Kusumagraj

Kusumāgraj
Vishnu Vaman Shirwadkar
5
Portrait of Kusumagraj
Born(1912-02-27)27 February 1912
Poona, Bombay Presidency, British India
(present day Maharashtra, India)
Died10 March 1999(1999-03-10) (aged 87)
Nashik, Maharashtra, India
NationalityBritish Indian (1912–1947)
India (1947–1999)
Occupation(s)Poet, playwright, novelist, short story writer, humanist
Notable workVishakha
Natsamrat
AwardsPadma Bhushan (1991)
Jnanpith Award (1987)
Sahitya Akademi Award (1974)
Websitekusumagraj.org

Vishnu Vaman Shirwadkar (27 February 1912 – 10 March 1999), popularly known by his pen name, Kusumāgraj, was a Marathi poet, playwright, novelist and short story writer, who wrote of freedom, justice and emancipation of the deprived.[1]

In a career spanning five decades starting in India's pre-independence era, he wrote 16 volumes of poems, three novels, eight volumes of short stories, seven volumes of essays, 18 plays and six one-act plays.[2] His works like the Vishakha (1942), a collection of lyrics, inspired a generation into the Indian freedom movement, and is today considered one of the masterpieces of Indian literature.[3]

He was the recipient of the 1974 Sahitya Akademi Award in Marathi for Natsamrat, Padma Bhushan (1991)[4] and the Jnanapith Award in 1987.[5]

He also served as the President of the Akhil Bharatiya Marathi Sahitya Sammelan held at Margao in 1964.[6]

  1. ^ Modern Indian literature, an anthology, (Volume 2). Sahitya Akademi. 1992. p. 846. ISBN 81-7201-324-8.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference ib was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ K. M. George, ed. (1997). Masterpieces of Indian literature, (Volume 1). National Book Trust. p. 927. ISBN 81-237-1978-7.
  4. ^ "Padma Awards" (PDF). Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 October 2015. Retrieved 21 July 2015.
  5. ^ "Bharatiya Jnanpith". Jnanpith.net. 31 August 1940. Archived from the original on 14 July 2016. Retrieved 27 February 2016.
  6. ^ "Rediff on the NeT: Marathi poet-playwright Kusumagraj, 87, passes away". Archived from the original on 27 February 2018.