Pune (Maharashtra) [India]: Notable Historian, author and Padma Vibhushan awardee Babasaheb Purandare passed away at Deenanath Mangeshkar Hospital of Pune, Maharashtra at around 5 am on Monday. Babasaheb Purandare was honoured with Padma Vibhushan in 2019. The Maharashtra Government honoured him with Maharashtra Bhushan Award in 2015 and Madhya Pradesh Government has awarded him the Kalidas award. Babasaheb Purandare was a celebrated author and historian and was known for his work on Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. He wrote several books on Shivaji, his administration and the forts from the king’s era. As a theatre enthusiast, Purandare had directed ‘Jaanta Raja’, a play on Shivaji’s life. Notably, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had, in August, attended a function to mark Baba Saheb Purandare entering the 100th year of his life. PM Modi had said that Purandare’s work reflects his unwavering devotion to Shivaji. “In his works, Shivaji Maharaj comes alive in our hearts. All of us will always be indebted to him for his sterling contribution of taking the life and history of Shivaji Maharaj to people,” the Prime Minister had said. He had also recalled Babasaheb Purandare’s contributions from the Goa Mukti Sangram to the Dadar Nagar Haveli freedom struggle. The Prime Minister had said that Babasaheb Purandare’s life exemplifies the exalted notion of active and mentally alert life as expounded by India’s sages. He also noted the coincidence of his birth century falling in the 75th year of India’s independence.
