| Shivkar Bapuji Talpade | |
|---|---|
Shivkar Bapuji Talpade
| |
| Born | 1864 Bombay (Now Mumbai), Bombay Presidency |
| Died | 1916 (aged 51–52) |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Education | Sir Jamsetjee Jeejebhoy School of Art |
| Children | Three (two sons and one daughter) |
Talpade was born in the Chira Bazaar locality of Bombay (now Mumbai), Maharashtra.[1] He completed his school education in Sir Jamsetjee Jeejebhoy School of Art. During his time there he came to know about ancient Indian aeronautics through his teacher Chiranjilal Verma, who led Talpade to read Swami Dayanand Saraswati's works related to ancient aeronautics, such as ‘Rigvedādic Bhāshya Bhumikā’ and ‘Rigved and Yajurveda Bhāshya’. However, some sources also suggests that his works were based on the work done by Maharishi Bharadwaja in Rigveda[citation needed]. Inspired by these texts he decided to construct the Vedic Vimāna described in the Vedas, and started learning Vedic Sanskrit language.
Pratap Velkar, in his book on the Pathare Prabhu community, says that Talpade also studied the achievements of aviation pioneers like Thomas Alva Edison who flew in a balloon. Talpade's study included the experiment of machine gun inventor Hiram Maxim who made a captive steam-driven aircraft. According to Mr. Velkar, Mr. Talpade studied these flights, which inspired him to make an aircraft and fly.[4]
