Gurunath Kelekar

Gurunath Shivaji Kelekar (16 November 1929 – 19 January 2021) was an Indian freedom fighter and author from Goa. He won the Sahitya Akademi Translation Prize for his translation of Mahatma Gandhi's The Story of My Experiments with Truth in Konkani.

Life and career Gurunath Shivaji Kelekar was born on 16 November 1929 in Priol. He completed his primary education from Bombay and was an active freedom fighter, even having been arrested multiple times.

Following the Liberation of Goa, Kelekar was active in the promotion of Konkani language. He ran a fortnightly magazine, Novem Goem from 1962 till 1970. From 1975 to 1982, he ran a weekly magazine titled Goencho Mog . Both these magazines were published in the Roman script. To fund this magazine when it was facing financial losses, Kelekar led a 67-day padayatra across the state to raise funds. He was also a follower of Nehruvian philosophy and had a large collection of books dedicated to Gandhi and Nehru. founded the Movement for Amity towards Roads in Goa (MARG) to spread road safety awareness among citizens. Kelekar never associated himself with any political parties, religious or spiritual organisations and advocated for "a secular and liberal spirit of scientific enquiry".

He had three children, a son named Samir and daughters Sanjeevani Keni and Chitra Zuvarkar. He lived in Margao city.

Kelekar died on 20 January 2021 at his daughter's house in Taleigao and was cremated at the Margao crematorium. His funeral was attended by prominent Goans like Vijai Sardesai, Narendra Sawaikar, Pundalik Naik, Tomazinho Cardozo, Sandesh Prabhudesai and Prashanti Talpankar.