donation to Muktangan Deaddiction and Rehabilitation Center * Donation to IUCAA Muktangan Vidnyan Shodhika * Donation to ''Neehar'', a hostel for the children of sex workers * Donation for closed-doorauditorium
An auditorium is a room built to enable an audience to hear and watch performances. For movie theatres, the number of auditoria (or auditoriums) is expressed as the number of screens. Auditoria can be found in entertainment venues, community ...
and an open theatre for the blind students at Baba Amte
Murlidhar Devidas Amte, popularly known as Baba Amte, (26 December 1914 – 9 February 2008) was an Indian social worker and social activist known particularly for his work for the rehabilitation and empowerment of people suffering from leprosy ...
's Anandvan
* Supporter of ''Andhashraddha Nirmoolan Samiti'' (Committee for Eradication of blind Superstitions), promoting cultivation of scientific temperament
Pu. La. Deshpande's wife, Sunita Deshpande, donated Rs.25 lakhs to IUCAA towards Muktangan Vidnyan Shodhika, a building aptly named as "PULASTYA" (a name of a star and memory of PULA.) After the demise of Sunita deshpande, the copyrights of most of Pu. La's books were given to IUCAA and the royalties received from Pu La's works is used to spread Science awareness among young kids by IUCAA.
In popular culture
Films and television
*''Gola Berij'', a 2012 Indian Marathi-language film directed by Kshitij Zarapkar, presents a fictionaized account of his life. *'' Bhai: Vyakti Ki Valli'' is the movie released on 4 January 2019 on P L Deshpande directed byMahesh Manjrekar
Mahesh Vaman Manjrekar (Marathi pronunciation: əɦeːʃ maːɲd͡zɾekəɾ born 16 August 1958) is an Indian actor, film director, screenwriter and producer who works primarily in Hindi films, alongside Marathi, Telugu and Bhojpuri films. H ...
. The movie was criticized by many for taking unnecessary cinematic liberty, defaming many well known, well respected, and prominent personalities along with Pu La himself; and distortion of facts from the descriptions in books by Pu La himself and Sunitabai's book Aahe Manohar Tari.
*'' Namune'', a television serial on Sony SAB based on Deshpande's literature, has the actor Sanjay Mone play the role of Deshpande. Along with Sanjay Mone, there are various actors from the Hindi and Marathi film industry.
Documentaries
Documentary on Pu. La. Deshpande: This is a Govt. of India Films Division documentary, in which Pu La himself reveals his life journey. It was filmed on the occasion of his 60th birthday. There are two other documentaries made on Pu La: * One by Mukta Rajadhyakshya andSudhir Moghe Sudhir is an Indian masculine given name. The Sanskrit word ' means "very wise", "resolute".
Notable people with the name include:
* Sudhir (Pakistani actor) (1922–1997), Pakistani actor
*Sudhir (Hindi actor) (1944–2014), Bollywood actor
...
called Ya Sama Haa on his 75th birthday and
* Pu La Vruttant, made by Dr. Jabbar Patel
Dr. Jabbar Patel (born 23 June 1942, Pandharpur) is a former paediatrician and a Marathi-language theatre and film director of India. His production of the play Vijay Tendulkar's play Ghashiram Kotwal, in 1973 is considered a classic in Moder ...
, in which Pu La himself talks about his life.
See also
*List of Indian writers
This is a list of notable writers who come from India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countri ...
* Pralhad Keshav Atre
Prahlad Keshav Atre () (13 August 1898 – 13 June 1969), popularly known as Āchārya Atre, was a prominent Marathi writer, poet, educationist, founder–editor of ''Maratha'' (a Marathi language newspaper), and above all, a noted orator.
Bio ...
References
External links
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Deshpande, P. L. Deshpande, P.L. Deshpande, P.L. Deshpande, P.L. Male actors from Pune Savitribai Phule Pune University alumni Indian film score composers Male actors in Marathi cinema Indian male stage actors Indian theatre directors Indian male dramatists and playwrights Indian male screenwriters Recipients of the Sahitya Akademi Award in Marathi Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship Deshpande, P.L. Recipients of the Padma Shri in literature & education Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in arts Recipients of the Maharashtra Bhushan Award Marathi-language singers Marathi playback singers Marathi theatre Marathi film directors 20th-century Indian male actors 20th-century Indian dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Indian singers 20th-century Indian composers Writers from Pune Musicians from Pune Screenwriters from Maharashtra Marathi screenwriters Film directors from Maharashtra 20th-century Indian male writers Presidents of the Akhil Bharatiya Marathi Sahitya Sammelan 20th-century Indian screenwriters