Balwant Moreshwar Purandare (29 July 1922 – 15 November 2021), popularly known as Babasaheb Purandare, was an Indian historian and theatre personality from
Maharashtra, India. He was awarded the
Padma Vibhushan
The Padma Vibhushan ("Lotus Decoration") is the second-highest civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is given for "exceptional and distinguished service". All persons without ...
, India's highest second-civilian award on 25 January 2019. His works are mostly based on the events related to the life of
Shivaji maharaj
Shivaji Bhonsale I (; 19 February 1630 – 3 April 1680), also referred to as Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, was an Indian ruler and a member of the Bhonsle Maratha clan. Shivaji carved out his own independent kingdom from the declining Adils ...
, the 17th-century founder of the
Maratha Empire
The Maratha Empire, also referred to as the Maratha Confederacy, was an early modern Indian confederation that came to dominate much of the Indian subcontinent in the 18th century. Maratha rule formally began in 1674 with the coronation of Sh ...
; as a result he is termed as ''Shiv-Shahir''
("Shivaji's bard"). He is mostly known for his popular play on Shivaji ''Jaanta Raja'' which was popular not only in Maharashtra but also in
Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...
and
Goa
Goa () is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is located between the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north and Karnataka to the ...
. Babashaeb Purandare has also studied the history of the
Peshwa
The Peshwa (Pronunciation: e(ː)ʃʋaː was the appointed (later becoming hereditary) prime minister of the Maratha Empire of the Indian subcontinent. Originally, the Peshwas served as subordinates to the Chhatrapati (the Maratha king); later ...
s of Pune. He is also known for his significant contribution along with Madhav Deshpande and Madhav Mehere as senior party leaders in the early-1970s of
Shiv Sena along with
Balasaheb Thackeray.
In 2015, he was awarded the
Maharashtra Bhushan Award,
Maharashtra's highest civilian award.
Works
Purandare had started writing stories related to the period of Shivaji's reign at a very young age, which were later compiled and published in a book titled ''"Thinagya"'' ("Sparks"). His other works include books titled ''Raja Shiva-Chatrapati'' and ''Kesari'', and a book on life of
Narayanrao Peshwa. But the most well-known of his works is the drama, ''Jaanata Raja'', a widely popular play on Shivaji published and first staged in 1985. Since then the drama has been staged over 1000 times in 16 districts of Maharashtra, Agra, Delhi, Bhopal, and the United States. Originally written in
Marathi
Marathi may refer to:
*Marathi people, an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group of Maharashtra, India
*Marathi language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people
*Palaiosouda, also known as Marathi, a small island in Greece
See also
*
* ...
, this work was later translated into Hindi.
[ This drama is performed by over 200 artists, as well as elephants, camels and horses. Generally the performance of this drama begins around Diwali each year.
For his works, in the field of drama, he was awarded the ]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 ...
by the Madhya Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh (, ; meaning 'central province') is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal, and the largest city is Indore, with Jabalpur, Ujjain, Gwalior, Sagar, and Rewa being the other major cities. Madhya Pradesh is the seco ...
government for the year 2007–08.[
]
Personal life
His wife Nirmala Purandare (1933–2019) was a veteran social activist. She founded Vanasthali organisation in Pune. She was known for working amongst rural women, and in the area of child development. Her brother, Shree Ga Majgaonkar, and Babasaheb Purandare had very close association in the field of literature. Babasaheb Purandare has a daughter (Madhuri) and two sons, Amrut and Prasad. All his children are active in Marathi literary field. Madhuri Purandare, his daughter, is a renowned writer, painter, and singer.
Purandare died from pneumonia on 15 November 2021, at the age of 99 in a hospital in Pune.
Criticism
Political workers that had been protesting against Babasaheb Purandare alleged that he has sullied the reputation of Maratha warrior-king Shivaji through his writings. They also filed a PIL in the Bombay High Court, in protest when the Maharashtra government decided to award Maharashtra Bhushan to the writer. However, the Bombay High Court, dismissed the PIL, calling it a "publicity stunt", ruled that the petition lacked "substance" and fined the petitioners Rs 10,000 for wasting the court's time.
In popular culture
* A 2008 TV show,'Raja Shivchatrapati
''Raja Shivchatrapati'' is a Marathi historical TV drama based on Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, founder of the Maratha Empire. The serial was re-broadcast in April 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Summary
Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, born at ...
' depicting the life of Maratha king Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, was based on Raja Shivchatrapati'' ', a novel written by Babasaheb Purandare.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Purandare, Babasaheb
1922 births
2021 deaths
20th-century Indian historians
Historians of India
Marathi-language writers
Recipients of the Maharashtra Bhushan Award
Recipients of the Padma Vibhushan in arts
Writers from Maharashtra
Writers from Pune
Deaths from pneumonia in India