Navalram Laxmiram Pandya

Born: 9 March 1836

Died: 7 August 1888

He was a Gujarati critic, playwright, poet, essayist, editor, educationist and a social reformer.
He is considered to be the most important figure in modern Gujarati literature.
The first humourist, the first historical dramatist, the first critic and a leading scholar of his age, he was the first to herald the new generation of writers like Manilal Dwivedi, Govardhanram Tripathi, and Narsinhrao Divetia.
His writings covered numerous areas, including philosophy, patriotism, reformation, education, journalism, grammar, and literature.
In addition to writing literary essays and book reviews, Navalram was a critic of distinction.
He started his writing career with a report on the Maharaj Libel Case (1863).
He reviewed the first Gujarati novel, Karan Ghelo in Gujarat Mitra daily in 1867, pioneering the criticism of Gujarati literature.
His poetry collections Balalagnabatrisi (1876) criticized child marriage while Balagarbavali (1877) is about ideals of life of women.
He edited Premanand Bhatt’s Kunwarbai nu Mameru (1871).
His Vyutpattipatha (1887) was a pioneer essay on philology in Gujarati while Nibandh-riti was an essay on writing essays.
His complete works are published under Navalgranthavali (1891), edited by Govardhanram Tripathi.