Eminent poet, and author Manik Sitaram Godghote alias Grace died after a prolonged illness on Monday at Deenanath Hospital in Pune on Monday. Grace had been battling cancer for the last two years.
Grace had been awarded the prestigious Sahitya Akademi Award for his collection of essays titled Varyane Halte Raan in December last year. Earlier, he had also been awarded the Nag Bhushan and Vidarbha Bhushan award.
It was a surprising fact that Grace, known more for his poetry, was given the award for essays he had written. At the time, he had said, “Yes. These essays are my literary prose. I have been writing this prose for the last five years. This is just one aspect of my life, and it not supplementary to my poems.”
Grace’s collections of poems included Sandhya-kalchya Kavita, Rajputra and Darling, Sanjbhayac-hay Saajani and Chandra-madhaviche Pradesh. In the prose format, Grace’s noted works included Churchbell and Mitva.
Poet and scholar Rajit Hoskote, who is well versed with Grace’s poetry, said, “To my mind, Grace has definitely been one of the key voices from South Asia. Though he arrived on the literary scenario in the 1960s, he captured the melancholia of the latter half of the century flawlessly. He was also one of those craftsmen who are known to always find themselves at a tangent with the
world and yet have a unique insight into the world.”
Mr Hoskote said, “As far as Grace’s writing is concerned, his language was lucid. He was certainly not a purist in terms of using the language, which he always used as a medium. He was very observant, something which reflected in his writing.”
At the time of his passing, Grace was 76-years-old. He is survived by two daughters and a son.