"Durdamya", another major work by Gadgil, is a biographical novel about Lokmanya Bal Ganagdhar Tilak, a political leader in the struggle for Indian Independence. It is a depiction of Tilak as a man, along with the qualities that made him a visionary leader, rooting him in the political and social upheavals of that period. "Durdamya" also draws convincing portraits of other leaders in the freedom struggle such as Justice M. G. Ranade, Gopal Krishna Gokhale, Gopal Ganesh Agarkar and Mahatma Gandhi.