NOTED historian and author Balwant Moreshwar alias Babasaheb Purandare, known for his works on Maratha king Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, celebrated his 100th birthday on Thursday. A recipient of Padma Vibhushan, Purandare expressed his gratitude towards his parents and teachers, and said he had learned a lot in his journey of 100 years. Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari wished Purandare on the occasion and enquired about the latter’s health in a telephonic conversation, a release issued by the Raj Bhawan stated.

 

“Warm felicitations and heartiest greetings to Shiv Shahir Babasaheb Purandare on his 100th birthday. Wishing you long life and the best of health,” the Governor said in a message on Twitter. A host of leaders starting from Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena President Raj Thackeray, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari, state Bharatiya Janata Party 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 the home of the ‘Shiv Shahir’ (Shivaji’s Bard), as he is popularly known, kneeled on the floor and touched the feet of the Padma Vibhushan laureate Purandare. At a felicitation function later, organised by Maharashtra Education Society and Itihaas Premi Mandal, Purandare, known for courting controversies, recalled some anecdotes of his childhood years and expressed a desire to live a few more years to serve society.

 

A group of women created a gigantic 300-sq.feet ‘rangoli’ and lit symbolic 99 lamps, performed his ‘aarti’, honoured him with the customary shawl and greeted him on the momentous occasion as Purandare looked on with cheerfully. 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’. Over eight decades of his writing and theatre career, Purandare delivered more than 12,000 lectures on Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, studied all forts and history of the Maratha Empire, making him an authority on the subject.