Ramanlal Vasantlal Desai was an Indian Gujarati language writer. He was born on 12 May 1892. He was born in a village named Sinor. His father's name was Vasantlal and his mother's name was Manibai. Vasantlal ran a Gujarati magazine named Deshbhakta. Desai studied until 6th standard at his uncle's home in Shinor and then shifted to Vadodara in 1902 and joined school there. Shu Karu? his poem was published in a college magazine and later published in Niharika, his poetry collection. He graduated in 1914 with a B.A. degree. He wrote a play named Samyukta which was performed at Gujarati Sahitya Parishad in 1915 which was held at Surat.
He completed a Master of Arts in English and Gujarati literature in 1916. As a teacher, he joined Shri Sayaji High School, and a few months later, he was appointed as the head clerk in the Baroda State, later he held various positions there before retiring in 1948. He died due to heart failure on 20 September 1954. In 1937 Ramanlal Vasantlal Desai was the president of Baroda Sahitya Sabha and as well as of the Pragatishil Sahitya Mandal. His son's name is Akshay Desai. He was a renowned Indian sociologist. Desai's novels mostly depict the Gujarati middle-class life and characters. He has also written plays, poems, short stories, character sketches, travelogues, literary criticism as well as an autobiography.
His first literary writing was a play named Samyukta. His first novel Thaug was serialised in a Gujarati magazine named Navagujarat. His first novel to be published in book form was Jayanta. In 1960, his last novel Aankh ane Anjan was issued. Desai has written 27 novels. His novels reflect the ideas, principles, and thoughts of Mahatma Gandhi. Desai wrote his autobiography Gaikal and Madhyahan Na Mrigjal. His work Apsara in 5 volumes is a study of the life of prostitutes. His novels Kokila, Divya Chakshu, and some other books were translated into Marathi, Hindi, and other Indian languages. The 1937 Hindi film Kokila which was directed by Sarvottam Badami was based on Ramanlal Vasantlal Desai's novel. His other novel Purnima was also made into a film. Vishwanath Bhatt is a Gujarati critic who considered Desai as the 'Yugamoorti Vartakar' which means the novelist who reflects an age. Desai was awarded in 1932 with Ranjitram Suvarna Chandrak for his contribution to Gujarati literature. He also received the Hargovinddas Kantawala Prize for one of his novels Divya Chakshu.Â
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