Velankar retired as an additional secretary in the Union Ministry of Communications on December 31, 1973. He was a senior member of the Posts and Telegraphs Board and was conferred the President's Award for Sanskrit in 1996. He wrote as many as 105 books and dramas in Sanskrit. His Viloma Kavya was considered a literary feat as read from forwards, it was verse in praise of Lord Rama and backwards, it was verse dedicated to Lord Krishna.Velankar was the chairman of the Indipex, an international philately exhibition featuring 120 countries held at New Delhi in 1973. He founded the Dev Vani Mandiram, a cultural troupe here which made several overseas tours to promote Sanskrit.

The funeral was held at the Chandanwadi crematorium this evening, Velankar's son Rajiv said.