Mannu Bhandari (1931-2021) was a famous Indian writer who wrote books and stories in Hindi. She is best known for her two popular works, Aap Ka Bunty and Mahabhoj, as well as her numerous short stories, novels, and television and film scripts. Bhandari was a pioneer of the Naj Kahani movement, which explored the ideals of India’s emerging middle class. Her works often reflect the thoughts and feelings of educated, professional, middle-class women and cover themes such as family, relationships, equal rights, and discrimination in India. Her works have been translated into several Indian languages as well as French, German and English. She is a famous writer of 21st century Hindi literature.
Wiki/Biography
Mahendra Kumari was born on Thursday, April 2, 1931, in Bhanpura, Indore, British India (age 90; died). Her zodiac sign is Aries. She grew up in Ajmer, Rajasthan. She received her school education from Savitri Girls High School, Ajmer. She graduated from Calcutta University in West Bengal in 1949. Later, Mannu Bhandari did his MA in Hindi and Literature from Benares Hindu University, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh.
appearance
Hair color: gray
Eye color: black
family
Mannu Bhandari was born into a Jain family.
Parents and siblings
Her father, Sukhsampat Rai Bhandari, was a freedom fighter and social reformer. Her mother Anoop Kumari Bhandari is a housewife. She has two brothers, Prasanna Kumar Bhandari (teacher) and Basant Kumar (teacher), and two sisters, Shusheela and Snehlata (school owner, Indore). Mannu Bhandari is the youngest of five siblings.
husband and children
On November 22, 1959, Mannu Bhandari married Hindi writer Rajendra Yadav.
Mannu Bhandari on her wedding day
Mannu Bhandari and Rajendra Yadav met while Bhandari was studying at Calcutta University. Despite her father’s objections, they married in Tollygunge, Kolkata and lived together until 1964. Thereafter, they moved to Delhi where Bhandari worked as a Hindi literature teacher at Miranda House College, Delhi University. The couple has a daughter named Rachana Yadav who is a professional Kathak dancer.
Photos of Mannu Bhandari’s daughter Rachana Yadav
In the 1980s, Bhandari and Yadav decided to separate, but did not formally divorce. They remained friends until Rajendra Yadav’s death in 2013.
Relationships/Affairs
Mannu Bhandari was in a relationship before marrying Rajendra Yadav in 1959.
Old photos of Mannu Bhandari with husband and daughter
Profession
Soon after graduation, Mannu Bhandari started working as a Hindi teacher at Ballygunge Shiksha Sadan Children’s School in Kolkata. In 1961, she joined Rani Birla College, Kolkata, as a lecturer in Hindi, a post she held until 1965. From 1992 to 1994, Mannu Bhandari held a special position with Premchand Srijanpith at Vikram University, Ujjain. She began her writing career with her first short story “Main Har Gayi” in 1957, which was later adapted into a popular play that was performed across India.
Cover of the 1957 short story collection Main Har Gayi
Mannu Bhandari co-authored a novel titled “Ek Inch Muskaan” with her husband in 1961 and published her first solo novel “Aapka Bunty” in 1971. The book became very popular soon after its publication and was translated into different languages, dealing with the theme of children coping with their parents’ divorce.
Cover of the 1971 novel “Aapka Bunty”
Thereafter, she continued to write short stories and published them in Hindi magazines such as Indian Literature and South Asian Literary Journal. Later, Mannu Bhandari compiled several of her short story collections into books such as Teen Nigahon Ki Ek Tasvir in 1959, Ek Plate Sailab in 1962, Trishanku in 1995 ”, 2004’s “Yahi Sach Hai” and “Sampoorna Kahaniyan”. ‘Yehi Sach Hai, one of her stories, was adapted into the film Rajnigandha in 1974.
Poster of the 1974 film Rajnigandha
In 1977, Mannu Bhandari adapted the story of Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay into the film Swami. However, she did not agree with the ending of the film.
Poster of the 1977 film Swami
In 1979, Mannu Bhandari wrote another novel titled Mahabhoj, which sheds light on the struggles of marginalized communities after the 1977 attacks by upper caste landlords in Bihar. The book was later adapted into a play that was performed at the National School of Drama in Delhi with great success.
The cover of the book Mahabhoj
One of her popular stories was adapted into the 1979 film Jeena Yahan, which won critical acclaim.
Poster of the 1979 film Jeena Yahan
In 1985, Mannu Bhandari collaborated with Indian film director Basu Chatterjee to write a script for a television show called “Rajani”. An episode of the show that explored the struggles of taxi drivers was extremely popular.
Stills from the 1985 TV show “Rajani”
In 2007, Mannu Bhandari wrote an autobiography, Ek Kahaani Yeh Bhi, in which she discussed her life, writing journey, marriage and political involvement.
The cover of the book “Ek Kahani Yeh Bhi”
In 2017, she created another successful drama, Bina Deevaron Ke Ghar.
Poster of the play “Bina Deevaron Ke Ghar”
dispute
Mannu Bhandari refused to accept the Padma Shri and Sahitya Kala Parishad awards as a protest against the Indian government during the 1976 Emergency.
Awards, Honors, Achievements
1980-81
She won the Uttar Pradesh Hindi Sunstein Award for her novel Mahabhoj.
1982
She received the Bhartiya Bhasha Parishad Award in Kolkata and the Kala-Kunj Samman Award in New Delhi.
1983
She received the Bhartiya Sanskrit Sansad Katha Samaroh Award in Kolkata.
year 1991
She was awarded the Bihar Rajya Bhasha Parishad Award.
February 2001
She received the Rajasthan Sangeet Natak Akademi Award.
year 2004
She received the Maharashtra Hindi Sahitya Academy Award.
July 2006
She was felicitated by the Hindi Academy, Dilli Shalaka Samman and Madhya Pradesh Hindi Sahitya Sammelan Awards at Bhavbhuti Alankaran.
Year 2008
KK Birla Foundation honored Mannu Bhandari with the 18th Vyas Samman Award for her autobiography “Ek Kahani Yeh Bhi”.
die
Mannu Bhandari died of a heart attack in Gurgaon, Haryana on November 15, 2021 at the age of 90.
Facts/Trivia
- She is also known as Mannu Bhandari Yadav and Mannu.
- According to reports, Mannu Bhandari’s father was the first person to create English to Hindi and English to Marathi dictionaries. He is a follower of Arya Samaj. Mannu Bhandari mentioned in her autobiography that her father often teased her about her dark skin.
- Bhandari was often involved in politics during his student days. She organized a strike in 1946 when two of her friends were expelled from school for joining Subhash Chandra Bose’s Indian National Army.
- Many of Bhandari’s stories have been adapted into films and television series, and her works have been screened at Doordarshan, BBC and the National Academy of Drama.
- In 1971, while working on Aapka Bunty, Mannu Bhandari spent a month at the Miranda House Hotel concentrating on her writing.
- After her death, The Indian Express called her “the doyen of Hindi literature” in one of its publications.
Categories: Biography
Source: HIS Education