Born on March 10, 1929 in Vengurla in Sindhudurg district in coastal Konkan, Padgaonkar completed his Master’s in Marathi and Sanskrit from Mumbai University, and taught Marathi at Ramnarain Ruia College in Matunga for two years. He published his first poem in 1943, but his volume of poetry, Dharanritya was published only in 1950. His 1952 collection of poems, Gypsy received critical and popular acclaim. He went on to publish Chhori (1954), Utsav (1962), Vidushak (1966), Salaam (1978), Ghaza l (1983), Bhatke Pakshi (1984), Bolgaani (1990)
In 1960s and 1970s, Padgaonkar together with Dnyanpeeth winning poet Vinda Karandikar, and Vasant Bapat presented his poems at poetry sessions across the state. From 1970 to 1989, he also worked as an editor of the Marathi section at the United State Information Service. Padgaonkar had 40 publications to his credit. The US Library of Congress has acquired 31 of his publications.
While poetry collections like Gypsy , Chori, and Utsav celebrated nature and romance, his Vidushak , Salaam , and Ghazal had marked social and political commentary. Padgaonkar read from his poem titled Salaam for the first time at the Marathi Sahitya Sammelan held in Karad when Durga Bhagwas the Sammelan president in 1978 a few months after the end of the 21-month Emergency. The poem became a voice of dissent against Emergency for Marathi writers and poets, and the collection won Padgaonkar the Sahiya Akademi award.
While his poetry won him acclaim, his bhaav geet writing made him a household name in Maharashtra with numbers like “ Ya Janmawar, Ya Jaganyawar Shatada Prem Karawe ”, “ Bhatukalichya Khelamadhali ”, “ Shukratara, Manda Wara ” which continue to be played at Marathi cultural programmes and at Ganesh festival pandals.
Padgaonkar also made a significant contribution as a translator of other works in Marathi. He translated works of Mirabai, Kabir, and Surdas in Marathi along with William Shakespeare’s plays The Tempest,Julius Ceasar and Romeo and Juliet . His translation of Bible: The New Testament was published in 2008.
He was honoured with the Maharashtra Bhushan award by Maharashtra government in 2008, and the Padma Bhushan in 2013.
