Indian author Geetanjali Shree's Hindi novel ‘Tomb of Sand’ has become the first book in any Indian language to win the prestigious International Booker Prize.
‘Tomb of Sand’, originally ‘Ret Samadhi’, is set in northern India and follows an 80-year-old woman in a tale the Booker judges dubbed a “joyous cacophony” and an "irresistible novel".
With Shree becoming the means for Indian languages to achieve heights, here’s a look at some contemporary Hindi writers.
1. Usha Priyamwada
Usha Priyamvada is the penname of Usha Nilsson. Born in 1930 in Kanpur, the Indian-born American professor of South Asian Studies at the University of Wisconsin is a novelist and a short-story writer in Hindi. She is the winner of the Premchand Prize in 1976 and the Padmabhushan Moturi Satyanarayan Puraskar in 2009.
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Her works include Shesh Yatra, Ek Koi Dusra, Fifty-Five Pillars and so on.
2. Mridula Garg
Born in 1983 in Calcutta, Mridula Garg is an Indian writer who writes in Hindi and English languages. She has published over 30 books in Hindi – novels, short story collections, plays and collections of essays – including several translated into English. She was the recipient of the Sahitya Akademi Award in 2013.
A few of her notable works include Uske Hisse Ki Dhoop, Kitni Qaiden, Vanshaj, Tukra-Tukra Aadmi, Daffodil Jal Rahein Hain and so on.
3. Chitra Mudgal
An Indian Writer and one of the leading literary figures of modern Hindi literature, Chitra Mudgal was born in 1943. She is the first Indian woman to receive the coveted Vyas Samman for her novel Avaan. In 2019, she was conferred the Sahitya Akademi Award.
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Her notable works include Post Box Number 203 Nala Sopara, Ek Zameen Apni, Avaan and more.
4. Nasira Sharma
Born in 1948 in Allahabad, Nasira Sharma is an Indian writer who has published novels in Hindi. She received the Sahitya Akademi Award for her novel Paarijat and Vyas Samman for her novel Kagaz Ki Naav in 2019.
Her notable works include Parijat, Mere Priya Kahaniyaan, Ajnabi Jajira, Patthar Gali and Aurat Ke Liye Aurat and more.
5. Mamta Kalia
Born in Uttar Pradesh in 1940, Mamta Kalia is an Indian author, teacher, and poet, writing primarily in the Hindi language. In 2017, she was awarded the Vyas Samman for her novel Dukkham Sukkham.
Her novels include Beghar, Narak Dar Narak, Ladkiya and so on.
