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Anant Shivaji Desai (born 17 October 1853 in Walawal, nicknamed Bhausaheb Topiwalla) was an Indian businessman from the erstwhile
Anant Shivaji Desai (born 17 October 1853 in Walawal, nicknamed Bhausaheb Topiwalla) was an Indian businessman from the erstwhile Sawantwadi
Sawantwadi an aesthetic land of artists, is an integral part of the Konkan region which is in the mid-western coast of India.
The western coast of India since 1510 A.D. has assumed great importance in Indian history and history of internationa ...
State in British India. He established himself as a publisher in Bombay, selling prints of Raja Ravi Verma
Raja Ravi Varma ( ml, രാജാ രവിവർമ്മ; 29 April 1848 – 2 October 1906) was an Indian painter and artist. He is considered among the greatest painters in the history of Indian art. His works are one of the best examples ...
's paintings. After Varma's death in 1906, Desai acquired the rights to the Baroda and Mysore collections, publishing them until 1945, when the original Ravi Varma Press firm went out of business.
Due to the poor financial conditions of his family, Desai could not proceed with his education after 3rd grade. He then came to Mumbai
Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' fin ...
to work and earn money. Doing various physical works and trying his hand at many businesses, his business of manufacturing ''topi''s (headgears) took boom. Since then he got his nickname ''Topiwala''.
Desai's social work included foundation of various schools. The Anant Shivaji Desai Topiwalla High School at Malvan
Malvan (also written as Malwan) is a town and ''taluka'' in Sindhudurg District, the southernmost district of Maharashtra State, India, well known for the historically important Sindhudurg Fort. Malvan ''taluka'' consists of villages such as ...
, now called after his nickname as ''Topiwalla High School'', was founded in 1911. Various roads, schools, college, libraries and other institutes are named after him. For his notable work towards the society, the then British Empire in India honoured him with the title of "Raobahadur".
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