Amid the crowd of revered writers at the Akhil Bharatiya Marathi Sammelan – one of the most prestigious literary conferences for Marathi writers – finding the name of a 54-year-old cop from Mumbai can be quite surprising.
On February 17, Nandkumar Sawant will become the first policeman to be feted at the event that will be held in Vadodara, reports Hindustan Times. Sawant will be reading out his poem, Gaavakusa Bahercha Ukirda, which has been selected for the conference, in front of dignitaries.
Nandkumar Sawant (Courtesy: Express Photo)
While being felicitated by Mumbai police commissioner Datta Padsalgikar on February 12, Sawant revealed the reason he started writing poetry.
He told the newspaper:
When I was posted at Kamathipura, a red light area in Central Mumbai, in 2012, I closely observed the lives of prostitutes and the dark side of it. I started converting my observations into words and the poetry slowly took shape. I sent it to All India Marathi Literary Conference and it got selected.
Sawant, who joined the Mumbai Police in 1987, is a part of the Local Arms division at the port zone deputy commissioner of police’s (DCP) office. He has been writing poetry since 2010 and keeps posting them on his social media profiles.
Well, if you think Sawant’s talent is just restricted to penning down poetry, then you are highly mistaken. He is also a stage actor and has acted in the recently-released R Madhavan-starrer web series Breathe.
Nandkumar Sawant’s story proves you can do anything, no matter how difficult it is.
