Shivaji: The Great Maratha About the Author Ranjit Desai (1928-1992) is one of the most loved Marathi writers. He received many awards including the Maharashtra Rajya Award, the Hari Narayan Apte Award, the Sahitya Akademi Award, and the Maharashtra Gaurav Puraskar. The Government of India gave him the Padma Shri in 1973. Vikrant Pande has translated works by Ranjit Desai, Milind Bokil and N.S. Inamdar.