Marathi playwright and South Asia scholar G.P. Deshpande passed away at his Pune house on Wednesday evening. He was 75.
Mr. Deshpande was in a coma for several months, those close to him said. He is survived by his son Sudhanava, and daughter Ashwini.
He taught at the Centre for East Asian Studies at the Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi and had been living in Pune since his retirement. He was a recipient of the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1996.
“His most well known plays are Udhwastha Dharamshala , Raastey , Andhar Yatra and Satyashodhak . Through his plays we can see an honest interpretation of class, caste, politics and gender,” said Director Atul Pethe who revived his play Satyashodhak in 2012, which is based on the life of social crusader Jyotiba Pule. Mr. Deshpande was known as a fierce critic of contemporary theatre in Maharashtra.
