Dada Mukerjee

Who was Dada Mukerjee?

Sri Sudhir Mukerjee was also known by the familiar name Dada, meaning elder brother in Hindi / Bengali. A professor of Economics at Allahabad University, Uttar Pradesh, India, he is best known as a close devotee of Neem Karoli Baba. Starting July 14, 1958, when they moved into the "Red House" at #4 Church Lane, Neem Karoli resided with Mukerjee and his wife Kamala during the winters. This continued until Neem Karoli's death in 1973.

After Neem Karoli's death, Mukerjee wrote two English-language books about him: By His Grace: A Devotee's Story, and The Near and the Dear: Stories of Neem Karoli Baba and His Devotees. These works are, in part, autobiographical as well. Mukerjee is also mentioned in passing in Ram Dass's book Miracle of Love: Stories about Neem Karoli Baba.

Mukerjee and Jawaharlal Nehru were college classmates. There is at least one existing picture of them together, which is published in By His Grace: A Devotee's Story.