Bal Phondke (born 22 April 1939) is the pen name of Dr Gajanan Phondke, a leading Marathi writer of science literature (fiction and non-fiction). He is credited in part to have started the science fiction genre of writing in Marathi literature. Alongside Dr. Jayant Narlikar's science fiction work Baal Phondke's works had a cult following in a generation of readers in Maharashtra.
He worked as a nuclear biologist at the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre from 1962 to 1983. From 1983 to 1989, he was with the Times of India, serving as the Editor of Science Today magazine and also as the science editor of The Times of India broadsheet. [1] [2]
He later served as the editor-in-chief of Science Reporter, as well as director of the Publications and Information Directorate of CSIR (Council of Scientific and Industrial Research), retiring in 1999.
After retirement, he served as a guide for various universities and also wrote science articles for several publications.
Bal Phondke has also published books on fun with mathematics.
Bal Keshav Thackeray, also known as Balasaheb Thackeray, was an Indian politician who founded the Shiv Sena, a right-wing pro-Marathi and Hindu nationalist party active mainly in the state of Maharashtra.
Bal Gangadhar Tilak, endeared as Lokmanya, was an Indian nationalist, teacher, and an independence activist. He was one third of the Lal Bal Pal triumvirate. The British colonial authorities called him "The father of the Indian unrest". He was also conferred with the title of "Lokmanya", which means "accepted by the people as their leader". Mahatma Gandhi called him "The Maker of Modern India".
Sudha Murty is an Indian educator, author, and philanthropist. She is married to the co-founder of Infosys, N. R. Narayana Murty. She is the Founder-Chairperson of the non-profit charitable organization Infosys Foundation. In 2024, Murty was nominated as Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha on 8 March 2024 for her contribution to social work and education. Murty was awarded the Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award in India, for social work by the Government of India in 2006. In 2023, she was awarded the Padma Bhushan, the third highest civilian award in India.
Marathi literature is the body of literature of Marathi, an Indo-Aryan language spoken mainly in the Indian state of Maharashtra and written in the Devanagari and Modi script.
Jayant Vishnu Narlikar is an Indian astrophysicist and emeritus professor at the Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA). He developed with Sir Fred Hoyle the conformal gravity theory, known as Hoyle–Narlikar theory. It synthesises Albert Einstein's theory of relativity and Mach's principle. It proposes that the inertial mass of a particle is a function of the masses of all other particles, multiplied by a coupling constant, which is a function of cosmic epoch.
Ganesh Narayandas Devy is an Indian cultural activist, literary critic and former professor of English. He is known for the People's Linguistic Survey of India and the Adivasi Academy created by him. He is credited with starting the Bhaashaa research and Publication Centre. He writes in three languages—Marathi, Gujarati and English. His first full-length book in English is After Amnesia (1992). He has written and edited close to ninety books in areas including Literary Criticism, Anthropology, Education, Linguistics and Philosophy.
Chandikadas Amritrao Deshmukh BR, better known as Nanaji Deshmukh, was a social reformer and politician from India. He worked in the fields of education, health, and rural self-reliance. He was posthumously awarded the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian award in 2019 by the Government of India. He was a leader of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh and also a member of the Rajya Sabha.
Dr. D. P. Singh, born 1956, is an Indo-Canadian scientist, educationist, author science fiction writer, Sikh theologian, and TV host. As a widely travelled person, mostly for his academic research, and promotion of science in developing countries, he has published about 100 research papers in Acoustics, Polymer Physics, Condensed Matter Physics and Material Science. Besides, he has published over 1000 general articles on the topics related to Science, Environment and Religion.
Yashawant Dinkar Phadke was a historian and a political activist from Maharashtra, India.
Vishwanath Vaman Bapat, also known as Vasant Bapat, was a Marathi poet from Maharashtra, India.
Kumarpal Balabhai Desai is an author, critic, editor, journalist, columnist and translator from Gujarat, India. He studied and later taught at the Gujarat University. He is associated with several social and Gujarati literary organisations such as Gujarati Sahitya Parishad. He has written and edited more than hundred books including biographies and several works on Jainism. He was awarded the Padma Shri in 2004.
Govind Shripad Talwalkar, also known honorifically as Govindrao Talwalkar) was an Indian journalist, the editor of Maharashtra Times, historian, scholar, intellectual with liberal views, social reformer and author of 32 books. He received the Lokmanya Tilak Award from the Government of Maharashtra, India and also the B. D. Goenka Award, Durga Ratan Award, Agarkar Award & Bhalerao Award for excellence in journalism and Ramshastri award for social justice. He received Maharashtra Government Award for his book - Navroji te Nehru; and N.C. Kelkar Award and Sahitya Paishad Award for his four volume book - Soviet Samrajyacha Uday ani Asta; and Damani Award for his book - Badalta Europe.
Arun Krushnaji Kamble was an Indian Marathi language writer, professor, Politician, and Dalit activist. Arun Kamble, President and one of the founding members of Dalit Panthers of India, worked as a Head of Marathi department at University of Mumbai. He was the National General Secretary of Janata Dal. He took many major decisions in favour of Dalit, Backward Class and Minorities.
Mangesh Keshav Padgaoankar was a legendary Marathi poet from Maharashtra, India.
Bal Patil was a Jain scholar, journalist, social activist and Jain minority status advocate from Mumbai, Maharashtra. He was appointed as a member of State Minority Commission by the Govt. of Maharashtra from 2001 to 2004. He was the Secretary-General of All India Jain Minority Forum, New Delhi—a position he held until his death—and was an ardent advocate of minority status for Jainism. The Jain minority cause gained prominence when he petitioned the Supreme Court of India for the recognition of Jain religious minority status on par with other Indian minorities as per the two recommendations by the National Minorities Commission. He was also the first non-medical President of the National Society for the Prevention of Heart Disease & Rehabilitation, Mumbai. He has also authored many books on Jainism and presented several papers at various seminars and conferences.
Kumar Ketkar is an Indian writer, politician and former journalist. He was the Chief Editor of Dainik Divya Marathi. He had started his journalistic career with The Economic Times. He has also been the editor in chief of Marathi newspaper Loksatta. He has also worked with The Observer and the Maharashtra Times. He is known for being a harsh critic of the BJP, RSS and Shiv Sena. On 12 March 2018 he was nominated to the Rajya Sabha on Congress ticket from Maharashtra. He is also a Member of Parliamentary Committee on External Affairs.
Swami Anand was a monk, a Gandhian activist and a Gujarati writer from India. He was the manager of Gandhi's publications such as Navajivan and Young India and inspired Gandhi to write his autobiography, The Story of My Experiments with Truth. He wrote sketches, memoir, biographies, philosophy, travelogues and translated some works.
Laxman Londhe was a noted novelist and science fiction author in Marathi. He was part of the modern Marathi literary movement to popularize science in the late 1970s, with a group of authors rising to prominence, including Bal Phondke, Niranjan Ghate, Jayant Narlikar, and several others.
Dr. Dinesh Chandra Goswami is an Assamese writer and winner of the Sahitya Akademi's Bal Sahitya Puraskar for 2014.
Jyoti Jayant Gogte is an Indian entrepreneur and academician, most notable for her reference textbooks on entrepreneurship titled Startup & New Venture Management (2014) and Roadmap for an Entrepreneur (2024).