He got the Padma Bhushan in 1993 and the Padma Shri in 1966
Google recognized the 101st birth commemoration of author P.L. Deshpande, popularly known by his Marathi initials Pu La, with a doodle illustrated by Mumbai-based craftsman Sameer Kulavoor. Deshpande was an author as well as a playwright, performer, composer, entertainer, chief, and philanthropist. He was eminent for his joyful humor and parody.
Conceived on this day in 1919 in erstwhile Bombay, he was a college lecturer before he began pursuing a vocation in music. He proceeded to pick up acclaim as a proficient Hindustani classical artist. Deshpande worked for the newly-established Doordarshan and was the first to meet the then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru on Indian television. He was favored to the BBC for preparing, after which he spent some time in France and West Germany. This spurred his later travelogue ‘Apoorvai’.
Deshpande’s composing premiered in ‘Bombay’ magazine in the late 1940s. Apart from his original works, he also adapted prominent literary works in different languages into Marathi. His filmography includes ‘Kuber’ (1947) for which he was an entertainer and playback artist; ‘Jaga Bhadyane Dene ahe’ (1949) for which he composed the screenplay and dialog; ‘Mothi Manase’ (1949) for which he coordinated music, among numerous others.
He got the Padma Bhushan in 1993 and the Padma Shri in 1966 among other noted literary honors. The Legislature of Maharashtra established the “P. L. Deshpande Maharashtra Kala Foundation” in 2002 to respect his commitments to Marathi literature. A portion of his philanthropic exercises included gifts to Muktangan Deaddiction and Rehabilitation Center, IUCAA Muktangan Vidnyan Shodhika and ‘Neehar’, a hostel for the children of sex laborers.
He passed on matured 80 in Pune, Maharashtra, on June 12, 2000, because of complications from Parkinson’s infection