Krishna Sobti
Krishna Sobti | |
---|---|
Born | Gujrat, Punjab Province, British India | 18 February 1925
Died | 25 January 2019 New Delhi, India | (aged 93)
Occupation | Fiction writer, essayist |
Language | Hindi |
Nationality | Indian |
Alma mater | Fateh Chand College for Women, Lahore (did not graduate) |
Years active | 1944–2018 |
Notable works | |
Notable awards |
|
Spouse | Shivnath |
Krishna Sobti (18 February 1925 – 25 January 2019) was an Indian
Sobti is best known for her 1966 novel Mitro Marajani, an unapologetic portrayal of a married woman's sexuality. She was also the recipient of the first Katha Chudamani Award, in 1999, for Lifetime Literary Achievement, apart from winning the Shiromani Award in 1981, Hindi Academy Award in 1982, Shalaka Award of the Hindi Academy Delhi[5] and in 2008, her novel Samay Sargam was selected for Vyas Samman, instituted by the K. K. Birla Foundation.[6]
Considered the grande dame of
In 2005, Dil-o-Danish, translated into The Heart Has Its Reasons in English by Reema Anand and Meenakshi Swami of Katha Books, won the Crossword Award in the Indian Language Fiction Translation category.[9] Her publications have been translated to multiple Indian and foreign languages such as Swedish, Russian and English.[2]
Biography
Sobti was born on 18 February 1925 in
She died on 25 January 2019, in Delhi after a long illness.[2][12]
Writing
Sobti's use of idiomatic
Her writing style and idiom, as also her choice of subjects, has attracted some amount of criticism. It has been said that she uses too much profanity in her writings, often gratuitously, and that her style of writing is "unliterary."[17] She has also been accused of being obsessed with sex, the redeeming feature being that descriptions of sex in her works are always from the perspective of a woman character,[17] and no work of fiction ever produced by her has failed to feature at least one intensely sexualised woman character. A selection of her major works are published in Sobti Eka Sohabata.[1] Her publications have been translated to multiple Indian and foreign languages such as Swedish, Russian and English.[2]
Fiction
Sobti initially established herself as a writer of short stories, with her stories Lama (about a Tibetan Buddhist priest), and Nafisa being published in 1944.
Zindaginama
Sobti submitted the manuscript of her first novel, titled Channa, to the Leader Press in Allahabad in 1952.[10] The manuscript was accepted and printed, however, Sobti found on receiving proofs that the Press had made textual alterations, and consequently sent them a telegram asking them to cease printing.Sobti has said that the alterations included linguistic changes that altered her use of Punjabi and Urdu words to Sanskrit words.[10]
She withdrew the book from publication, and paid to have the printed copies destroyed.
- Litigation against Amrita Pritam
Soon after Zindaginama was republished, the poet, novelist and essayist Amrita Pritam published a book titled Hardatt Ka Zindaginama. Sobti filed a suit in 1984 for damages against Pritam, claiming that Pritam had violated her copyright through the use of a similar title.[19] The suit was litigated for 26 years and was ultimately decided in favour of Pritam, six years after Pritam's death, in 2011.[19] Part of the delay was caused by the disappearance of a box of evidence containing original manuscripts of both, Pritam's and Sobti's novels, from the court.[20] Sobti has since expressed disappointment at the outcome of the suit, noting that her original plan of writing Zindaginama as part of a trilogy was interrupted by the litigation.[13][20]
Other works
