Г. В. Десани: Жизнь и творчество британского индийского писателя

British Indian writer and educator (1909–2000)

Govindas Vishnoodas Desani (1909–2000), known as G. V. Desani, was a British Indian journalist, lecturer, writer and educator. Desani is best known for his novel All About H. Hatterr, first published in Great Britain in 1948, which cast an absurdist, comedic light on the plight of a common man in a multicultural, pan ethnic world. Hatterr is notable for its many revised editions and attendant reviews received over seven decades which describe the book as "a genuine literary rarity, the lost and found masterpiece," "a lost classic", and, of the author, an "elusive talent of the Fifties." Post 40, Desani became a seeker, devotee, adept, reporter and lecturer on ancient Indian traditions — including obscure mantric and tantric crafts — to Eastern and Western audiences.

The 1948 publication of Desani's mock heroic novel, with its high velocity East West pitter patter, attracted widespread attention. T. S. Eliot said of it, " In all my experience, I have not met with anything quite like it. It is amazing that anyone should be able to sustain a piece of work in this style and tempo at such length." Orville Prescott, in a mixed review in The New York Times wrote, " To describe a rainbow to a child born blind would not be much more difficult than to describe the unique character of All About H. Hatterr as startling as a unicorn in the hall bedroom. Reading it issues dizzy spells, spots before the eyes, consternation, and even thought." Four decades later Salman Rushdie wrote "Hatterr's dazzling, puzzling, leaping prose is the first genuine effort to go beyond the Englishness of the English language."

Desani's Hali: A Play was published and performed in 1950. It was described by Eliot as "completely different from Hatterr." Eliot and E. M. Forster contributed forewords to the 55 page lyrical tragedy. Eliot called Hali's imagery " often terrifyingly effective," while Forster wrote, " it keeps evoking heights above the 'Summit City' of normal achievement." Other of their comments were less enthusiastic. Eliot added, "Hali is not likely to appeal quickly to the taste of many readers." And Forster observed, "It depends upon a private mythology – a dangerous device."

In 1991, Hali was re published in Hali and Collected Stories.

Desani was born in Kenya into an Indian family that had a general store, specializing in wood fuel. The family moved back to Sindh (now part of Pakistan) when he was about eight. Desani described himself as a rebellious child. He ran away from home three times and was, at the age of 13, expelled from school. Fleeing an arranged marriage, Desani at age 15 or 16 caught a steamer for the UK. He arrived in England speaking only Hindi but within a couple of years had mastered English to the point that he was befriended by several prominent Londoners. For example, he was recommended by George Lansbury MP, Deputy Leader of the Labour Party, for admission as a reader to the British Museum Library.

In the 1930s Desani worked as a film extra, an artists' model and as a correspondent for The Times of India, Reuters and the Associated Press, among others, contributing from both Great Britain and India. During World War II, Desani lectured in both English and Hindustani for the British Ministry of Information and the Imperial Institute.

Decades later, Desani recounted how — despite his achievements — he became increasingly unhappy. In 1952 he returned to India where he sought out a series of gurus and fakirs. These teachers, typically residing in rural Indian villages, assigned him arduous disciplines, often requiring months of intense Sādhanā. Desani spent most of 1960 in Rangoon (now Yangon) practicing Samatha vipassana under Theravada Buddhist master Mahasi Sayadaw. Upon completion, he was asked to address the Burmese diplomatic corps on Buddhist ethics and techniques. The meeting took place at the Israeli embassy; Burmese Justice U Chan Htoon presided.

From 1962 67 Desani made frequent contributions to The Illustrated Weekly of India. His articles included short stories, and commentary on Indian social and cultural issues, ethics, religion and occultism. An unsigned weekly column entitled "Very High & Very Low" ran from 1964 66.

In 1967 a Fulbright Program grant brought Desani to the University of Texas, Austin as a lecturer on Eastern Philosophy. In 1969 he joined the faculty as a full professor (notably Desani never graduated from high school and had no college). From 1970 79, Desani taught courses in Theravada Buddhism and other yoga traditions. He retired in 1982 following a semester as a Boston University lecturer under the sponsorship of then B. U. president John Silber. In his last years as a professor emeritus at UT Austin Desani hoped to write two more books: an autobiography and a book based on journal entries he made during his years investigating Nadi astrology and other occult crafts in India. Desani died at 91 in Ft. Worth, Texas.