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2022 the year that was: Prominent personalities Pune lost this year
The year 2022 has seen the city lose a few prominent residents who gave Pune its identity. From industrialists to ex-mayors and scholars to social activists, each has made Pune proud and left a void in their wake
The year 2022 has seen the city lose a few prominent residents who gave Pune its identity. From industrialists to ex-mayors and scholars to social activists, each has made Pune proud and left a void in their wake.
Rahul Bajaj, veteran industrialist and former Bajaj Auto chairman
The year began with the loss of veteran industrialist and former Bajaj Auto chairman Rahul Bajaj who passed away at the age of 83 on February 12. Bajaj took over the group in 1965 before stepping down as non-executive chairman of Bajaj Auto Ltd. Bajaj, a Padma Bhushan awardee was a Harvard Business School alumnus. He oversaw the successful transition of Bajaj Auto from the ‘Hamara Bajaj’ days through its popular Chetak brand of scooters to the world’s favourite Indian. He also changed the face of Pimpri-Chinchwad by transforming it into an industrial town. The grandson of eminent freedom fighter Jamnalal Bajaj, Rahul Bajaj brought transformation in society, especially in poor and middle-class people with his Bajaj bikes. The affordable vehicle increased mobility, eased the struggle for getting means of livelihood and became the tool of socio-economic change.
Madhav Godbole, former Union home secretary
Madhav Godbole, former Union home secretary and retired Indian Administrative Service (IAS), passed away on April 25 2022. He was 85. Godbole took voluntary retirement from the Indian Administrative Service in March 1993, when he was Union home secretary and secretary, justice. Godbole was the Union home secretary when Babri Masjid was demolished, which prompted him to seek voluntary retirement. He held several high-level positions in the government. The book The Babri Masjid-Ram Mandir Dilemma: An Acid Test for India’s Constitution by the Pune-based former top bureaucrat later became popular.
Sadanand Mohol, a former test player and fast bowler
Sadanand Mohol, a former test player and fast bowler for the Maharashtra cricket team, died of cardiac arrest on July 30, 2022. He was 83. Sadanand Mohol was Mamasaheb Mohol’s second son and the elder brother of former MP Ashok Mohol. In 1959-60, he made his Ranji debut for Maharashtra against Gujarat, taking six wickets. He was in fantastic form during the 1966-67 season, taking 43 wickets. He was subsequently selected in the Indian team for a tour of England in 1966-67.
Sujit Patwardhan, founder Parisar
Sujit Patwardhan’s crusade through Parisar, the organisation he founded, influenced policy decisions about improving public transportation in the city, including the installation of cycle tracks and wider footpaths. He passed away on October 22, 2022. Patwardhan’s vision was to provide sustainable transportation for the city, for which he and his team launched several initiatives. Patwardhan founded Parisar in the 1980s after returning to India from the United Kingdom, concerned about the city’s rapid changes, which were causing environmental degradation. Patwardhan was adamantly opposed to road widening, flyovers, and other projects that not only encouraged more motorisation but also degraded the city’s aesthetics.
Tulsi Tanti, Suzlon Energy Ltd founder, chairman and managing director
Suzlon Energy Ltd founder, chairman and managing director Tulsi Tanti passed away on October 1, following a cardiac arrest. Tanti, 64, who was also the chairman of the Indian Wind Turbine Manufacturers Association, was on his way to Pune from Ahmedabad when he suffered a cardiac arrest. Tanti spearheaded the wind energy revolution in India with the founding of Suzlon Energy in 1995. He envisioned the opportunity in the Indian renewable energy industry at a time when the global wind energy market was dominated by international players and characterised by expensive and complicated technologies that were largely unviable for traditional businesses.
Nagnath Kotapalle, renowned littérateur, educationist, and critic
Renowned littérateur, educationist, and critic, who brought rural Marathi literature to the masses, Nagnath Kotapalle passed away in Pune on 30 November 2022. He was 74. Kottapalle was the vice-chancellor of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University in Aurangabad and the head of the Marathi department at Savitribai Phule Pune University (SPPU). As a poet, critic, and novelist, he is well-known in Marathi literature.
Anil Khaire, founder of the Indian Herpetological Society (IHS)
Founder of the Indian Herpetological Society (IHS) that manages the Katraj Snake Park and the rescue centre at Rajiv Gandhi Zoological Research centre, Anil Rajaram Khaire (65) died on October 17. His elder brother Neelim Kumar Khaire, a snake expert, he were the spirit behind creating public awareness about wildlife and snakes for over a decade. An ITI graduate and having worked in Telco before developing an interest in nature conservation, Anil Khaire was trained at the Jersey Wildlife Conservation Trust (now Durrell Wildlife Trust) in England.
Vikram Gokhale, veteran film, television and stage actor
Veteran film, television and stage actor Vikram Gokhale died on November 26 2022 due to multi-organ failure at a city-based hospital, where he had been undergoing treatment for the last couple of weeks. Gokhale, 77, was an institution of acting, whose words smoothly oscillated between Marathi and Hindi, through films, theatre and television. A fourth-generation artiste in the family of Gokhales, the septuagenarian acted in landmark films and adapted to changing times as effortlessly as he slipped into diverse roles to make his mark on varied platforms.
Mukta Tilak, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislator
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislator from the Kasba Peth assembly constituency, Mukta Tilak, passed away on December 22, 2022, after a five-year-long battle against cancer. She was 57. Tilak, a 4-time corporator, was also the great granddaughter-in-law of legendary freedom fighter Lokmanya Tilak. She was elected as a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for the first time in 2019 before serving as mayor of Pune between 2017 and 2019.
