Hindi poet Uttam Mule who penned "Yeh Buddha ki dharti, Yuddha na chahe, Chahe aman parasti,", a song that is no less than an anthem for followers of Buddhism died here on Thursday. He was 81.
"He died a pauper. Till his end, he lived in a hut in a Ganeshpeth slum," one of his innumerable fans told TOI. "Cassette and disc companies who sold his albums extolling virtues of Buddha and Ambedkar raked in moolah. Singers Udit Narayan, Anuradha Paudwal, Kavita Krishnamurthy, Krishna Shinde and Milind Shinde who gave voice to his beautiful and soul-stirring lyrics are celebrities today. But Mule was lonely and uncared for when he breathed his last," said Kewal Jeevantare, who followed the famous poet's life closely.
It was in 1955 that Mule, who was born in a higher caste of 'Beldar' and was a native of Buldhana, met Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar at Indora in Nagpur. Afterwards, witnessing the Deeksha ceremony, the world's only event of its kind where Ambedkar led the largest congregation into another religion in a bloodless and most peaceful conversion ceremony, he was so inspired by the Dalit icon that Mule chose to live here for the rest of his life. Educated only up to Class VII, poetry came to him naturally. He studied classics of Premchand, Bankimchandra and Mahadevi Verma avidly and used the skills imbibed to spread thoughts of Ambedkar.
"He would never fight with recording companies who gave him a couple of thousand rupees for collection of his poems and turned them into bestselling songs. He was at peace with himself," said another of his follower Ravi Gajbhiye. For a man who became downtrodden by choice, the end was also equally tragic. On the new year eve he met with a road accident at Borgaon in Gittikhadan area. He was hit by a motorcycle rider walking on the road.
The rider took him to the Mayo hospital where he was undergoing treatment with the help of well-wishers. He never fully recovered from the injuries with the advancing age only slowing his systems. The last rites will be performed at Mokshadham at 11 am on Friday.
"He died a pauper. Till his end, he lived in a hut in a Ganeshpeth slum," one of his innumerable fans told TOI. "Cassette and disc companies who sold his albums extolling virtues of Buddha and Ambedkar raked in moolah. Singers Udit Narayan, Anuradha Paudwal, Kavita Krishnamurthy, Krishna Shinde and Milind Shinde who gave voice to his beautiful and soul-stirring lyrics are celebrities today. But Mule was lonely and uncared for when he breathed his last," said Kewal Jeevantare, who followed the famous poet's life closely.
It was in 1955 that Mule, who was born in a higher caste of 'Beldar' and was a native of Buldhana, met Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar at Indora in Nagpur. Afterwards, witnessing the Deeksha ceremony, the world's only event of its kind where Ambedkar led the largest congregation into another religion in a bloodless and most peaceful conversion ceremony, he was so inspired by the Dalit icon that Mule chose to live here for the rest of his life. Educated only up to Class VII, poetry came to him naturally. He studied classics of Premchand, Bankimchandra and Mahadevi Verma avidly and used the skills imbibed to spread thoughts of Ambedkar.
"He would never fight with recording companies who gave him a couple of thousand rupees for collection of his poems and turned them into bestselling songs. He was at peace with himself," said another of his follower Ravi Gajbhiye. For a man who became downtrodden by choice, the end was also equally tragic. On the new year eve he met with a road accident at Borgaon in Gittikhadan area. He was hit by a motorcycle rider walking on the road.
The rider took him to the Mayo hospital where he was undergoing treatment with the help of well-wishers. He never fully recovered from the injuries with the advancing age only slowing his systems. The last rites will be performed at Mokshadham at 11 am on Friday.
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