Dhiruben Patel

Dhiruben Gordhanbhai Patel (25 May 1926 – 10 March 2023) was an Indian novelist, playwright, and translator.

Life Dhiruben Gordhanbhai Patel was born on 29 May 1926 in Baroda (now Vadodara, Gujarat) to Gordhanbhai Patel, a journalist with the Bombay Chronicle, and Gangaben Patel, a political activist and member of the All India Congress Committee. Her family belongs to Dharmaj village near Anand. She grew up and lived in Santacruz, a suburb of Mumbai. She was educated at the Poddar school in Mumbai. She completed higher education from Elphinstone College. She completed a B.A. in English in 1945 and an M.A. in 1949 from Bhavan's College. She taught English in college at Dahisar in 1963-64 and later taught English literature at the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan.

Patel briefly worked with Anand Publishers. Subsequently, she founded Kalki Prakashan, a publishing house in 1963-64. From 1966 to 1975, she edited Sudha, a Gujarati journal. She later served as the President of the Gujarat Sahitya Sabha. She served as the President of the Gujarati Sahitya Parishad in 2003―2004, and one of her plays, Bhavni Bhavai, has been adapted into a film.

Patel died on 10 March 2023, at the age of 96.

Works Dhiruben Patel has written several collections of short stories and poetry as well as novels, radio plays, and stage plays. Her work was influenced by Gandhian ideals. Critics Susie Tharu and Ke Lalita have written, "Although Dhiruben does not consider herself a feminist, like the novelist Kundanika Kapadia, she believes that the root cause of women's inferior status lies in their own mental conditioning."

Dhiruben Patel initially wrote in Gujarati. In 2011, her novel Agantuk was translated by Raj Supe into English as Rainbow at Noon. In an interview, Patel said she agreed to let Supe translate it because "... he would understand my hero and his struggles as he has travelled the same path." A recent collection of poetry, Kitchen Poems was written in English, and was first recited by her at the Neemrana Literary Festival in 2002. These were later published and then translated into German by Peter D O'Neil, and into Marathi by Usha Mehta. She then translated the same poems into Gujarati as Kitchen Poems (2016).

Her novels and novellas include:

Vadavanal (1963) Vasno Ankur (1967) Vavantol (1970) Shimla Na Phool (1976) Ek Bhalo Manas (1979) Vamal (1980) Andhali Gali (1983) Gaganna Lagan (1984) Kadambarini Maa (1988) Ek Phool Gulabi Vat (1990) Ek Dal Mithi (1992) Hutashan (1993) Agantuk (1996).

Her short story collections are Adhuro Call (1955) Ek Lahar (1957) Vishrambhakatha (1966) Tadh (1976) Javal (2001).