Bhau Daji Biography 
Bhau Daji was an Indian physician and Sanskrit scholar who lived during 1824–74. His name is also credited as Bhau Daji Lad, and his real name is Ramachandra Vitthal Lad. He hailed from a village in Goa called Mandrem, and later moved to Mumbai for his medical studies. He belonged to the first batch of medical students from Grant Medical College in 1850, and well-known social reformer Atmaram Pandurang was his classmate. Apart from his successful career as a physician, he was a educationalist and politician as well. Bhau Daji Lad Museum is dedicated to him.
Bhau Daji Lad was born in 1824 in Goa. He belonged to Mandrem in Goa, during British rule in India. Once a British man noticed his acumen at chess and convinced his father to give him English education, which was not common among Indian students then. Thus he was sent to Mumbai to attend schooling from Elphinstone Institution, where he served as a teacher for a brief period later. He then studied medicine at the newly opened Grant Medical College, Mumbai and was one among the first batch diploma graduates too.
After completing his medical studies in 1850, he began practising in Mumbai the following year and succeeded as a physician. He studied the Sanskrit literature of medicine, and also tested value of drugs for different diseases based on old Hindu writings. He was an appointed member of the board of education in Mumbai and a fellow at University of Bombay. He also served as the president of Students' Literary and Scientific Society. A road is named after him at King's Circle in Matunga, Mumbai in his honour. The Mumbai Victoria & Albert Museum was renamed after him in 1975. He was a patron of arts and heritage.
Published: January 10, 2019
Updated: January 10, 2019
