Vishnu Wagh

Vishnu Surya Naik Wagh (24 July 1964 – 8 February 2019) was a poet, writer, dramatist, journalist, politician, management consultant, and trainer. He was a former member of the Legislative Assembly in Goa from 2012 to 2017 as a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party.^[1][2] Owing to his fragile health, he had been on a break from his active career since 2016,^[3] until his death in 2019.^[4] His book, Sudhir Sukta, was a topic of much debate in 2017—2018 for its offensive language and content.^[5]

Early life

Vishnu Wagh was born in the village of Dongri in Tiswadi to Indu and Surya Wagh. He had three siblings – Ramrao, Smita and Jyotsna, and was the second child.^[6] Being a smart child, he read all the books that his father had in the house multiple times. He was greatly influenced by writers like Khadilkar, Kanetkar and Gadkari. When a local library was opened, he became a regular visitor. The librarian would advise him on the choice of books to borrow and read. He thus got access to mystery novels and Shringarik literature, which he used to read sitting in the Maalo (transl. attic) of his home. Due to some reason the library was closed, but by that time Wagh had become a Panch at their Village Panchayat. He reopened the Library. He spent a lot of time with his relatives and friends in Ponda. He acted in many dramas as a child artist, under the guidance of his father, Surya Wagh, who was an actor in his Marathi theatre group, Hauns Sangeet Natya Mandal. He used to enact famous mythological characters like Krishna and Rama in Dhalo performances.^[7]

His family was not very religious, but they were interested in Bhajan, Kirtan and readings of religious texts. Wagh regularly attended the Kirtan programmes at the Shri Ram – Hanuman Mandir in their village. He used to devoutly listen to the Kirtankar. Once, one of the Kirtankars asked the children to learn Ramdas' ovya (transl. verses), which Wagh did and could recite perfectly. He had a good rapport with all the Kirtankars that visited the village ever since that incident. One of them, named Valimbe taught him about the whole art of Kirtan. Valimbe also remained in touch with him through letters. Wagh also became close to Brahmanand Swami.^[7]

He won a rank at the Class X

Vishnu Wagh had been actively involved in the socio-cultural field for many years. Over the years, he indulged in poetry; drawing cartoons and caricatures; study of

Soon after completing his education, Wagh began his career by joining Newslink, an English publication of the Tarun Bharat group, and later joined the Tarun Bharat team in Belgaum (after Newslink was abruptly shut down). He also played a role in setting up the daily newspapers, Vartamaan (funded by mine owners) and Sudarshan. He later went on to become the youngest editor of Gomantak.^[8]

He wrote over 20 plays in Marathi, three sangeet nataks (transl. musical plays), 18 Konkani plays and 16 one-act plays. He directed over 50 plays in Konkani and Marathi. Some of his critically acclaimed plays include Tuka Abhang Abhang, Suvari, Teen Poishancho Tiatro, Dharmashree, and Pedru Poddlo Baient.^[11] He also wrote six volumes of poetry and emerged as an eminent poet in these languages.^[12] His poem, Shahar Ani Ganv (transl. Town and Village), features in the Class IX Marathi textbook of the Maharashtra Board of Education.^[13]

Wagh was also a part of Marathi cinema, after writing the lyrics of movies like Gadya Aapla Gaon Bara^[14][15] and the screenplay of a few others, like Sarpanch Bhagirath.^[16][17] He was also a powerful orator, known for his speech writing and delivery.^[18]

Wagh's work often talked about the oppression of the masses by the higher castes. He was a supporter of their rights, especially those of the

• Chairman of Kala Academy^[20]
• Vice-Chairman of Entertainment Society of Goa (ESG)^[21]
• daily, Gomantak^[18]
• President of Gomantak Natya Sammelan and Yuva Marathi Sahitya Sammelan[22]
• Executive Member of the World Marathi Academy^[9]
• Spokesman of Akhil Bharatiya Bhandari Mahasangh^[9]

Political career

Wagh's political career began in the 1990s with the

On 14 January 2016, he was elected as the Deputy speaker of the Goa Legislative Assembly.^[26]

After Wagh's illness, his brother, Ramrao Wagh, was selected by the BJP as his successor to contest the seat of St Andre in the

• Bakibab Borkar Award, Mumbai (2003)^[11][29]
• Damani Award, Solapur (2003)^[30]
• Yashwantrao Chavan Award, Pune
• Pune Festival Award
• Dhananjay Keer Award, Mumbai
• Kala Academy Awards
• Gomant Vidya Niketan Award
• Gomantak Marathi Academy Award
• Goa Ratna Award^[3]
• Vidya Vachaspati Award
• Yuva Chetna Award
• Acharya P K Atre Sahitya Puraskar^[18]

Wagh died in his sleep on 8 February 2019, while on tour in South Africa with his wife.[4] His death was reported by his wife Aruna five days after, which caused his siblings to raise questions about the circumstances surrounding the incident.^[6] In response to this, his wife issued a statement that Wagh had been admitted to Manipal Hospital in Dona Paula for the two months prior to his death, where he expressed an interest in not dying in a hospital room, and that he wanted to visit Johannesburg and Cape Town. She further shared a poem written by him in Marathi titled Marnyapurvichya Kahi Suchana (transl. Few Instructions to Follow Before Death).^[34]

Wagh was

Vishnu Wagh was previously married to Sharmila Rao, with whom he had two children, one of whom is named Parth.[42] After their divorce in 2006, he married Aruna Chodankar, who is employed as an officer in the Labour Department of the Union Labour Ministry of India.^[43] They had two boys together – Priyadarshan and Gagansurya.^[44]

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Vishnu Wagh.

• Kala Academy
• List of Marathi-language poets
• International Film Festival of India

References