Gunvantrai Acharya

Gunvantrai Acharya Biography

Gunvantrai Acharya was a noted writer of Gujarati language and a recipient of the prestigious Ranjitram Suvarna Chandrak for the year 1945. Known as a novelist of adventurous writings, Acharya also excelled in the field of journalism. He has worked in the noted dailies such as Saurashtra, Saurashtramitra, Phulchhab, Prajabandhu and Gujarat Samachar. He also served as the director of Mojmajah, a film weekly. Acharya contributed 169 books to Gujarati literature belonging to the genres of novels, plays, humour, stories etc. Acharya was a well-established novelist who wrote both fictional and non-fictional historical novels, apart from adventurous, humour and mystery subjects. His daughter Varsha Adalja is a prolific writer, known as a feminist novelist and playwright.

Acharya was born on 9 September 1900 in Jetalsar of Jamnagar, Gujarat. His father worked in police department. After schooling he came into contact with seafarers (sailors), which later gave a big impact on his writings. He wrote several adventurous novels later. Dariyalal – is one of his best works belonging to this category which helped him a lot to achieve popularity among his readers. He discontinued his college studies and started his career as a journalist. Joined the newspaper Saurashtramitra in 1927, he worked in the media field for many years associated with different dailies.

Quite active in the field of journalism, he was also active with his writing career. He authored around 170 books throughout his career and his novels are extremely popular. Sarfarosh, Ratnakar Maharaj, Girnarne Khole, Dariyalal, Haji Kasam Tari Vijali, Kalpavruksha, Senapathy, Bhagavo Nejo, Gurjarlaxmi etc are among his popular fictional novels. Chhelli Salam and Kedi ane Kanta can be included in the mystery/detective thrillers while Vishaldev, Idariyo Gadh, Arjundev etc are among his historic novels. Jogmaya ane Sheelalekh, Allabeli and Maar Raj are his plays. He passed away on 25 November 1965.

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Updated: March 06, 2016