Legendary Hindi writer, Krishna Sobti passed away early this morning at the age of 94. Born in February 1925 in Gujarat- Punjab which is now a province in Pakistan, Sobti began her writings in poetry and then went on to write fiction which won her several awards. In 1980, Sobti was awarded the Sahitya Akademi Award and the Jnanpith award in 2017 for her huge contribution to Indian literature.
In 2018, she released her autobiographical novel ‘Gujarat Pakistan se Gujarat Hindustan’. When she was asked in an interview, what writing meant to her, she said “Writing is a conversation with your self that takes place in language. You capture the sound of your soul, and also the outside noises. I prepare three drafts. As you write the first sentence, you share half of your authority with the text. I don’t begin with a specific frame. All I have are a few images, ideas and an eagerness to witness them on paper. Writing makes you humble, aware of your limitations.”
The writer is famous for her distinctive use of language, choosing the rough vernacular of the street rather than a literary tongue.
Sobti Mitro Marjani published in 1966 was one of her major works in 1966, a novel set in rural Punjab about a young married woman exploration and assertion of her sexuality. It had set the Hindi literary world aflame and is seen as a major feminist work.
“I don’t like being called a ‘woman writer’. I would rather be called a writer who is also a woman”, says Sobti.