Remembering Pu La Deshpande on his birth anniversary

When one talks about Marathi literature it is hard to miss mentioning Purushottam Laxman Deshpande known as lsquoMaharashtrache laadke vyaktimatvarsquo which translates to lsquoMaharashtrarsquos beloved personalityrsquo Popularly called Pu La Deshpande he was a celebrated Marathi writer musician director actor and oratorThough he has significantly contributed to Marathi literature across genres Deshpande is prominently known for his humoristic writings many of which are also translated into the English and Kannada language His most read works include lsquoVyaktiani Vallirsquo lsquoBatatyachi Chalrsquo lsquoAsa Mi Asamirsquo lsquoMarathi Vangmayacha GalivItihasrsquo and lsquoApurvairsquo among othersTrimbak Sadan at Vile Parle East Pu La Deshpande lived here and described the place in his works like Asami Asami Bansi Dhurandhar with Jayant Deshpande nephew of the writer hold his book Batatyachi Chal open to the page on which Pu La dedicated it to three friends including Bansirsquos lawyer father Sadashiv Dhurandhar Photo Midday File PicDeshpande was born in Mumbai formerly known as Bombay on November 8 in 1919 He was the grandson of noted Marathi poet and writer Vaman Mangesh Dubhashi who is known for his translation of Rabindranath Tagorersquos lsquoGitanjalirsquo in Marathi It was because of this influence that the writer was exposed to eminent works of literature from an early age He spent his early life in Mumbairsquos Grant Road locality Jogeshwari and then Vile Parle where he completed his high school education He went on to study law from the famous Fergusson College in Pune and then Arts from Sanglirsquos Willingdon CollegePu La Deshpande with actress Reema Lagoo and writer Jaywant Dalvi at one of the conferences Photo Pu La PremDeshpande has done work in several forms of writing such as poetry short stories screenplays scripts and dialogues A majority of these drew inspiration from instances in his real life They were known to be satirical and would instantly get readers and listeners to burst into laughter According to a biographical website PuLaDeshpandenet the writer when asked about his writing style had said ldquoMy writing is mostly a joke I didnt care much about its literary value whether it was outdated or not I worked in different areas of life I experienced many discrepancies in the way people behaved and spoke Thatrsquos where this writing came from Readers from time to time acknowledged that the readers and listeners laughed heartily while reading my texts and listening to the audio recordings That filled me up Because of those receipts my humour of writing and speaking humour has survived to this dayrdquoPL Deshpande Photo Midday File PicIn addition to writing Pu La Deshpande was regularly involved in producing musical works as a singer composer and a music director for a number of Marathi films The popular Marathi song and poem lsquoNach re Morarsquo which a majority of Mumbaikars may have recited once in their school life was composed by Deshpande and was written by Shrirang GodboleOn the occasion of his birth centenary in 2019 noted vocalist Satyasheel Deshpande spoke to Midday about the importance of music in Pu Larsquos life ldquoKhaanyacha suddha gaanya sarkha shastra aahe he had written explaining how the corelation between the art of eating and singing Satyasheel Deshpande elaborated A seasoned gourmet like a khaandani singer wouldnt eat shrikhand with bread for the latter is a varjitswar forbidden note in this scheme raga Shrikhand and poori on the other hand are vaadisamvaadi or complementary notesrdquoPu La Deshpande with wife Sunita Deshpande Photo Pu La PremPu La Deshpande passed away at the age of 80 on June 12 2000 on his wedding anniversary due to Parkinsonrsquos disease Dr Shirish Prayag who had been treating Deshpande couple for two decades in an interview with Midday said that Deshpande died due to pneumonia with an acute respiratory problem After his wife Sunita Deshpandersquos death in 2009 Prayag speaking about the couple said that they were generous and donated a huge amount of money for several social causes during their lifetimeDeshpande was a recipient of national awards such as the Padma Bhushan Padma Shri Sahitya Akademi Award Sangeet Natak Akademi He also received state recognitions such as the Punyabhushan and Maharashtra Bhushan award In 2020 to commemorate the Deshpandersquos birth centenary music composer Gandhaar Sangoram created and launched lsquoPuLa 100rsquo a digital replica of the legendrsquos handwriting font The font is freely available for those willing to write using their beloved writerrsquos font on the website BeBirbal Digital Media Pvt Ltd a company founded by SangoramAlso Read Why now is the best time to indulge in these offbeat sports in Mumbai