दिलीप चित्र्या, भेंचोद, तू खेचलस मला तुकारामाच्या दलदलीत

One of the best books ever written in any Indian language is "Punha Tukaram" (पुन्हा तुकाराम) by Dilip Purushottam Chitre (दिलीप पुरुषोत्तम चित्रे), 1990.

After reading it, I was hooked onto by Marathi poet-saints. There would be no escape from it since. I realised what I had missed in my earlier years.

And therefore I say: "Dilip Chitrya, sister-fucker, you dragged me into Tukaram's quagmire." ("दिलीप चित्र्या, भेंचोद, तू खेचलस मला तुकारामाच्या दलदलीत.")

Don't be appalled by the profanity.

I am just paraphrasing what Chitre himself famously wrote in the first line of a poem at the age of seventeen:

"Tukaram vanya, sister-fucker, you dragged me into quagmire of Marathi language." (तुकाराम वाण्या, भेंचोद, तू खेचलंस मला मराठी भाषेच्या दलदलीत.)

For an ordinary man like me Tukaram was up there. Chitre let me climb over his shoulders and allowed me to have a good look at him.

Thank you, Chitre-sir. The view(दर्शन) will last for the rest of my life.

For other posts, from this blog, on Chitre, who passed away on December 10 2009, click here.

I have had number of interactions with Chitre. Less in person, more in cyberspace. More on them later.