Sobti published several other novels to acclaim. Dar Se Bichhadi (Separated from the door of the house), published in 1958, was set in pre-Partition India, and concerned a child born from a marriage that crossed religious and social boundaries.[14] This was followed by Mitro Marjani (To Hell with you Mitro!), in 1966, a novel set in rural Punjab that concerned a young married woman's exploration and assertion of her sexuality.[14] Mitro Marjani was translated to English by Gita Rajan and Raji Narasimha as To Hell with You, Mitro and propelled Sobti to fame.[21] Scholar and critic Nikhil Govind has said that Mitro Marjani "allowed the Hindi novel to break out of the straitjacket of social realism, or the more stereotyped notions of ‘women's fiction’."[21] Her next novel, Surajmukhi Andhere Ke (Sunflowers of the Dark) was published in 1972 and dealt with a woman's struggle to come to terms with childhood abuse, and was preceded by two novellas in 1968, Yaaron Ke Yaar (Friends of Friends) and Tin Pahar.[14] Ai Ladki, (Hey Girl) a more recent novel, narrates the relationship between an old woman on her deathbed and her daughter, who acts as her companion and nurse.[14] Sobti has also written a novel that is a fictionalised autobiography, titled Gujrat Pakistan Se Gujarat Hindustan Taq (From Gujrat, Pakistan, to Gujarat, India).[13] Her most recent novel is Dil-o-Danish (Heart and Mind).[2]
Non-fiction
Beginning in the 1960s, Sobti has also published a series of short profiles and columns under masculine pseudonym Hashmat. These were compiled and published as Ham Hashmat in 1977, and included profiles of Bhisham Sahni, Nirmal Verma, and Namwar Singh.[14] She has said, concerning her pseudonym that, "We both have different identities. I protect, and he reveals; I am ancient, he is new and fresh; we operate from opposite directions."[22] Her columns, written as Hashmat, have won praise from authors and critics, including the writer Ashok Vajpeyi, who said of them that "Nobody has written so endearingly of writers."[10] as well as from Sukrita Paul Kumar, who has suggested that the use of a male pseudonym enabled Sobti to write without inhibition about her peers.[10]
Works
A list of some of her major works is below.
Novels
- Zindaginama[1]
- Mitro Marjani[2]
- Daar Se Bichchudi[2]
- Surajmukhi Andhere Ke[1]
- Yaaron Ke Yaar (Friend of Friends)[23]
- Samay Sargam (Time's Musical Notes)[23]
- Ai Ladaki[2]
- Zindaginama[2]
- Dil-o-Danish[2]
- Badalon ke Ghere (Circles of Clouds)[23]
- Gujarat Pakistan Se Gujarat Hindustan (From Gujarat in Pakistan to Gujarat in India)[23]
- Hum Hashmat[24]
- Tin Pahad[23]
- Muktibodh: Ek Vyaktitva Sahi Ki Talash Mein, (Muktibodh: A Personality in Search of Right)[23]
- Shabdon Ke Alok Mein, (In the Light of Words),[23]
- Sobti Ek Sohbat, (Sobti: A Company),[23]
- Lekhak Ka Jantantra, (A Writer’s Democracy)[23]
- Marfat Dilli, (C/O Delhi)[23]
- Jaini Meharban Singh[24]
- Buddha ka kamandal Laddakh[24]
Translations
- To hell with you Mitro! (Mitro Marjani)[21]
- Memory's Daughter (Daar Se Bichchudi)[2]
- Listen Girl (Ai Ladki)[2]
- Zindaginamah – Zinda Rukh (Urdu)[2]
- The Heart Has Its Reasons (Dil-O-Danish)[8]
Short stories
Honours and awards
Sobti won the
She was offered the Padma Bhushan by the Government of India in 2010, which she declined, stating that, "As a writer, I have to keep a distance from the establishment. I think I did the right thing."[27] She received Jnanpith Award in 2017 for her 'path-breaking contribution to Indian literature'.[4] The Bharatiya Jnanpith mentioned in the statement that 'the language used by Sobti in her writings is influenced by the intermingling of Hindi, Urdu and Punjabi cultures where her characters are always bold and daring – ready to accept all challenges thrown by the society'.[28]
She was also a recipient of Shiromani Award (1981),[1] Maithili Sharan Gupt Samman and other awards.[2]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n "Krishna Sobti – Hindi Writer: The South Asian Literary Recordings Project (Library of Congress, New Delhi Office)". www.loc.gov. The Library of Congress. Retrieved 25 January 2019.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s "Jnanpith winning Hindi writer Krishna Sobti passes away". The Hindu. 25 January 2019. Archived from the original on 2 May 2023. Retrieved 25 January 2019.
