Death Date : 04/12/2019

HE WORKED AS A PROFESSOR OF MATHEMATICS FOR A FEW YEARS AFTER COMPLETING HIS MASTERS IN MATHEMATICS. LATER, HE JOINED CENTRAL WATER & POWER RESEARCH STATION (CW&PRS) AT KHADAKWASLA IN PUNE. HE WORKED ALONG WITH DR. ACHYUTRAO APTE (A LEADING MATHEMATICIAN, RESEARCHER AND SOCIAL REFORMER) AS A SENIOR RESEARCH OFFICER FOR MANY YEARS. AFTER RETIRING FROM CW&PRS, HE WORKED ON MARATHI TRANSLATIONS OF ‘A BRIEF HISTORY OF TIME’ BY DR. STEPHEN HAWKING, AND ALSO ‘PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY’ BY OSCAR WILDE. BOTH THESE BOOKS EARNED IMMENSE POPULARITY, AND HAVE WON THE HEARTS OF AVID READERS AS WELL AS CRITICS! LATER, HE TIRELESSLY WORKED FOR MANY YEARS DOING A LOT OF STUDY AND RESEARCH TO AUTHOR MARATHI –MARATHI –ENGLISH THESAURUS (PARYAYKOSH IN MARATHI). THIS THESAURUS HAS BEEN EXTREMELY USEFUL FOR ALL AUTHORS WORKING ON ENGLISH TRANSLATION OF BOOKS AS WELL AS READERS AND ESPECIALLY STUDENTS INVOLVED IN LANGUAGE STUDIES. ONE OF HIS BOOKS WHICH DESCRIBED AND CORRELATED MODERN SCIENTIFIC VIEWS TO PHILOSOPHICAL BELIEF SYSTEMS ALSO EARNED RAVE REVIEWS FROM AVID READERS AS WELL AS CRITICS! HIS WIFE LATE MRS. ANJALI THAKAR WAS ONE OF THE MOST DISTINGUISHED MARATHI POETESSES AND AUTHORS OF HER ERA SPANNING FROM EARLY 1950S TILL 1980S. HIS PARENTS WERE ACTIVELY INVOLVED IN INDIAN FREEDOM STRUGGLE FOR MANY YEARS BEFORE INDIAN INDEPENDENCE, DURING THE BRITISH RULE. APART FROM THAT, THEY WERE ALSO DEEPLY INVOLVED IN VARIOUS EFFORTS OF SOCIAL WELFARE FOR THE TRIBAL PEOPLE STAYING IN REMOTE VILLAGES LOCATED WITHIN SATPUDA MOUNTAIN RANGES OF NANDURBAR REGION. BOTH PARENTS WERE JAILED BY THE BRITISH GOVT. FOR A NUMBER OF TIMES. IN FACT, VINAYAK THAKAR WAS BORN IN A JAIL DURING HIS MOTHER’S JAIL TERM SHE WAS SERVING WHILE FIGHTING AGAINST THE BRITISH RULE FOR THE INDIAN INDEPENDENCE! AS A HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT, HE ALWAYS WISHED AND ASPIRED TO DO IN-DEPTH STUDY IN MATHEMATICS AND PHYSICS AND WORK AS A RESEARCH SCIENTIST LATER IN PROFESSIONAL LIFE. APART FROM THIS, HE WAS ALSO KEENLY INTERESTED IN STUDY OF LITERATURE, ARTS, AND CLASSICAL MUSIC AS WELL, WHICH HE PURSUED VERY WELL IN HIS LIFE AFTER RETIREMENT. HE WAS A GREAT VISIONARY SCIENTIST, AND ALWAYS WISHED THAT HIS BODY SHOULD BE USED POSTHUMOUSLY FOR MEDICAL RESEARCH. THUS, HE HAD CREATED HIS WILL WITH THE ARMED FORCES MEDICAL COLLEGE (AFMC) PUNE, FOR HIS BODY DONATION TO BE ACCEPTED AFTER HIS DEMISE. AFTER A VERY BRIEF AGE RELATED ILLNESS, HE LEFT FOR THE HEAVENLY ABODE AT THE AGE OF 88 IN DECEMBER 2019. AS PER HIS WILL HE HAD EXECUTED IN 2014 ITSELF, HIS FAMILY MEMBERS DONATED HIS BODY TO AFMC, PUNE AFTER HIS DEATH.

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