On 19th May 2008, one of India�s legendary playwrights Vijay Tendulkar passed away at the Prayag hospital in Pune. He was suffering from myasthenia gravis and was eighty years old.

To the Indian theatre aficionado Tendulkar needs no introduction. His plays like GHASHIRAM KOTWAL (1972), SAKHARM BINDER (1972) and SHANTATA! COURT CHAALU AAHE (1967) became classics of not only Marathi theatre but of the Indian theatre canon as a whole. They even went on to achieve international acclaim. But Tendulkar was not just a leading playwright.

He was a literary essayist, short-story writer, novelist, political journalist, social commentator and an inspiration for the younger generations of Marathi theatre people following him. He even wrote for the cinema as well as the television.

His screenplay for Shyam Bengal�s movie Manthan (1976) won him the National film award for the best screenplay. A recipient of several prestigious awards, which included the Padma Bhushan award from the Government of India Tendulkar came to achieve an iconic status in the history of Modern Indian theatre.