Vasant Bapat

Vasant Bapat Biography

Vasant Vaman Bapat (Devanagari: वसंत वामन बापट) was a Marathi poet from Maharashtra, India. He was born on July 25, 1922 in Karad in Satara district of Maharashtra. Education and Teaching Career Bapat received a master's degree in Marathi and Sanskrit literature from S. P. College in Pune in 1948. He then taught Sanskrit and Marathi until 1976, first, National College and then Ruia College, both in Mumbai. During 1974-1982, he served as the Rabindranath Tagore Chair at Mumbai University. Literary Career Bapat published 30 collections of his poems. The following is a partial list of them: Bijalee (1952) Akaravi Disha (1962) Sakina (1972) Manasi (1977) Shatataraka Shinga Phunkale Rani Shoor Mardacha Powada Tejasi Rajasi Prawasachya Kawita Setu The following is a partial list of Bapat's other works: Bara Gavache Pani (1967) (A travelogue) Jinkuni Maranala (A biography) Taulanik Sahityabhyas (1981) (A critique) Wisajipantanchi Bakhar (A political parody) Bapat wrote some literature for children, including a play, Bal Govind. The trio of poets Bapat, Vinda Karandikar and Mangesh Padgaonkar provided for many years public recitals of their poetry in different towns in Maharashtra. As an official representative of India, Bapat participated in 1969 in an international poetry conference in Yugoslavia. Bapat served for ten years as an appointed member of Sahitya Akademi in New Delhi. For many years, he was a member of Indian Institute of Mass Communications, also in New Delhi, and Sangeet Natak Academy in Maharashtra. He chaired Marathi Sahitya Sammelan in Mumbai in 1999. Political Activism During his student days, Bapat was a member of Rashtra Seva Dal, and participated in the 1942 Quit India movement under Gandhi's leadership against British Raj. In the August 1943-January 1945 period, he suffered imprisonment for the participation. He was actively associated with Rashtra Seva Dal since its inception by Sane Guruji in 1948. During 1983-1988, he edited weekly Sadhana, which expressed the views of Rashtra Seva Dal. Under Rashtra Seva Dal's sponsorship, he presented to the public Maharashtra Darshan, Bharat Darshan, Shivadarshan, and Azadi Ki Jung performances. Bapt was associated with the Socialist Party and its leaders, including S. M. Joshi, N. G. Gore, G. P. Pradhan, and Madhu Limaye.)

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