Malayanil

Kanchanlal Vasudev Mehta (1892 – 24 June 1919), better known by his pen name Malayanil, was a Gujarati short story writer from British India known for his humorous pieces. He was a pioneer of modern short story writing in Gujarati.

Biography Mehta was born in 1892 in Ahmedabad to a Sathodara Nagar family. His father had a high-ranking position in a cotton mill. He completed his primary and secondary school education in Ahmedabad. He matriculated in 1908 and completed his BA in Science from the University of Bombay in 1912. He could not sit in on an MA in Literature examination in Bombay (now Mumbai) due to his poor health. He came in contact with Haji Mohammed Allarakha Shivji who encouraged him to write a short story; "Govalani" was published in Shivji's magazine Visami Sadi in 1918. It is generally considered the first modern short story in Gujarati.efn-ua|Malayanil's contemporary Dhansukhlal Mehta and Ranjitram Mehta also wrote short stories but Malayanil's "Govalani" is considered as the "perfect specimen" of modern short story. So there is a general consensus that he pioneered the modern short story writing in Gujarati. His other well known short story is "Rajnu Gaj". He also wrote about 250 poems including some humorous ones. "Puna Viramno Pashchatap" (1914) is his one-act play.