Govind Purushottam Deshpande (1938 – 16 October 2013) was a

Marathi Marathi may refer to: *Marathi people, an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group of Maharashtra, India **Marathi people (Uttar Pradesh), the Marathi people in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh *Marathi language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Mar ...

playwright and academic from

Maharashtra Maharashtra () is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. It is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the west, the Indian states of Karnataka and Goa to the south, Telangana to th ...

, India.

Biography

Education and career

Born in

Nashik Nashik, formerly Nasik, is a city in the northern region of the Indian state of Maharashtra situated on the banks of the river Godavari, about northeast of the state capital Mumbai. Nashik is one of the Hindu pilgrimage sites of the Kumbh ...

, Deshpande grew up in

Rahimatpur Rahimatpur is a city and a municipal council in Satara district in the Indian state of Maharashtra. Rahimatpur has an average elevation of 657 metres (2155 feet). Demographics India census, Rahimatpur had a population of 25,539. ...

, where he went to school. He completed an MA in Ancient Indian History from

Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, formerly Baroda College, is a public university in the city of Vadodara, Gujarat, India. Originally established as a college in 1881, it became a public university on April 30, 1949 and was renamed after ...

, and enrolled for a Ph.D. at the School of International Affairs, New Delhi. This school subsequently became part of the Jawaharlal Nehru University. Deshpande completed his Ph.D. and later taught at the Centre for East Asian Studies at the

Jawaharlal Nehru University Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU; ISO: Javāharalāla Neharū Viśvavidyālaya) is a public research university located in Delhi, India. It was established in 1969 and named after Jawaharlal Nehru, India's first Prime Minister. The university ...

New Delhi New Delhi (; ) is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the Government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Parliament ...

. He lived in

Pune Pune ( ; , ISO 15919, ISO: ), previously spelled in English as Poona (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1978), is a city in the state of Maharashtra in the Deccan Plateau, Deccan plateau in Western ...

after retirement. He suffered a brain hemorrhage in July 2013 and was hospitalized. He died at home on 16 October 2013.

Writing

Deshpande wrote a column in the ''Economic and Political Weekly'' for four decades. His collection of essays on culture and politics, ''Dialectics of Defeat: Problems of Culture in Post-Colonial India'' (Seagull, Kolkata), was published in 2006, and he also issued a collection of poems, ''Ityadi Ityadi Kavita'' (Etc. etc. poems). He was the editor of the anthology of Indian plays in translation, ''Modern Indian Drama'', published by

Sahitya Akademi The Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters, is an organisation dedicated to the promotion of literature in the languages of India. Founded on 12 March 1954, it is supported by, though independent of the Indian government. Its off ...

, 2004.

Awards and recognition

Deshpande received the Maharashtra State Award for his collective work in 1977 and the

Sangeet Natak Akademi Award Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (IAST: Saṅgīta Nāṭaka Akādamī Puraskāra), also known as the Akademi Puraskar, is an award given by the Sangeet Natak Akademi, India's National Academy of Music, Dance & Drama. It is the highest Indian recogni ...

for playwrighting in 1996.

Family

Deshpande's wife, Kalindi, is a women's rights activist. His daughter, Ashwini, is an economist at the

Delhi School of Economics Delhi School of Economics (DSE), popularly referred to as D School, is an institution of higher learning within the Delhi University. The Delhi School of Economics is situated in University of Delhi's North Campus in Maurice Nagar. Establishe ...

, and his son, Sudhanva, is a publisher with

LeftWord Books LeftWord Books is a New Delhi–based publisher that seeks to reflect the views of the Left in India and South Asia. Its Managing Director is Prakash Karat, the former General Secretary of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), or CPI(M). The ...

and a theatre activist with

Jana Natya Manch Jana Natya Manch (People's Theatre Front; Janam for short) is a New Delhi–based amateur Theatre of India, theatre company specialising in left-wing street theatre in Hindi. It was founded in 1973 by a group of Delhi's radical theatre amateurs ...

, Delhi. Marathi stage and film actor

Jyoti Subhash Jyoti Subhash is an Indian actress who works in Marathi film, television and theatre industry. She is best known for her works in Marathi films like '' Valu'' (2008), ''Gabhricha Paus'' (2009) and Bollywood films like '' Phoonk'' (2008) and '' ...

is his sister, and her daughter

Amruta ''Amrita'' (, IAST: ''amṛta''), ''Amrit'' or ''Amata'' in Pali, (also called ''Sudha'', ''Amiy'', ''Ami'') is a Sanskrit word that means "immortality". It is a central concept within Indian religions and is often referred to in ancient India ...

, also an actor, is his niece.

Notable plays

* ''Udhwastha Dharmashala'' (published in English as ''A Man in Dark Times''), directed by Dr Shreeram Lagoo (Marathi), Om Puri (Hindi), Rajinder Nath (Hindi),

Shyamanand Jalan Shyamanand Jalan (13 January 1934 – 24 May 2010) was a Kolkata-based Indian theatre director, and actor. He is credited for the renaissance period of modern Indian theatre and especially the Hindi theatre in Kolkata from the 1960s to 1980s. H ...

( Padatik) in 1982. * ''Andhar Yatra'' (A Journey in Darkness), directed in Marathi by Satyadev Dubey and in Hindi by Rajinder Nath. * ''Satyashodhak'' (The Truth Seeker) on the life and times of the 19th-century social reformer

Jotiba Phule Jyotirao Phule (11 April 1827 – 28 November 1890), also known as Jyotiba Phule, was an Indian social activist, businessman, anti-caste social reformer and writer from Maharashtra. His work extended to many fields, including eradication of u ...

, directed by Sudhanva Deshpande and performed by Jana Natya Manch. The Marathi productions were directed by Sharad Bhuthadia (Kolhapur) and Atul Pethe (Pune), who also directed a Kannada production in Heggodu. * ''Antim Divas'' directed by G.P. Deshpande for Padatik in Kolkata (in Hindi) and by Jyoti Subhash in Marathi. * ''Chanakya Vishnugupta'' directed by Satyadev Dubey for the National School of Drama in Hindi with Ashish Vidyarthi and Baharul Islam in the title roles, and by Dr Shreeram Lagoo in Marathi with himself in the title role. * ''Music System'' directed by Vijay Kenkre in Marathi. * ''Raastey'' directed in Marathi by Vijay Kenkre, and Hindi by

, directed by Satyadev Dubey for the National School of Drama Repertory Company, and by

Arvind Gaur Arvind Gaur is an Indian theatre director, actor trainer, social activist, street theatre worker and story teller. He is known for socially and politically relevant plays in India. Gaur's plays are contemporary and thought-provoking, connec ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Deshpande, Govind Purushottam 1938 births 2013 deaths 20th-century Indian linguists Indian male dramatists and playwrights Dramatists and playwrights from Maharashtra Marathi-language writers Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award Academic staff of Jawaharlal Nehru University 20th-century Indian dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Indian male writers