Rajkumar Abhimanyu was a brave warrior. He was the son of Arjuna and Subhadra. Lord Krishna was his uncle. The duty bound Abhimanyu was married to Rajkumari Uttara ( daughter of Raja Virata ) and Rajkumari Vatsala ( daughter of Raja Balram - the elder brother of Lord Krishna ). The young Rajkumar passed away during the thirteenth day of the Mahabharata war while trying to break the Chakravyuh formed by Acharya Drona in order to capture the eldest Pandava Yudhishtra alive. However brave Abhimanyu kept the Kauravas occupied through the day. His bravery and noble intent is still being remembered today. Great people are remembered always and this includes the ones who leave the world at an early age. Nagindas Desai continues to be one such great Indian who is remembered even after 50 years of his demise.
Rajkumar Abhimanyu was a brave warrior. He was the son of Arjuna and Subhadra. Lord Krishna was his uncle. The duty bound Abhimanyu was married to Rajkumari Uttara ( daughter of Raja Virata ) and Rajkumari Vatsala ( daughter of Raja Balram - the elder brother of Lord Krishna ). The young Rajkumar passed away during the thirteenth day of the Mahabharata war while trying to break the Chakravyuh formed by Acharya Drona in order to capture the eldest Pandava Yudhishtra alive. However brave Abhimanyu kept the Kauravas occupied through the day. His bravery and noble intent is still being remembered today. Great people are remembered always and this includes the ones who leave the world at an early age. Nagindas Desai continues to be one such great Indian who is remembered even after 50 years of his demise.
Nagindas Desai ( 1931 - 1967 ) was born to Icchalakshmi and Khushaldas Desai of Bhavnagar. The family belonged to Dungar and Nagindas had done his early education in a Gujarati medium school. He did a short stint at the Stanes Anglo Indian School but did not complete his schooling. The young guy joined his cotton merchant father Khushaldas Desai quite early. He mastered the business and became one of the top cotton brokers in this region.
" Our family, the Kikanis and Pannalal Ramkumar were together in business. The Kikani family branched out first and our family came out on the passing away of my father. My father had been a director in Ashoka Textiles those days and our family had a tea estate in the Nilgiris. Our family was a co founder of the Kikani School. Father was in Home Guards and had met His Highness Jayachamaraja Wodeyar, the Maharajah of Mysore during his tenure as an office bearer. He used go on night patrols at the time of war. Father was a hardworking, humble and large hearted man. He had helped a number of people and there are quite a few who have his portrait in their pooja room or office, " stated the first son Hiren Desai while recalling his father.
Nagindas had married Pushpa of Bhavnagar and the couple had been blessed with Hiren, Bhupendra, Harish, Alka, Hitendra and Naina. Pushpa was just 33 years of age when she lost her husband and the youngest child Naina was just 6 months old. " My elder brother Nagindas was a tall and handsome man. He was a friend best to everyone. Industrialist G.Krishnan had been responsible for the development of the Lions Club in Coimbatore and my brother joined the organization during the formative years of the people oriented movement. He was a member of the Cosmopolitan Club too. Brother was a fabulously successful cotton broker. He used to get the first call from the mills requiring cotton. There were many instances when he used to come out of the mill office on completion of his work and guide the other waiting brokers on the needs of the particular mill. He used to tell them about the requirements that were still remaining, " recalls Dhirendra Desai.
Nagindas Desai had been a large hearted person in the world of cotton. He used to take about 10 to 12 people for lunch to the family residence everyday. The house used to known as a ' Dharamshala ' and the guests used to love the fine vegetarian food that was served in the Desai household. Nagindas was extremely charitable and he used to provide educational support to the needy in places that were frequented by him during the course of his business visits. The family came to know about his noble deeds only after his expiry. Numerous letters and visits had engulfed them.
