Set in the picturesque backdrop of the Kanha-Kisli forest reserve of Madhya Pradesh, Madhukari is a novel about Prithu Ghosh. Prithu had always wanted to live life on his own terms. Just as a tiger is not reliant on others, he too did not wish to be dependent on his wife, family and society. He was constantly at odds with the demands of polite society. He could not endorse their superfluity, hypocrisy, class-consciousness and a constant need to pull others down. Showing complete apathy for the high society to which he belonged, he went around with his motley group of friends whom his wife scorned as riff-raff.

But can Prithu really live like a powerful tiger? Or will reality compel him to accept that man is far too frail and dependent on others to blaze his own trail? Human beings like Prithu have to go around to countless other men and women, begging from door to door with outstretched palms from the day they are born till the moment of their death. Is madhukari then another name of this wandering?

This novel of epic proportions is not just an account of Prithus extraordinary story. The constant presence of nature in the novel makes it tantamount to a character in its own right. The fluidity of description, the dexterity of characterisations and the authority with which a wide variety of references is incorporated into the texture of the narrative make Madhukari one of the most skilfully and powerfully written novels of modern Bengali literature.

Buddhadeb Guha (Bengali: বুদ্ধদেব গুহ Buddhodeb Guho) (born 29 June 1936 in Calcutta) is a Bengali fiction writer. He studied at the well-known St Xavier's College of the University of Calcutta. He spent his early years in various districts of East Bengal (now Bangladesh). Those days in Rangpur, Jaypurhat and Barisal are depicted in his Rivu series. Some of the Rivu books are dedicated to his early-age friends in Bangladesh.His novels and short stories are characterized by their dreamy abstractness and romantic appeal. His essays reveal the soul of a true wanderer providing some of the most beautiful renditions of travel in Bengal. His love for forests and nature provide the background for many of his novels.
A highly successful chartered accountant by profession, and an accomplished musician, Guha is very urbane in his lifestyle. He was one of the first to create characters representing easy-going, upper middle-class modern Bengali families, whom readers could identify with, and that gave him instant popularity.He is the recipient of many awards including Ananda Puraskar, 1976; Shiromani Puraskar; and Sharat Puraskar. The Library of Congress has over fifty titles by him. His most famous novel, according to many, is Madhukori. It is considered a milestone in Bengali literature.He is also the creator of Rijuda, an imaginary character who moves about in jungles with his sidekick Rudra. The jungles that he wrote about were mainly in Eastern India