Renowned poet, writer and critic Dilip Chitre passed away at his Pune residence in the early hours of Thursday.

Chitre, 71, was suffering from cancer, family sources said.

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He was one of the foremost Indian writers and critics to emerge in the post-Independence era. Besides being a bilingual writer, writing in Marathi and English, he was also a painter and filmmaker.

Chitre was one of the earliest and the most important influence behind the famous "Little Magazine movement" of the 1960s in Maharashtra [ Images ].

He was also an accomplished translator and his most important translation was that of the celebrated 17th century Marathi bhakti poet Tukaram's works, published as `Says Tuka'.

He also translated `Anubhavamrut' written by the 12th century poet Dnyaneshwar. Condoling Chitre's death, Union Minister and Congress leader Vilasrao Deshmukh [ Images ] said, "We have lost lost a multi-talented personality."

Union Minister and former Maharashtra Chief Minister Sushilkumar Shinde said his death was an "irreparable loss" to the state.