Pannalal Nanalal Patel (7 May 1912 – 6 April 1989) was an Indian author known for his contributions in Gujarati literature. He wrote more than 20 short story collections, such as Sukhdukhna Sathi (1940) and Vatrakne Kanthe (1952), and more than 20 social novels, such as Malela Jeev (1941), Manvini Bhavai (1947) and Bhangyana Bheru (1957), and several mythological novels. He received the Jnanpith Award in 1985. Some of his works were translated as well as adapted into plays and films. Life He was born on 7 May 1912 in Mandli village (now in Dungarpur, Rajasthan) to Nanasha a.k.a. Nanalal and Hiraba, an Anjana Chaudhari family. He is youngest among his four siblings. His father was a farmer and used to recite Ramayana, Okhaharan and other mythological stories for his village. This earned his house a nickname "abode of learning". His father died during his childhood and his mother Hiraba raised the children. His education progressed with many difficulties due to poverty. He could study up to only the fourth standard at Sir Pratap High School, Idar. During school days, he befriended his schoolmate Umashankar Joshi. For a brief period, he worked as a manager in a liquor manufacturing company in Dungarpur. He wrote his first novel while working as a domestic help in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. In 1936, he accidentally met his old friend Umashankar Joshi who persuaded him to write. He wrote his first short story Sheth Ni Sharda (1936). Later, his stories were published in many Gujarati magazines. In 1940, he received recognition for his first novel Valamana (The Send-off), followed by Malela Jeev (1941), Manvini Bhavai (1947) and many other novels. In 1971, he started a publishing company Sadhana in Ahmedabad along with his two sons. During the later years, he mostly wrote novels based on Hindu mythology and epics. He died on 6 April 1989 in Ahmedabad following brain haemorrhage. Works He wrote 61 novels, 26 short story collections and many other works. He wrote his works mostly in the native idioms of Sabarkantha district in north Gujarat. Love has been central theme of his many novels. He depicted in his works the rural life of Gujarat artificially. His novels are centered around the village, its people, their lives, hopes and aspirations, their problems and predicaments. Malela Jeev (1941), a story of unfulfilled love between Kanji and Jivi having been born in different castes, is considered