Renowned literatuer Purshotam Laxman Deshpande,popularly known as Pula, was born on November 8,1919 in Mumbai.Pula grew up between the two world wars in an idyllic suburb of Mumbai and,later in Pune cities which were then largely unspoilt by glamour or greed.Bal Gandharva,the legendary actor-singer,Ravindranath Tagore and P.G.Woodhouse have been the abiding influences on the writer.Pula's worldview was marked by a certain innocence and nostalgia.He was often accused of not having tackled the contradictions and complexities of the post-cold war world. The range and resilience of Pula's creativity were reflected in more than 40 books,including 'Vyakti Aani Valli','Gangot','Batatayachi Chaal','Apurvaaee' and 'Poorvaranga',most of which have run into several editions.Pula's plays,such as 'Tuze Aahe Tuzpaashi','Sundar Me Honar','Ammaldaar' and 'Tee Phulraani',sent the cash registers jingling at the box-office for decades, directing films such as `Gulaachaa Ganapati' and `Doodh-Bhaat', or launching a frontal slaught on Indira Gandhi's Emergency in 1975,Pula was fuelled by a sanguine drive to distil the human experience. His passion for music and painting stemmed from the same quest. The performer Pula excelled in shows such as `Batatyaachi Chaal' and `Vaaryaavarchi Waraat'. In 1980's ,he teamed up with his fabulous talented wife,Sunita,to present a series of poetry-reading programmes
Pula was honoured with the Padma Bhushan,the Sahitya Akademi award and the Sangeet Natak Akademi fellowship,not to speak of an honorary D.Litt. from Ravindra Bharati University and Pune University.He was the President of the Marathi Sahitya Sammelan held in Ichalkaranji in 1974 and the Marathi Natrya Sammelan.The twin honour is a rare distinction.He was on the NCPA's board of adviesrs,along with stalwarts such as Yehudi Menuhin,Andre Malraux,Kesarbai Kerkar,M.S.Subhalaksmi and Narayana Menon ,among others.
Pula passed away in Pune on Monday,June 12,2000,leaving his thousands of fan in a sea of sorrow.His death has caused a irreparable damage to marathi literature.God will have a tough time to make another mixture of this kind in the future. Pula's legacy can be best summed up in his favourite Tagore couplet:
"The day I take leave I shall say that what I got and what I saw were matchless
