Purushottam Laxman Deshpande was a Marathi writer and humorist. He was also a stage actor, scriptwriter, author, musician, singer, orator and composer. Deshpande was born on November 8, 1919, in Mumbai and passed away on June 12, 2000, in Pune. On his 101st birth anniversary, Google has dedicated a doodle for him. He was known by his Marathi initials 'Pu La'. His humour brought smiles to the faces of his readers and audiences through books and performing arts. Purushottam Laxman Deshpande's Google doodle shows him playing the harmonium with his initials 'Pu La' written on a board sitting next to him. Pu La Deshpande's family had an illustrious literary legacy: Pu La's grandfather had translated Rabindranath Tagore's Gitanjali into Marathi. Pu La Deshpande 101st Birth Anniversary: Remembering the Legendary Marathi Writer, Humourist and Orator (Watch Videos)

He had a master’s degree and worked as a college lecturer before he began to pursue a career in music. He played the harmonium for acclaimed vocal artists and also released his own hit recordings as well. In the late 1940s, his writing premiered in Bombay magazine. Throughout his career, he wrote novels, essays, comedy books, travelogues and children’s plays. His one-man stage shows had particularly gained a lot of popularity in his home state of Maharashtra. Deshpande also acted in dozens of films of which many he directed himself. Deshpande's works have been translated into languages including English and Kannada.

Deshpande and his wife established a philanthropic foundation in his name in the 1990s that carried on his positive legacy through a variety of social and cultural causes. Google in a statement about the doodle remembering the notable mind writes, "Happy birthday, P. L. Deshpande, and thank you for sharing your humour and harmony with the people of Maharashtra and beyond."

Mumbai-based guest artist Sameer Kulavoor has illustrated Deshpande's Google doodle. Talking about him, Kulavoor says, " Being born and brought up in Mumbai/Maharashtra, one comes across Pu La Deshpande's name and works constantly in popular culture - music, writing, films, theatre, literature, and more. He was known to be a sharp observer of life, and one can see that in his literary work. There is a wildly popular Marathi song we were exposed to as kids in school called 'Naach re mora' (dance peacock, dance) - I learnt much later (to my surprise) that he composed the song!"

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Nov 08, 2020 08:45 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).