Tarak Janubhai Mehta (26 December 1929 – 1 March 2017) was an Indian columnist, humourist, writer and playwright, who was a well-known figure in Gujarati theatre.

[1] His humorous weekly column first appeared in Chitralekha in March 1971 and looked at contemporary issues from a different perspective.

[2] 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,[3] which soon became the flagship show of the channel.

His first wife, Ila who later married Manohar Doshi (died 2006), 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.