What is Vyankatesh Madgulkar?
'''Vyankatesh Madgulkar''' ([[1927]]-[[2001]]) was one of the most popular and well-known [[Marathi]] writers of his time. He became well-known mainly for his realistic writings about village life in a part of southern [[Maharashtra]] called [[Maandesh]]. These writings about Maandesh are set in a period of 15 to 20 years before and after [[Indian Independence Act 1947|India's Independence]]. Vyankatesh Madgulkar was a man of many interests. He also read a lot of books on different subjects. He was lovingly called Tatya (“old man”, or “grand old man” in Marathi) by his admirers, friends and family members. == Childhood == He was born in Madgul, a village in [[Sangli]] district of Maharashtra. The Madgulkar family had probably come from the neighbouring state of [[Karnataka]] a few centuries back. They were one of the eight [[Brahmin]] families in Madgul, which had a population of over a thousand. The family owned some land. Vyankatesh Madgulkar's grandfather and the earlier generations had lived off the land. However, in his father’s time, the land could not feed the family. The family was large. Apart from Vyankatesh there were seven children, one of whom died early. His father took a job in the government of the [[Aundh]] princely state, which ruled over Madgul and the region around it known as Maandesh [http://www.tatya.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogcategory&id=25&Itemid=60] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080201223138/http://www.tatya.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogcategory&id=25&Itemid=60 |date=2008-02-01 }} The job took him to various villages and small towns of Maandesh. For some time, the family moved with him. In this way, Vyankatesh got to see life in many parts of Maandesh. Although his mother was an old-fashioned woman who believed Brahmins should not mix with people of 'lower' [[Caste|castes]], he freely mixed with children of other castes and communities. From them he learnt how to climb trees, how to identify birds, how to trap fish, how to hunt. Madgul h