Mangesh Padgaonkar

Mangesh Padgaonkar, born Mangesh Keshav Padgaonkar, is a well-known Marathi poet from Maharashtra, India. Padgaonkar was born on March 10, 1929, in Vengurla, Sindhudurg district, Maharashtra. He graduated with a Master of Arts in Marathi and Sanskrit from the University of Bombay, one of the area's most esteemed universities. Padgaonkar’s love for poetry made him an early poet, and he started writing poems at the age of 14. He has over 40 publications in his collection, mostly published by Mouj Prakashan Publishing House. His early collection of poems can be fitted into the genre of romance, but later he diversified the genres and published books in various genres, such as poetry for children, poetry that addressed socio-political themes, a group of essays, and translations from English into other languages.

In his collection Salaam, a break from romantic poetry happens, which criticizes the corrupt societal power structure that surrounds him. In Mumbai, Padgaonkar spent several years teaching Marathi at Matushree Mithibai College before working as an editor at the U.S. Information Service (USIS) from 1970 to 1990. Padgaonkar has also penned the lyrics to a number of Marathi songs. He also wrote the University of Pune's theme song, "Punyamayee De Amha Akshar Vardan," in 1983–84.

For his collection of poetry, Salam, Padgaonkar won the Sahitya Academy Award in 1980. He was honored with the Maharashtra State Award in 1953 and 1955. He also won the M.P. Literary Conference Award in 1956. Padgaonkar received the Maharashtra Bhushan Award in 2008, together with the late spiritual leader Nana Dharmadhikari. Padgaonkar passed away on December 30, 2015, in Mumbai, following a short illness, at the age of 86.