- ^ Indian Express. 27 October 2015. Retrieved 25 January 2019.
- ^ a b c d e f "हिंदी की प्रसिद्ध लेखिका कृष्णा सोबती को 2017 का ज्ञानपीठ पुरस्कार". Firstpost Hindi. 4 November 2017. Retrieved 25 January 2019.
- ^ Profile www.abhivyakti-hindi.org.
- ^ Vyas Samman for Sobti’s novel Samay Sargam The Hindu, 1 February 2008.
- ^ Uniquely Sobti The Hindu, 18 September 2005.
- ^ a b "Author page". Archived from the original on 7 February 2012. Retrieved 8 April 2008.
- ^ Another award in her kitty The Hindu, New Delhi, 29 March 2006.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Gupta, Trisha (1 September 2016). "Singular and Plural: Krishna Sobti's unique picture of a less divided India". The Caravan. Retrieved 24 March 2017.
- ^ a b "The Original Rebel | OPEN Magazine". OPEN Magazine. 15 June 2016. Retrieved 24 March 2017.
- ^ "Hindi literature loses one of its leading lights, Krishna Sobti". Hindustan Times. 25 January 2019. Retrieved 19 August 2019.
- ^ a b c d e Kuruvilla, Elizabeth (13 May 2016). "Hindi is an epic language: Krishna Sobti". livemint.com/. Retrieved 24 March 2017.
- ^ ISBN 9788126012213.
- ISBN 9780415159807.
- ^ Gupta, Trisha. "The Insomniac". www.tehelka.com. Archived from the original on 25 March 2017. Retrieved 24 March 2017.
- ^ a b "Krishna Sobti on her childhood, days of Independence and the crisis of contemporary India". 27 June 2018.
- ^ Dutt, Nirupama (25 November 2001). "A total commitment to writing". The Tribune. Retrieved 25 January 2019.
- ^ a b "Krishna Sobti vs Amrita Pritam in a long tug-of-war over 'Zindaginama'". hindustantimes.com/. 3 May 2016. Retrieved 24 March 2017.
- ^ a b "Sobti, Pritam script 26-yr-old battle over title – Indian Express". archive.indianexpress.com. Retrieved 24 March 2017.
- ^ a b c Govind, Nikhil. "Mitro Marjani turns 50". The Hindu. Retrieved 24 March 2017.
- ^ "Partition, Hashmat & Krishna Sobti". hindustantimes.com/. 12 April 2006. Retrieved 24 March 2017.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Kumar, Kuldeep (23 February 2018). "Krishna Sobti: The original feminist". The Hindu. Retrieved 25 January 2019.
- ^ Sahitya Akademi (1996). "Krishna Sobti" (PDF). Sahitya Akademi. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 March 2017. Retrieved 24 March 2017.
- ^ "Two more writers return Sahitya Akademi awards, another resigns". The Indian Express. 11 October 2015. Retrieved 24 March 2017.
- ^ "Look who declined Padma Bhushan this year: two giants of art, literature". Indian Express. 9 February 2010.
- ^ "Krishna Sobti gets prestigious Jnanpith award 2017". The Indian Awaaz. 3 November 2017. Retrieved 3 November 2017.
Further reading
- Indian Women Novelists, edited by R.K. Dhawan. New Delhi, Prestige Books, 1995, (18 Volms.) ISBN 81-85218-40-4. (Vol. XVII, 10–12) Vedams eBooks
Works online
- The Moving Finger – Story
- Ai Ladki – Story
- Krishna Sobti works in Hindi, at The Library of Congress
- Phone Baj Raha Hai – Memoir (Hindi)
- Krishna Sobti: Musing on the Creative Process