Renowned litterateur Nagnath Kotapalle passes away at 75

Kottapalle served as vice-chancellor of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University, Aurangabad, as well as head of Marathi department at Savitribai Phule Pune University (SPPU)

Renowned litterateur, educationist, and critic, who brought rural Marathi literature to the masses, Nagnath Kotapalle passed away after a brief illness in Pune on Wednesday. He was 74.

Born on March 29, 1948, in Mukhed village of Nanded district, Kottapalle completed his Bachelor’s and Master’s degree at Degalur, whereupon he ranked first in Marathwada University and was honoured with Chancellor’s Gold Medal. In the year 1980, he wrote a thesis on ‘Shankar Patil’s Literature’ and received his PhD. (HT FILE PHOTO)

Kottapalle served as vice-chancellor of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University, Aurangabad, as well as head of Marathi department at Savitribai Phule Pune University (SPPU).

He is survived by his wife, daughter and son, daughter-in-law and grandchildren.

He is known for his contribution to Marathi literature as a poet, critic and novelist. His well-known long reads like ‘Gandhariche Dole,’ ‘Savitricha Nirnay,’ ‘Warsa,’ and ‘Rajdhani’ are most popular among the readers, while his novels ‘Papudre’, in rural literature, ‘Gavaat Phule Chandane’ (short novel for adult novices), and ‘Jyotiparva’ have been well received.

Born on March 29, 1948, in Mukhed village of Nanded district, Kottapalle completed his Bachelor’s and Master’s degree at Degalur, whereupon he ranked first in Marathwada University and was honoured with Chancellor’s Gold Medal. In the year 1980, he wrote a thesis on ‘Shankar Patil’s Literature’ and received his PhD.

He earned a reputation as an articulate, pedagogic, enterprising and student-friendly professor and head of the Marathi department of SPPU, and Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University’s director of student welfare board.

In the 1960s he wrote quality literature in various literary genres such as poetry, stories, long stories, novels, fine prose and reviews.

Sadanand More, a writer, said, “A true linguaphile is lost. He was keen on promoting literature and was involved in various activities.”

Author Aruna Dhere, former president of Akhil Bharatiya Marathi Sahitya Sammelan, said, “Kottapalle brought a sense of direction to rural literature. His work distinguishes and brings into the limelight the beauty of rural backgrounds in literature. He was a beckon to many young writers and he created a bond between life and the written words, which is now lost.”

Laxmikant Deshmukh, retired IAS officer, said, “He worked hard to bring rural writings to the fore and also critical writings in Marathi language to a bigger audience.”

Kottapalli also served as a member of various committees of Maharashtra State Marathi Vikas Sanstha and Sahitya Akademi. He was the president of the Maharashtra State Sahitya Puraskar (Literary Awards) Committee (1988-1989), the president of the Marathi Studies Board of the Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education and a member of the Marathi Studies Boards of various universities. He served as the working president of Marathwada Sahitya Parishad and vice-president of Maharashtra Sahitya Parishad. He was the president of Grameen Sahitya Sammelan held in Srigonda in 1999 and Marathwada Sahitya Sammelan held in Jalna in 2005. He presided over the Akhil Bharatiya Marathi Literary Conference held in Chiplun in 2012. He was the Chairman of the Language Advisory Committee of the state government.