Key Takeaways:
- Madhuriben Kotak was the godwife of the late Vaju Kotak, who founded “Chitralekha” and co-founded “Chitralekha weekly.”
- His name also gained notoriety as the co-founder of “Chitralekha.” Along with “Chitralekha,” he also contributed significantly to the film magazines “Bij” and “Ji.”
A legend in journalism and photography, Madhuriben Kotak, died Thursday in Mumbai at 92.
The late Vaju Kotak, co-founder of “Chitralekha weekly” and founder of “Chitralekha,” had Madhuriben Kotak as his godwife. Madhuriben Kotak began her professional life as a photographer.
In the 1960s and 1970s, she was a very well-liked female photographer. The most well-known name among female photographers is Madhuriben Kotak, who came after Homai Vyarawala, the nation’s first female photographer.
The late Vaju Kotak, the creator of “Chitralekha,” taught him the fundamentals of journalism and photography.
Started as Photographer
As the co-founder of “Chitralekha,” his name also rose to prominence. He has made significant contributions to “Bij” and “Ji” film magazines in addition to “Chitralekha.”
After her husband’s passing, Madhuriben Kotak assumed overall responsibility for the magazines she and Vaju Kotak had contributed little to their editing and publication during his lifetime.
These three publications published photographs by Madhuriben Kotak. Some writer friends initially helped Madhuri Behan in her journalistic endeavours.
Vijayagupta Maurya, Jitubhai Mehta, Venibhai Purohit, Harish Buch, and Late Harkisan Mehta can all be considered exceptional writers, poets, and filmmakers in this regard.
The life of Madhuriben Kotak
The Father of Madhuriben Kotak, Jivarajbhai Ruparel, was a native of Bhavnagar. Divaliben was Madhuriben’s mother. The fourth of Jivaraj Ruparel and Diwaliben Kotak’s nine children, Madhuriben, was born.
In 1949, he tied the knot with Vaju Kotak. 1959 saw the passing of Vajubhai Kotak. Vajubhai Kotak and Madhuriben Kotak were only wed for ten years, in other words.
Madhuriben Kotak assumed control of these three magazines, “Chitralekha,” “Bij,” and “Ji”, following the passing of Vajubhai Kotak.
Additionally, he exerted a lot of effort to increase their popularity. Vaju Kotak, Person-Journalist-Writer and Vaju Kotak no Vaibhav were edited in 2001.
A magazine is likewise released in Marathi.
Importantly, “Chitralekha” is also printed in Marathi and Gujarati. 2,50,000 copies of the weekly “Chitralekha” are sold.
The movie set a record in the industry by selling 1,40,000 copies of the monthly “Ji” special and 1,05,000 copies of the Marathi version, both of which were based on themes from the “Ramayana” and “Mahabharata” serials.
For the silver jubilee issue of “Ji” in 1983, “Chitralekha” received the first Rajpura in the stamp category from the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India, and “Ji” received the first Rajpura as a Gujarati publisher.
Source from: TV9 Gujarati
