HE WORKED AS A PROFESSOR OF MATHEMATICS FOR A FEW YEARS AFTER COMPLETING HIS MASTERS IN MATHEMATICS. LATER, HE JOINED CENTRAL WATER & POWER RESEARCH STATION (CW&PRS) AT KHADAKWASLA IN PUNE. HE WORKED ALONG WITH DR. ACHYUTRAO APTE (A LEADING MATHEMATICIAN, RESEARCHER AND SOCIAL REFORMER) AS A SENIOR RESEARCH OFFICER FOR MANY YEARS. AFTER RETIRING FROM CW&PRS, HE WORKED ON MARATHI TRANSLATIONS OF ‘A BRIEF HISTORY OF TIME’ BY DR. STEPHEN HAWKING, AND ALSO ‘PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY’ BY OSCAR WILDE. BOTH THESE BOOKS EARNED IMMENSE POPULARITY, AND HAVE WON THE HEARTS OF AVID READERS AS WELL AS CRITICS! LATER, HE TIRELESSLY WORKED FOR MANY YEARS DOING A LOT OF STUDY AND RESEARCH TO AUTHOR MARATHI –MARATHI –ENGLISH THESAURUS (PARYAYKOSH IN MARATHI). THIS THESAURUS HAS BEEN EXTREMELY USEFUL FOR ALL AUTHORS WORKING ON ENGLISH TRANSLATION OF BOOKS AS WELL AS READERS AND ESPECIALLY STUDENTS INVOLVED IN LANGUAGE STUDIES. ONE OF HIS BOOKS WHICH DESCRIBED AND CORRELATED MODERN SCIENTIFIC VIEWS TO PHILOSOPHICAL BELIEF SYSTEMS ALSO EARNED RAVE REVIEWS FROM AVID READERS AS WELL AS CRITICS! HIS WIFE LATE MRS. ANJALI THAKAR WAS ONE OF THE MOST DISTINGUISHED MARATHI POETESSES AND AUTHORS OF HER ERA SPANNING FROM EARLY 1950S TILL 1980S. HIS PARENTS WERE ACTIVELY INVOLVED IN INDIAN FREEDOM STRUGGLE FOR MANY YEARS BEFORE INDIAN INDEPENDENCE, DURING THE BRITISH RULE. APART FROM THAT, THEY WERE ALSO DEEPLY INVOLVED IN VARIOUS EFFORTS OF SOCIAL WELFARE FOR THE TRIBAL PEOPLE STAYING IN REMOTE VILLAGES LOCATED WITHIN SATPUDA MOUNTAIN RANGES OF NANDURBAR REGION. BOTH PARENTS WERE JAILED BY THE BRITISH GOVT. FOR A NUMBER OF TIMES. IN FACT, VINAYAK THAKAR WAS BORN IN A JAIL DURING HIS MOTHER’S JAIL TERM SHE WAS SERVING WHILE FIGHTING AGAINST THE BRITISH RULE FOR THE INDIAN INDEPENDENCE! AS A HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT, HE ALWAYS WISHED AND ASPIRED TO DO IN-DEPTH STUDY IN MATHEMATICS AND PHYSICS AND WORK AS A RESEARCH SCIENTIST LATER IN PROFESSIONAL LIFE. APART FROM THIS, HE WAS ALSO KEENLY INTERESTED IN STUDY OF LITERATURE, ARTS, AND CLASSICAL MUSIC AS WELL, WHICH HE PURSUED VERY WELL IN HIS LIFE AFTER RETIREMENT. HE WAS A GREAT VISIONARY SCIENTIST, AND ALWAYS WISHED THAT HIS BODY SHOULD BE USED POSTHUMOUSLY FOR MEDICAL RESEARCH. THUS, HE HAD CREATED HIS WILL WITH THE ARMED FORCES MEDICAL COLLEGE (AFMC) PUNE, FOR HIS BODY DONATION TO BE ACCEPTED AFTER HIS DEMISE. AFTER A VERY BRIEF AGE RELATED ILLNESS, HE LEFT FOR THE HEAVENLY ABODE AT THE AGE OF 88 IN DECEMBER 2019. AS PER HIS WILL HE HAD EXECUTED IN 2014 ITSELF, HIS FAMILY MEMBERS DONATED HIS BODY TO AFMC, PUNE AFTER HIS DEATH.

