Veteran Sanskrit scholar and editor Vasundhara Pendse Naik passed away in Mumbai in the early hours of Friday after a prolonged illness. She was 70. Wife of former Test cricketer Sudhir Naik, Ms. Naik worked with Marathi publications, Loksatta , Lok Prabha , and Maharashtra Times before serving as the chief of institutions like Akhil Bhartiya Sahitya Parishad and State Marathi Language Institute.
She topped Mumbai University in Sanskrit in her Bachelor of Arts degree, and won the prestigious Jagannath Shankar Sheth scholarship. While completing her Master’s from Wilson College, the college invited her to teach Sanskrit. She later completed a journalism course at Bhavan’s College and joined Marathi daily Loksatta as an assistant editor. She was soon appointed as the editor of Marathi magazine Lok Prabha and was instrumental in giving a new direction to the current affairs magazine in her 12-year stint.
Ms. Naik served as the editor, supplements with Maharashtra Times , and as the editor of Navshakti . She then worked as chairperson of Akhil Bharatiya Sahitya Parishad and served as the director of State Marathi Language Institute. She also presented programmes like Amrut Manthan on Doordarshan.
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said, “With her demise, we have lost a scholar who worked for the promotion and growth of Marathi language and literature.”
