Mr. Nagarvala was born into a prominent family in Ahmednagar . His mother Tehminabai was a strict disciplinarian and his father Darabshah was a respected and active member of the Parsi community in Ahmednagar. Darabshah Nagarvala was bestowed the title Khan Bahadur and he held the post of President of the Ahmednagar Municipality for 17 years. Mr. Nagarvala or Noss as he was popularly known, was educated in a Cantonment Marathi medium school until Std. IV and thereafter in an English medium school.