Please answer the following question: Facts: - death place: nashik , maharashtra - language: marathi - alt: caption = .. - caption: .. - notableworks: '' vishaka '' -lrb- 1942 -rrb- '' natsamrat '' - death date: 10 march 1999 - pseudonym: kusumagraj - awards: 1974 sahitya akademi award in marathi 1988 jnanpith award - image: image_size = alt = caption = .. - birth place: pune , maharashtra - occupation: poet , humanist , playwright , novelist , short story writer Based on these bullet points, write a short biography describing the life of kusumagraj .
Answer:
vishnu vaman shirwadkar -lrb- -rrb- -lrb- 27 february 1912 -- 10 march 1999 -rrb- , popularly known by his pen name , kusumagraj -lrb- -rrb- , was an eminent marathi poet , playwright , novelist , short story writer , apart from being a humanist , who wrote of freedom , justice and emancipation of the deprived , in a career spanning five decades starting in pre-independence era , he wrote 16 volumes of poems , three novels , eight volumes of short stories , seven volumes of essays , 18 plays and six one-act plays .his works like the '' vishaka '' -lrb- 1942 -rrb- , a collection of lyrics , inspired a generation into the indian freedom movement , and is today considered one of the masterpieces of indian literature. , apart from his play , '' natsamrat '' which has important place in marathi literature .he was the recipient of several state awards , and national awards including the 1974 sahitya akademi award in marathi for '' natsamrat '' , and the jnanpith award in 1988 ; he also remained chairperson of the world marathi conference in 1989 .he was born in the city of pune and spent most of his life in nashik , maharashtra .