Noted poet Narayan Surve passes away

Noted Marathi poet Narayan Surve, whose poems always depicted the lives of the working class, passed away on Monday morning after a brief illness. Surve, who was 83, dedicated his entire life for the betterment of the downtrodden, and his activism helped in highlighting plights of the poor.

Best known for his poetry collections like ‘Majhe Vidyapeeth’ (My University), Surve was ailing for some time and was admitted to a private hospital in Thane. Born in 1926, the poet was raised by a mill worker’s family as he grew up on the streets of Mumbai. He taught himself to read and write, and did odd jobs in the city to earn a livelihood.

He was awarded the Padma Shri in 1998, and was the president of the first-ever ‘Kamgar Sahitya Sammelan’ (literary meet of workers) in 1992. Expressing grief over Surve’s demise, chief minister Ashok Chavan said, “We have lost a legendary poet and thinker, who represented the common man.”

A number of writers, activists and political workers paid their last tributes to the poet at the Bhupesh Gupta Bhavan in Prabhadevi. “His words were simple, but the poems were beyond times,” said senior journalist and writer Arun Sadhu.