A master craftsman

He has left an everlasting mark on the sands of Marathi literature. The canvas called Kusumagraj spans the charged-up anti-Raj era and th...

He has left an everlasting mark on the sands of Marathi literature. The canvas called Kusumagraj spans the charged-up anti-Raj era and the end of the millennium. The poet in him for ever reacted to change.

Recipient of the Jnanpith award, Vishnu Vaman Shirwadkar was a venerated writer-humanist of Maharashtra. A perfect blend of the fire of moral rectitude, the warmth of human empathy and kindness, and a poet to the core.

Never constrained by ideology, he upset many when he asked literateurs to spurn government money for literary conferences. This was in response to the bull8217; controversy involving Maharashtra8217;s remote control8217; Bal Thackeray. Irked by All-India Mar-athi Sahitya Sammelan president Vasant Bapat8217;s remarks, Thacke-ray had told writers to return the Rs 25 lakh given by the government for the meet. He described the literary meet as a bull bazar.

Born in Pune on February 27, 1912, Kusumagraj was an ardent literary enthusiast from the time he was a student of English and Marathiliterature.

In his twenties, he published his first collection of poems, Jeevanlahari and had a brush with the celluloid world at Nashik. He wrote a script for a mythological film, Sati Sulochana. He also acted in it.

He also had a stint in journalism but was soon back in the realm of poetry. Kusumagraj combined the best of the masters of Marathi poetry and gave voice to the turmoil and aspirations of the new generation. Without being doctrinaire, he blended in his poetry the virtue of humanity. Contemporary poet B.B. Borkar once said: 8220;Kusumagraj inherits a double legacy: Poetry tempered by nationalistic ferment, the type written by Savarkar. And the social consciousness of Keshavsut, Govindagraj and Madhav Julian.

Kusumagraj was the first to sing the glory of a political revolution.8221;Kusumagraj is always lyrical. Romanticism often pops out from the depths of his psyche. 8220;This is typical of his times and tradition,8221; says critique Dnyaneshwar Nadkarni.

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The year 1942 was a turning point forKusumagraj. This was the year of publication of his most celebrated compilation of poetry, Vishakha, published at his own expense by the respected father-figure of Marathi literateur, Vishnu Sakharam Khandekar. Shirwadkar, closely associated with Khandekar, is only the second Marathi litterateur to be so honoured. In his preface to Vishakha, Khandekar described Kusumagraj as a poet of humanity. 8220;His words manifest the social discontent but retain the optimistic conviction that the old world was giving way to a new one.8221;

Fascinated by the Shakespe-arean tragedies, Kusumagraj8217;s dramas have been a shot in the arm for post-1943 Marathi theatre. Adap-ting the works of Oscar Wilde, Moliere, Maurice Materlinck and Shakespeare, Kusumagraj created a domain of his own. The legendary Natasamrat is his masterpiece. First staged in 1970, it is far from a literal translation, but it does have strong shades of King Lear.

Natasamrat was a professional miracle. Staged hundreds of times, it won a Sahitya Akademi awardand the inaugural Ram Ganesh Gadkari award. According to Nadkarni, the play is great not just because it is a tragedy but because it is steeped in the theatre culture of Maharashtra. Once a part of the 8220;do away with English8221; rally, Kusumagraj told the World Marathi Conference in 1989 that Marathi adorned glittering clothes when it was made the official language of Maharashtra but still stood in front of Mantralaya with a begging bowl.

It was a sad irony for poet Shirwadkar, who had penned 8220;Garja jaijaikar kranticha8221; on the glory of revolution 15 years before independence, to have to say: Lakh lakh jan majhysathi/Jalale, mele visaru naka Lakhs and lakhs have died for me/ Don8217;t ever forget that.