Shirish Atre-Pai

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Shirish Pai (born 1929) is an Indian poet and writer in both Marathi and English.

Shirish Pai is the daughter of the writer, playwright, freedom fighter and social reformer Acharya Atre.

She is particularly well known for the introduction of the Haiku form of poetry to the Marathi language and to Marathi literature.

She was a lawyer by profession, until she joined her father's newspaper, the Maratha, as a journalist. She was deeply influenced by the Soviet thinking and way of life and toured the Soviet Union and other Eastern Block countries, gaining a reputation as a prominent journalist and social worker.

She played an important role, alongside her father, in India's freedom movement. She was married to the eminent lawyer and journalist, Shri Venkatesh Pai, and along with him and her father played a most prominent role in the Samyukta Maharashtra movement. She was very close to Bhagwan Rajnish, the cult-guru who espoused happiness through sex.

She has written several books and several books of her poems are popularly available. She has been the recipient of several national and state awards.

She currently resides in Mumbai and has two sons who are eminent lawyers.