Journalism of Courage
Prabhakar Wadekar,the creator of the famous Marathi comic strip Chintoo,passed away in the city on Saturday after a brain stroke. He was 56. The funeral took place in the evening at Vaikunth crematorium. His associates and friends paid rich tributes to him.
His associate Charuhas Pandit,along with whom he created Chintoo,expressed shock.
His friend and Marathi playwright Shirang Godbole said,He was my childhood friend. We worked together for Chintoo,the movie. I knew him since 86,he was an actor in one of my plays. Then again,we worked together on Katta,which was a magazine we started together. It has not sunk in that he is not there anymore. Even at his funeral,I could not believe that I am not going to meet him,chit-chat and share jokes with him again.
Another friend,Mangesh Tendulkar,said,I have never worked with him,but he was a close and dear friend. We met each other in 82 and became friends instantly. We used to have gossip sessions whenever we met. He has done a remarkable job in cartooning. Such consistency for so many years is commendable. He didnt do his job for the sake of it. I know he enjoyed every bit of cartooning he did and that is why whatever he did turned out to be so good. Something people dont know about him is that he was a great stage actor. I would even say he was one of the best actors I have seen on stage. I had told him not to leave the stage,but even though he has a knack for acting,his first love was cartooning. He was a good man and a great friend.