Hiren Desai recalled a few incidents, " Father took me to a place near Royal theatre in order to get my school uniform. Somebody was in need of help and he instantly emptied his pocket and gave the money to that person. He took me the very next day once again to get my uniform. He was an example of a person whose left hand would not come to know of the good deeds of the right hand." The family had a big home on Venkataswamy road in R.S.Puram and Khushaldas desai, the father of Nagindas had to do an agreement of sale at 12 AM in the night at the time of the anti Hindi agitation.
Nagindas Desai had taken a few mill owners to Mumbai for purchasing cotton and he took ill all of a sudden. He was admitted into a hospital and he passed away all of a sudden. The industry missed him thereafter. He was one who had ensured that everyone got a good deal. Nagindas Desai had been the biggest cotton broker in this part of the country. " Father simply loved his family and friends. He used to take all of us out on big holidays every year. Dad, mom and all of us used to travel by car to different parts of the country. The car used to fitted with a carrier on top. These holidays used to take about one month of his time. We had visited Karnataka, Maharashtra and Rajasthan over the years. He used to watch movies with his near and dear. 'April Fool' in Naaz theatre was the last movie that he viewed with his friends and family. Kanaklal Abhaichand, Tiles Nanjundan, Mukund Parikh and Bhatija were his close friends. K.M.Krishna was very well known to him. He used to visit Lord Krishna of Guruvayur and would always greet people with the word ' Jai Shri Krishna '. The household was always vegetarian and the family continues to be vegetarian.
Kanaklal Abhaichand continues to cherish the memory of his beloved friend, " He would not mince words. I have never come across anyone like him. He was very straight forward. We used to go to watch movies in Rainbow, Palace ( Naaz theatre ) and Srinivas. My office never gave me the break but somehow I used to slip out in order to enjoy a movie with Nagindas. He used to call me each time before leaving town. At times the calls used to come at the dead of the night. However he did not call me before he undertook his last trip to Mumbai. My wife Hiralakshmi and myself had the chance to look after his youngest child briefly while he was sick in Mumbai. I continue to remember him everyday. He was a fabulous person."
A box of uncooked rice was given to every beggar who had knocked on the Desai household. The Bhagavatas from Mathura and Gokul would have a meal in their household. " My grandfather Khushaldas used to state that one does not become poor by feeding people. Everyone should be given food. 'Poor' only happens by doing other things. Father was a good friend to G.Purushothama Naidu, G.Krishnan and G.N.Sam of the Coimbatore Spinning & Weaving Mills. R.Venkatswamy Naidu and his brother P.R.Ramakrishnan of Radhakrishna Mills were very close to him. Most of the mill owners in Coimbatore were well known. Several cotton people were among his friends. The Punjab Cotton Company, Kisanlal Bhandari ( Raichur ), Pannalal Kankariya ( Gujarat ), Bhaidas Karsandas ( Bombay ) were among his friends. All of them used to supply cotton through my father. Two of the biggest in each centre were his associates. The cotton season was from Diwali to July. Those days the merchants used to book calls and wait for hours. They used to flit from one lightening call to the other, " shared Hiren Desai.
" I was too young to know my father well. But knew and understood that he was a great soul. He was six feet and two inches tall. Our business was known as H.Nagindas & Brothers, Digvijay Cotton Company. Our mother Pushpa Desai took to religion and spirituality on the passing away of our father. She has always been adept in the ' Pushti Marg '. Mummy has taught prayers and the philosophy connected to the great Vallabhacharya to a large number of people. Adi Sankara, Ramanujacharya, Madhwacharya, Nimbakacharya and Vallabhacharya ( Pushti Marg ) were the great Acharyas of our country. Vallabhacharya's philosophy was always propounded in a married state. People performing ' Raas Leela ' were always welcome to our home, " smiled Bhupendra Desai while talking about his parents. The residences belonging to the family are filled with images connected with Lord Krishna and Saint Vallabhacharya.
Nagindas desai, the benevolent Lion among Coimbatoreans will forever be an inspiration to aspiring youngsters.