Krishna Sobti

Who is Krishna Sobti?

Krishna Sobti is a Hindi fiction writer and essayist, who won the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1980 for her novel Zindaginama and in 1996, was awarded the Sahitya Akademi Fellowship, the highest award of the Akademi.

She is most 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 and in 2008, her novel Samay Sargam was selected for Vyas Samman, instituted by the K. K. Birla Foundation.

Considered the grande dame of Hindi literature, Krishna Sobti was born in Gujrat, now in west Pakistan; she also writes under the name Hashmat and has published Hum Hashmat, a compilation of pen portraits of writers and friends. Her other novels are Dara se bichuri, Surajmukhi andhere ke, Yaaron Ke Yaar, Zindaginama. Some of her well-known short stories are Nafisa, Sikka Badal gaya, Badalom ke ghere. Sobti eka sohabata includes her major selected works. A number of her works are now available in English and Urdu.