Eminent litterateur, filmmaker Dilip Chitre dead

PUNE - Eminent Marathi and English litterateur, poet and filmmaker Dilip Chitre died after a long illness here early Thursday. He was 71.

Chitre, who is survived by his wife Viju, had been suffering from cancer for over five years and died around 3.30 a.m. Thursday.

Born in the erstwhile princely state of Baroda (Gujarat) in September 1938, Chitre published his first collection of poems at the age of 22.

His well-known works include “Ekun Kavita”, a collection of poems in Marathi, and “Travelling in the Cage” in English.

Chitre’s renowned work was “Says Tuka”, the English translation of the poems by famous 17th century saint-poet of Maharashtra Sant Tukaram, and “Anubhavamrut”, the works of the 12th century saint-poet Sant Dnyaneshwar.

Dabbling in the entertainment world, Chitre was associated in various capacities with several movies such as: “Vijeta” (story-screenplay), “Godam” (direction, music), “Ardh Satya” (theme song), in addition to several short films and documentaries.

Several of his works were translated into foreign languages like French, German and Spanish. Over the years, he also worked as a teacher in Ethiopia and later as a copy editor in an advertising agency. He also painted and sculpted and held exhibitions.

Widely travelled around the world, he was conferred several national and international honours.

Chitre’s funeral shall be held later Thursday in Pune.