पुण्याच्या फर्गसन महाविद्यालयातून गणित या विषयात MSC झाल्यानंतर त्यांनी काही काळ प्राध्यापकी केली. त्यानंतर खडकवासला, पुणे येथील केंद्रिय जलशक्ती संशोधन संस्था (CWPRS) या केंद्र सरकारी संस्थेत डॉ. अच्युतराव आपटे यांच्या समवेत ते सिनिअर रिसर्च ऑफिसर या पदावर अनेक वर्षे कार्यरत होते. निवृत्तीनंतरच्या काळात त्यांनी डॉ, स्टिफन हॉकिंग यांच्या ‘द ब्रिफ हिस्टरी ऑफ टाइम’ या पुस्तकाचे मराठीत अनुवादित केलेले ‘काळाचा छोटासा इतिहास’ , तसेच ‘पिकचर ऑफ डोरीयन ग्रे’ चा मराठी अनुवाद ही पुस्तके चांगलीच गाजली. त्यानंतर त्यांनी अनेक वर्षे अथक परिश्रम व अभ्यास करून तयार केलेला मराठी- मराठी- इंग्रजी असा थेसोरस किंवा पर्याय शब्दकोश हा सर्व लेखक, वाचक, तसेच मराठी व इंग्रजी अनुवाद करणाऱ्या लेखकांना फारच उपयोगी पडतो. त्यांचे "विज्ञान आणि अध्यात्म - एक मुळापासून दृष्टीक्षेप" हे पुस्तकही वाचकांना चांगलेच भावले. ज्ञानेश्वरांचे काव्यलंकार व इतर काही पुस्तक संपदा निर्मिलेल्या सुप्रसिद्ध लेखिका व कवयित्री कै. अंजली ठकार यांचे ते पती होते. विनायक ठकार यांचे आई-वडील स्वातंत्र्य लढ्यात तर पूर्णवेळ सक्रिय होतेच, पण त्याचबरोबर त्यांनी पश्चिम खानदेश (आता नंदुरबार जिल्हा) मधील धडगाव जवळ अनेक खेडयात अनेक वर्षे समाजसेवा केली. स्वातंत्र्य लढ्यात अनेकवेळा कारावास भोगला व अशाच एका कारावासाच्या काळात विनायक ठकार यांचा जन्म झाला. खूप शिकून आपण भौतिक शास्त्र किंवा गणित विषयात शास्त्रज्ञ म्हणून काम करण्याची त्यांची लहानपणापासूनच मनिषा होती. त्याचबरोबर साहित्य, कला, संगीत या विषयांमध्येही त्यांना कमालीचा रस होता. निवृत्तीनंतरच्या संपूर्ण काळात सतत वाचन, लेखन, संगीत श्रवण करून त्यांनी आपणां सर्व लोकांसाठी फारच मोठा आदर्श ठेवला आहे! आपल्या हयातीनंतरही आपली प्रत्येक पेशी ही यापुढील वैद्यकीय संशोधनासाठी वापरली जावी यासाठी २०१४ सालीच त्यांनी आर्म्ड फोर्सेस मेडिकल कॉलेज (AFMC), पुणे येथे रीतसर देहदानासाठी अर्ज करून सर्व कागदपत्रे कुटुंबीयांकडे सुपूर्द केली होती. अल्पशा आजारानंतर डिसेंबर २०१९ मध्ये वयाच्या ८८ व्या वर्षी त्यांनी या जगाचा निरोप घेतला.