From the honour of Punya Bhushan (Pride of Pune, the city where P L lives), to the top Indian honours of Padma Shree and Padma Bhushan, this humorist has had it all, and undoubtedly, he deserves it all.

And to present an award to P L is an honour for the presenter too. India's former President and eminent scholar, Dr. S Radhakrishnan, said so in so many words when he presented the Sahitya Akademi (the top literary body) award to P L in 1965. The President then said: "It is an unforgettable moment in my life."

Another illustrious President, Dr. Zakir Hussein, too had a similar ``unforgettable moment' ' when he presented the Sangeet Natak Akademi award to P L in 1968. P L also received the Akademi fellowship in 1979.

His reputation is not confined to just his home-state of Maharashtra. And so recognition and honours have come from various corners _ the Kalidas award for the best play-script from the Madhya Pradesh government; the award for P L's ``eminent contribution in the field of Indian theatre'' from Calcutta's (West Bengal) `Nandikar' institute; `Doctor of Literature' from the Rabindra Bharati university of Calcutta; the Gomantak (Goa) Marathi Akademi's best literature award.

University of Pune and Tilak Maharashtra Vidyapeeth from his own state have conferred honorary D Litts on him, (1980 and 1993 respectively).

When P L received the Punya Bhushan award from vocalist Pandit Bhimsen Joshi, he was moved to tears when the audience spontaneously gave him a standing ovation. This `bahurupi' was the recipient of the Maharashtra Gaurav award. He donated the award amount of Rs. 1 lakh to the Asiatic Society, Mumbai, for preservation of old books.

P L was honoured with the first Maharashtra Bhushan award introduced by the Shiv Sena-Bharatiya Janata Party government. Incidentally, P L kicked up a row during the award presentation ceremony by strongly condemning the `fascist tendencies' of the ruling Shiv Sena. His remarks had prompted the irrpressible Shiv Sena chief Balasaheb Thackeray to deride P L, although in reality, P L is Thackeray's favourite writer.

The awards, thus, came in a torrent from governments, institutions, organisations, not to mention those from his innumerable fans all over. One such was a harmonium-shaped cake from friend Sangeeta Marathe when P L turned 75. Typically, he remarked: "I could not make myself bold enough to cut the beautiful harmonium-cake."