Articles, Lectures & Academic Papers

Writings & Lectures

The following is a comprehensive list of G.V. Desani's writings and lectures and access options for potential researchers.

Full-length Fiction

Short Stories

Many of Desani's short stories were first published in The Illustrated Weekly of India in the 1960s. Many of these were republished in Hali and Collected Stories, McPherson and Company, New York, 1991.

For two years in the 1960s The Illustrated Weekly of India published Desani's unsigned column "Very High" and "Very Low". These columns — as with all of Desani's writings, copyrighted by the author — were subsequently revised for eventual inclusion in an anthology of his writings. The columns provided here as a courtesy to Desani researchers are generally based on the original columns. 

"Very High" and "Very Low" topics fell roughly into three categories: Nari text / Yoga related; social commentary; and world travelogue. To provide some context, the columns were written during the author's transition from more than a decade of strenuous and private sādāna. Returning to India from Rangoon, Burma (now Myanmar) Desani's reputation as a spiritual adept preceded him and grew further as he started writing and speaking about his experiences and conclusions. Never one to suffer fools gladly, Desani became increasingly frustrated by unwanted attention and requests he received from acquaintances and friends-of-friends. Also never one to let an experience which could be turned into good copy go begging, Desani took the opportunity afforded by the columns to opine on the pedestrian intentions and ambitions of his acquaintances, hosts and others he encountered as he traveled about India. 

In 1967 Desani was awarded a Fulbright scholarship to teach in the U.S. The column ended soon thereafter.

Contributions

Papers, Essays and Comments, 1968-1979

Lectures & Interviews

Journals

Other Activities and Honors