He became well-known mainly for his realistic writings about village life in a part of southern Maharashtra called Maandesh, set in a period of 15 to 20 years before and after Independence.
Madgulkar was born in the village of Madgul in today's Sangli district of Maharashtra, then part of Maandesh, Aundh princely state.
When Madgulkar was in his teens, he left home and joined a group of nationalists fighting for India’s freedom from the British Raj.
Though he had never finished his high school education, but he passed vernacular final Marathi 7th exam with good marks.
While studying there, at age 19, he entered a competition for short story writing and won a prize.
Madgulkar wrote 8 novellas, over 200 short stories, about 40 screenplays, and some folk plays (लोकनाट्य), travelogues, and essays on nature.