Harsha V. Dehejia

Harsha Venilal Dehejia (born 1938) is an Indo-Canadian allergologist, author, and radio host, and Professor of Indian Studies at Carleton University. He was the winner of the 2003 Raja Rao Award for Literature for outstanding contributions to the literature and culture of the South Asian Diaspora,[1][2] and the host of the radio show An Indian Morning for over 40 years.[3]

Earlier career

Born and raised in Malabar Hill, South Mumbai,[4] Dehejia received his medical doctorate from Bombay University, "with six gold medals", and then studied allergy and respiratory diseases at Cambridge University.[5] He moved to Canada, where he began practicing medicine in Ottawa around 1968.[2]

In 1975 Dehejia helped the radio station CKCU-FM obtain its first broadcast license, and began hosting the radio show An Indian Morning that November.[3] In 1976, he wrote "a pocket-book sized manual entitled I CanCope With Allergy",[5] and in 1980, he published The Allergy Book.[6][7] In a 1984 news piece, he noted his displeasure with "all the myths surrounding allergies," noting that people often misuse the term to refer to normal responses to toxins, when an allergy is defined as an abnormal response to substances harmless to most.[8] Dehejia continued to engage in numerous civic and cultural activities as well, with The Ottawa Citizen noting in 2003:

Although he is a leading allergist in Ottawa, Dr. Dehejia has found time to write books about the poetry and painting and gods of India, host a radio program, An Indian Morning, and teach a course at Carleton University on Hinduism and Classical Indian intellectual traditions.[2]

By that year, Dehehjia was regularly travelling to India, working towards earn his PhD in religion from the University of Bombay and participating in seminars.[2] Dehejia was also presented with the 2003 Raja Rao Award for Literature for outstanding contributions to the literature and culture of the South Asian Diaspora.[1][2][9] In 2008, Dehejia was one of five recipients of a recognition for community leadership by the Indo-Canada Ottawa Business Chamber.[10]

Later writing and activities

In 2014, Dehejia published his only work of fiction, the novel Parul: A Love Story, a story of a man who slowly surrenders his conviction in the principle of Maya, that the world is an illusion. The protagonist experiences romance with a beautiful and sensual woman who induces him to accept the reality of the beauty of things in the world.[11] In 2015, he celebrated the 40th year of his radio show, An Indian Morning, the only show to have been broadcast continuously on CKCU-FM for that length of time.[3]

In 2017, Dehejia published Walk With Me On Mumbai Footpaths, recounting discoveries encountered while walking in Mumbai.[4] The following year he published Radhayan, which "explores the many stories that feature Radha," a Hindu goddess.[12] Dehejia "spent over two years researching and writing" for this book.[12] In 2019, Dehejia further explored this mythos with his chapter, “The heart-throb of Chaitanya” in the book Finding Radha: The Quest for Love,[13] and in an edited collection, Radha: From Gopi to Goddess.[14][15]

Personal life

Dehejia's son, Vivek Harsha Dehejia, is also a professor at Carleton University, teaching in the areas of philosophy and economics.

References
  1. "Krishnabhakti from Carleton". The Financial Express. January 30, 2005.
  2. "Preserving a culture under attack," The Ottawa Citizen, Ottawa, Canada, 4 Oct. 2003, P. C3.
  3. "CKCU celebrates 40 years of non-mainstream radio". Ottawa Citizen. November 3, 2015.
  4. "This book will help you hit the footpath trail in Mumbai". Mid-Day. July 15, 2017.
  5. Marianne Ackerman, "Those bloomin' allergies... About all you can do is cope", The Ottawa Journal, July 30, 1976, p. 32.
  6. David Hinckley, "Wheeze-free gardening", Daily News, New York, New York, 20 Jun 1982, page 11.
  7. "Briefly noted", Edmonton Journal, Edmonton, Canada, 6 Dec. 1980, page D7.
  8. Laura Robin, "Achoo! Clearing up the myths about allergies", The Ottawa Citizen, April 27, 1984, p. 17.
  9. Chari, V.K. (2003). "Raja Rao Annual Award 2003". Samvad India Foundation.
  10. Caroline Phillips, "Big hair, wide belts and a wild party", The Ottawa Citizen, September 8, 2008, p. c6.
  11. Rajan, Anjana (January 17, 2014). "Charmed". The Hindu.
  12. "A Gopi, goddess or Krishna's divine consort: This book decodes Radha's many shades". Hindustan Times. February 23, 2018.
  13. "Finding Radha: Faith, belief, evolution of Hindu religion | Book review". The Statesman. April 21, 2019.
  14. Mukherjee, Anusua (December 13, 2013). "Woman in Love". The Telegraph.
  15. Chanda-Vaz, Urmi (February 24, 2019). "A metaphysical search for the figure of Radha becomes an academic and literary one in this book". Scroll.in.
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