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Narmadashankar Dave, or more popularly, Narmad, wrote the first autobiography in Gujarati titled Mari Hakikat in 1866 when he was 33. Narmad’s book broke new ground in Gujarati, providing a template for self-writing as well as illuminating the upper-caste, male subjectivity during the rise of the reformist movement, technological advancement, and the accompanying consolidation of colonial rule.

Mari Hakikat, now available in an erudite English translation by Abhijit Kothari under the title , brings Narmad’s radical work to non-Gujarati audiences. Narmad, credited with writing Jay Jay Garvi Gujarat, the unofficial anthem of the state, also published ten volumes of poetry and compiled the first comprehensive Gujarati dictionary, in addition to writing numerous essays. The autobiography, divided into ten chapters (which Narmad chooses to call “Viram”, or temporary stops), covers Narmad’s ancestral origins, his childhood, his early education and financial struggles, his growing reputation as a poet and reformer, his relationship with different women (unnamed for the sake of anonymity) as well as his forays into the consumption of Bhang and Opium.

Narmad was also the first-ever Gujarati writer who sought to meet his financial needs solely through his writing, and, despite ups and downs, succeeded for a few years. For the non-Gujarati readers who may not be familiar with Narmad, the...