Tarak Mehta

Tarak Janubhai Mehta (26 December 1929 – 1 March 2017) was an Indian columnist, humourist, writer and playwright who is best known for the column Duniya Ne Undha Chasma, and was a well-known figure in Gujarati theatre.

His humorous weekly column first appeared in Chitralekha in March 1971 and looked at contemporary issues from a different perspective. He published 80 books in his whole career.

In 2008, SAB TV (now Sony SAB) – a popular entertainment channel in India – started the sitcom Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah based on his column, which soon became the flagship show of the channel.

Personal life Tarak Mehta belonged to the Gujarati Community. He moved to Ahmedabad, Gujarat, with his second wife, Indu, of over 30 years. His first wife, Ila who later married Manohar Doshi (died 2009), also lived in the same apartment building. He had a daughter from his first marriage, Eshani, who lives in the United States, and has two grandchildren, Kushaan and Shailee.

Mehta died at the age of 87 years on 1 March 2017 after a prolonged illness. His family donated his body to medical research.

Awards

Mehta was awarded the Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award of India, in 2015. Gujarat Sahitya Akademi awarded him Sahitya Gaurav Puraskar in 2011 and Ramanlal Nilkanth Hasya Paritoshik (posthumously) in 2017.