Purushottam Laxman Deshpande, popularly known by his initials 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".
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.
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 Vaman Shriram Apte, Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Vishnushashtri Chiplunkar, Mahadeo Ballal Namjoshi and Gopal Ganesh Agarkar. Professor Vaman Shivram Apte was its first principal. Social reformer, journalist, thinker and educationist Gopal Ganesh Agarkar served as the second principal from August 1892, till his death in June 1895.
Vishnū Vāman Shirwādkar, 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.
Narayan Vaman Tilak was a Marathi poet from the Konkan region of then Bombay Presidency in British India, and a famous convert to Christianity from Chitpavan Brahmin Community.
Govind Vinayak Karandikar, better known as Vindā, was an Indian poet, writer, literary critic, and translator in the Marathi-language.
Dharamvir Bharati was a renowned Hindi poet, author, playwright and a social thinker of India. He was the chief editor of the popular Hindi weekly magazine Dharmayug, from 1960 till 1987.
Namdeo Laxman Dhasal was a Marathi poet, writer and Dalit activist from Maharashtra, India. He was one of the founders of the Dalit Panthers in 1972, a social movement aimed at destroying caste hierarchy in Indian society. The movement was active in the 1970s and the 1980s during which time it popularised the usage of the term dalit in India. Dhasal was awarded the Padma Shri in 1999 and a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Sahitya Akademi in 2004.
Sarita Joshi is an Indian actress. Cited amongst the finest and most significant actors of Gujarati and Marathi theatre, Joshi is known for her Gujarati plays done with her husband Pravin Joshi in the 1970s. She garnered widespread recognition for her role as the matriarch Godavari Thakkar in the Star Plus hit dramedy Baa Bahoo Aur Baby (2005-2010). In 1988, she was awarded the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award for Acting in Gujarati by the Sangeet Natak Akademi, India's National Academy of Music, Dance & Drama. In 2020, she has been awarded with Padma Shri, India's fourth highest civilian award for her contribution in Art. She was recently seen in (2019) Zee TV's Hamari Bahu Silk as a hard-working business woman who hates films especially 'A' grade films. Sarita Joshi is currently seen on Anupama: Namaste America a prequel web series to Star Plus show Anupamaa.
Govind Shripad Talwalkar was a distinguished journalist, legendary 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.
Vishwanath Chintamani Bedekar (1906–1998), who professionally used the name Vishram Bedekar, was an Indian Marathi-language writer and film director.
Krushnaji Prabhakar Khadilkar was a Marathi writer from Bombay Presidency, British IndiaIndia. George calls him "a prominent lieutenant of Lokmanya Tilak". He was editor of Kesari, Lokmanya and Navakal. The subject of navakal is political, trade and market price Khadilkar in the beginning of his career wrote prose-plays, but achieved "even greater recognition" with plays like Svayamvara – which had songs which were based on Indian classical music. The notability of his dramatic technique, in his fifteen plays, was to "endow ancient Hindu legends and tales with contemporary political significance". The Encyclopaedia of Indian Literature, remarks that while Annasaheb Kirloskar "laid the foundation of popular sangit natak", it saw its great rise and gradual decline with the advent of Khadilkar. It considers Khadilkar along with Bal Gandharva as "the architect of what later on came to be called the golden age of the Marathi drama".
Chintaman Vinayak Vaidya was a Marathi-language historian and writer from Bombay Presidency, British India. He was Chief Justice of Gwalior State for a period. He was born in a Chitpavan Brahmin family.
Krishnarao Ganpatrao Sable, popularly known as Shahir Sable, was a Marathi language folk artist from Maharashtra, India. He was an accomplished singer, playwright, performer and folk theatre (Loknatya) producer & director. He was awarded with Padma Shri – India's fourth highest civilian honour, in 1998 for his contribution in the field of arts.
Rita Ganguly is an exponent in the Indian classical arts. An accomplished dancer, musician and vocalist, she was honoured with the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 2000 and with the Padma Shri in 2003. She is the mother of actress Meghna Kothari and the younger sister of the famous Ravindra Sangeet singer Gita Ghatak.
Balmohan Vidyamandir was founded on 3 June 1940 by Late Shri. S.D.Rege alias “Dada” as he was fondly known amongst his students, parents and the community, was a teacher par excellence. The School was named “Balmohan Vidyamandir”. “Balmohan” being coined from the names of Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak and Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi and “Vidyamandir” meaning a temple of learning. Today, the name “Balmohan Vidyamandir” is synonymous with being the leading cultural and educational hub of the State of Maharashtra, India.
