PANJIM: Former Director of Archives, Archaeology and Museum, Dr Prakashchandra Pandurang Shirodkar passed away in Bengaluru on early Thursday morning. He was 80.
Shirodkar was ailing from age-related health issues for some time. He leaves behind his wife Sulabha, a married son Priyadarshan and a married daughter Pradnya in the USA. Shirodkar was the eldest son of `Rashtraveer’ Pandurang Purushottam Shirodkar, a freedom fighter and the first elected Speaker of the Goa, Daman and Diu Legislative Assembly in 1963.
When the father was incarcerated in Angola, Shirodkar completed his school and college education in Mumbai and worked for a decade at Free Press Journal Mumbai, last as its chief sub-editor.
As Director of Archives in Goa for over two decades, Shirodkar was instrumental in getting a number of publications of the press, the most notable being Purabhilekh-Puratatva, Journal of the Directorate of Archives, Archaeology and Museum, edited by him.
A researcher and scholar of international repute on Portuguese colonial history from Brazil to Africa to South East Asia, he enlivened the Goa Gazetteer Department as its Executive Director and editor, with a number of books authored by him.
He was on the executive committee of the International Seminar on Indo-Portuguese History, Lisbon for two consecutive terms. He contributed several research papers to national and international seminars.
He was associated with Goa University right from its inception in 1985.