Chunilal Madia

Chunilal Madia (12 August 1922 – 29 December 1968) was a Gujarati author from Gujarat, India, primarily known for his novels and short stories set in rural Saurashtra. Recipients of several awards, he is considered one of the leading writers of Gujarati literature. Chunilal Madia's ancestors had immigrated to Dhoraji (now in Rajkot district, Gujarat) from Nikava village in Halar region. He was born in middle class Jain Baniya family on 12 August 1922 in Dhoraji to a grocery shop owner Kalidas Jadavji and his wife Prankunwar aka Kasumbabahen. Chunilal was youngest among ten siblings, of whom only five survived till adulthood. After completing matriculation at Dhoraji, Madia at the age of 19 years shifted to Ahmedabad for higher studies in Commerce faculty. He enrolled as a student at the H. L. College of Commerce. While pursuing his college studies at Ahmedabad, Chunilal Madia joined a daily Prabhat as a journalist and sub-editor. Here his mentor was the veteran journalist Kakalbhai Kothari. He worked in the editing department of Janmabhumi, a Gujarati daily, and Gujarati department of the United States Information Service (USIS) from 1950 to 1962.