A TRIBUTE TO DA.MA. MIRASDAR
PUNE, APRIL 7: Renowned for his humour, wit, satire and pun, D.M. Mirasdar, an acclaimed Marathi humorist, author & storyteller will be completing 90 years of his age on April 14th. Mirasdar fondly called ‘Da.Ma.’ will be felicitated on this occasion at the hands of renowned historian Maharshtrabhushan Babasaheb Purandare. This event will be organized on April 13th at 5.30 PM at Tilak Smarak Mandir, Pune. this program will free and open for all. Interested persons can collect the invitation passes of the same from venue between April 10th and 13th. This was announced today by Sunetra Mankani, Mirasdar’s son-in-law & the event’s chief organizer during a Press Conference held in the city.
The felicitation ceremony will take place in the eminent presence of Prakash Javadekar, the Human Resource Development Minister of India, Vinod Tawde, Minister of Culture & Education, Maharashtra State and Mukta Tilak, Pune’s Mayor, revealed Sunetra Mankani.
Organising committee members like Ravindra Mankani, Rohan Mankani – Treasurer, Hari Mirasdar, Milind Joshi, Professor & Working President, Maharashtra Sahitya Parishad, Makarand Tillu, Satish Jaktdar of Aashay Film Club, Virendra Chitrav, Meghraj Rajebhosale, President, Akhil Bhartiya Marathi Chitrapat Mahamandal were also present at the press conference.
Speaking on the occasion, Hari Mirasdar, Da.Ma.’s younger brother said, “Da.Ma managed to crack a smile on the faces of millions of people. So, as a tribute to this legendary humorist, the Mirasdar & Mankani family will be celebrating his 90thanniversary in a special way. A unique initiative titled ‘Mirasdari,’ will be launched on this occasion as a tribute to this wordsmith. Many state-level competitions & programs will be organized throughout the year under the initiative.”
Speaking on the occasion, Sunetra Mankani, Da.Ma’s daughter and member of the organizing committee said, “The primary objective behind this initiative is to bring back the missing punch of alternative comedy genre in Marathi literature. These days, one just can’t find qualitative comedy books in Marathi. Thus, while creating a bond between humour, literature and young generation, this initiative will motivate people to read & write such literature. In addition to this, we shall also take efforts to treasure the dying culture of storytelling (Katha Kathan) for which ‘Da.Ma.’ was very much popular.”
Elaborating on this initiative, Rohan Mankani said, “Amongst the various activities planned throughout the year, the major state level activity is to organize several competitions with an aim to boost mass participation. Thus, these competitions will be open for both children and adults. The competitions will include Story Writing, Storytelling, Stand-up Comedy and Reader’s Essay Writing. The winners will be felicitated during a grand event at the end of the year.”
This initiative will be supported by several renowned organizations from Pune like Maharashtra Sahitya Parishad, Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), Akhil Bhartiya Marathi Chitrapat Mahamandal, Aashay Film Club, Maharashtra Education Society, Sanskar Bharati, Mehta Publishing House, Prerana Kalamanch, Akhil Bharatiya Marathi Natya Parishad, and Rotary District 3131 to name a few.
Speaking on the occasion, Milind Joshi, said, “We are indeed very happy to be a part of this initiative. We are fortunate that our generation have grown up not only reading Da.Ma’s comedy stories but also listening to them directly from him. Being an associate of ‘Mirasdari’, we shall take an extra mile to preserve, develop & spread the various comedic genres in Marathi literature.”
