Ranchhodbhai Dave

Ranchhodbhai Udayaram Dave (9 August 1837 – 9 April 1923) was a Gujarati playwright, producer and translator. He is considered the father of modern Gujarati theatre and plays in Gujarati literature. He was born on 9 August 1837 in a Brahmin family in Mahudha near Nadiad (now in Gujarat, India). He completed his primary education in Mahudha and moved to Nadiad in 1852 to study in English. He joined Law Class in Ahmedabad in 1857. He initially worked in Collector Office in Ahmedabad and later joined M/s Lawrence Company in Bombay in 1863 (now Mumbai) as a representative of Bahechardas Ambaidas, a businessman from Ahmedabad. He also worked as a representative of Gondal, Palanpur and Idar states in Bombay. He befriended Mansukhram Tripathi there. He was awarded Huzoor Assistant by Khengarji III of Cutch State and later appointed a minister (Diwan). He retired in 1904. He was the president of Gujarati Sahitya Parishad in the year 1912 in Vadodara. He was awarded Dewan Bahadur by British Government in 1915. He died on 9 April 1923 following brief illness of brain fever.