Arun Kolatkar won the Commonwealth Poetry Prize in 1977 for his “Japura”, which is a model of precise depiction of scenery. He has written a good number of poems in English and Marathi. About ‘Japura’:
(i) This long narrative poem interspersed with colloquial words and expressions is divided in thirty one sections.
(ii) It is written in a style free from any punctuation marks including capital letters.
(iii) The poem is written in an oscillating meter in conformity with the subject matter, which is controlled by a wavering, though obscuring, and inquisitive mind hesitating to finally accept or reject faith, though apparent irreverence is exhibited prominently in the odysseys journey to the temple of Khandoba, and this is what lends an exceptional charm to the poem.