Maharashtra historian Babasaheb Purandare turns 100

Eminent historian, author and theatre personality Babasaheb Purandare turned 99 on Thursday.

Babasaheb Purandare’s works are mostly based on the events related to the life of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, the 17th-century Maratha warrior, who laid the foundation of Hindavi Swarajya.

He is mostly known for his popular play on Shivaji Maharaj -‘Jaanata Raja’ - which was popular not only in Maharashtra but also in other states.

This drama is performed by over 200-plus artists, and elephants, camels and horses are also seen on the grand stage. Generally, the performance of this drama begins around Diwali each year.

Popularly known as Shiv-Shahir (Shivaji's bard), the Pune-based Babasaheb Purandare is a recipient of several awards including Padma Vibhushan, the second-highest civilian honour of India and Maharashtra Bhushan, the highest honour of the state.

A 2008 TV show titled 'Raja Shivchatrapati', which depicted the life of Shivaji Maharaj was based on Raja Shivchatrapati, a historical account of the king written by Babasaheb Purandare.

A host of leaders starting from Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena President Raj Thackeray, Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari, state BJP President Chandrakant Patil, Leader of Opposition Devendra Fadnavis, and top leaders of various political parties, litterateurs and others warmly greeted Purandare.

Raj Thackeray drove down to Babasaheb Purandare's home, kneeled on the floor and touched his feet.

The Thackeray family enjoys very good relations with Babasaheb Purandare as he was among the personal friends of the late Shiv Sena founder Balasaheb Thackeray.

At a felicitation function later organised by Maharashtra Education Society and Itihaas Premi Mandal, Babasaheb Purandare recalled some anecdotes of his childhood years and expressed a desire to live a few more years to serve the society.

Born on July 29, 1922 at Saswad near Poona (now, Pune), Purandare was fascinated by Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj from an early age and wrote essays and stories which were later published in a book form, ‘Thinagya’ (Sparks).

Over eight decades of his writing and theatre career, Purandare delivered more than 12,000 lectures on Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and studied all the forts and history of the Maratha Empire, making him an authority on the subject.