Gopal Nilkanth Dandekar aka Appa Dandekar (8 July 1916 – 1 June 1998) was a Marathi writer from Maharashtra, India. Dandekar was born in Paratwada in Amravati district. He grew up in Vidarbha but ran away from his home in Nagpur at age thirteen in response to Mahatma Gandhi's call to young people for joining his movement for India's attainment of freedom from the British Raj. After spending a few years in extreme poverty, he found some stability with a few patrons. Later he joined Rashtriya Svayamsevak Sangh and worked as a volunteer in Gadge Maharaj's social service movement. He traveled extensively. Source: Wikipedia (en)