Narayan Desai Biography 
Narayan Desai was a noted Gandhian and writer belonging to Gujarati language. He is the son of noted Gujarati writer, Mahadev Desai better known as the personal secretary of Mahatma Gandhi. He wrote the biography of his father which earned him Sahitya Akademi Award for Gujarati in 1993. He was also a recipient of Moortidevi Award for the year 2004, given by Bharatiya Jnanpith. He received this award for the book - ‘Maroon Jeewan Aj Mari Vaani’ based on Mahatma Gandhi’s life. Jamnalal Bajaj Award in 1999, UNESCO-Madanjeet Singh Prize in 1998 and Ranjitram Suvarna Chandrak, the highest award of Gujarati literature, in 2001 are the other major awards received by him. He was brought up in Sabarmati Ashram.
Narayan Desai was born on 24 December 1924 in Bulsar, Gujarat. His childhood days were spent in Sabarmati Ashram, where his father Mahadev Desai served as the personal secretary of Mahatma Gandhi. He also spent his early days at Ahmedabad and Sevagram near Wardha. Later he discontinued his studies and trained in Ashram itself. He also learnt spinning and weaving khadi. Desai was a Gandhian. He married Uttara Chaudhury, daughter of freedom fighters and after marriage he moved to Vedchhi, a tribal village along with his wife, where they worked as school teachers.
Closely associated with Vinoba Bhave’s Bhoodan movement he travelled across Gujarat to collect land from rich and distributed it among poor landless villagers. He was the founder editor of the magazine, Bhoomiputra, associated with this movement. He also worked as the general secretary of Akhil Bharatiya Shanti Sena Mandal, founded by Vinoba Bhave. After independence too, he lived a Gandhian’s life preaching his principles. He recited 'Gandhi-Katha' across the world since 2004. He served as Chancellor of Gujarat Vidyapith during the period – 2007-2015. He died on 15 March 2015 at Surat.
Published: N/A
Updated: February 27, 2016
