Marathi ase amuchi MAAYBOLI

Aaj Marathi Din Kusumagraj yancha Janmadiwas

Mee Marathi asalyacha abhimaan aahe...

Vishnu Vman Shirwdkar popularly known by his pen name, Kusumgraj was an eminent Marathi poet, playwright, novelist, short story writer, apart from being a humanist, who wrote of freedom, justice and emancipation of the deprived, In a career spanning five decades starting in pre-independence era, he wrote 16 volumes of poems, three novels, eight volumes of short stories, seven volumes of essays, 18 plays and six one-act plays. His works like the Vishaka (1942), a collection of lyrics, inspired a generation into the Indian freedom movement, and is today considered one of the masterpieces of Indian literature., apart from his play, Natsamrat which has important place in Marathi literature. He was the recipient of several State awards, and National awards including the 1974 Sahitya Akademi Award in Marathi for Natsamrat, and the Jnanpith Award in 1988; he also remained chairperson of the World Marathi Conference in 1989. He was born in the city of Pune and spent most of his life in Nashik, Maharashtra .

His social work

He has a deep sympathy for the poor, needy people and a special soft corner for the Adiwasis (aborigines), who are deprived of any development - social, economic or technical. His attempt is to let the help flow from those who "have ", to those, who "do not have ". Out of this earnest desire of him, emerged "Kusumagraj Pratisthan" - an establishment which has a multifaceted activities, which are recorded separately. He has donated Rs. 1.0 lakh to Kusumagraj Pratisthan..

For the Adiwasis, he has initiated a movement and has involved many volunteers. They have taken up the work of adult education, providing medical help, cultural and sports camps etc. for them. Kusumagraj Pratisthan has selected seven villages in the vicinity of Nashik and the above mentioned schemes are executed in these villages. His has helped in opening up libraries named "Kusumagraj Vachanalaya " in these villages.