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Mannu Bhandari, Writer Of Film Rajnigandha Passes Away At 90
Hindi litterateur Mannu Bhandari best known for giving pragmatic, bold heroines in a newly independent India, passed away at the age of 90.
Hindi litterateur Mannu Bhandari best known for giving pragmatic, bold heroines in a newly independent India, passed away at the age of 90. Some of Mannu Bhandari's best novels include Aapka Bunty, Mahabhoj and stories such as Ek Plate Sailab, Teen Nigahon Ki Ek Tasvir, Trishanku, and Aankhon Dekha Jhooth.
She was also known for dominating the 'Nayi Kahaani' movement of Hindi literature. Mannu also wrote the stories on which popular films like Rajnigandha (1974) and Swami (1977) were based.
According to reports, she passed away in a Gurgaon hospital on Monday (November 15). Mannu daughter Rachana Yadav, a kathak dancer, told TOI, "She had suffered a series of strokes over the last few years. She was frail but never bedridden. This time she was hospitalized for an infection which turned fatal."
Remembering Mannu Bhandari, Hindi novelist Prabhat Ranjan, told Indian Express, "What one needs to remember is that Mannu Bhandari gave the Hindi literary world heroines that were pragmatic and bold at the same time. They made their own decisions, and they were also working women. This in the 60-70s, when Bhandari was writing, this was very new. We had never seen or heard of such heroines before."
Meanwhile, author and journalist Mrinal Pande added, "Mannu Bhandari was a good writer, period. I will not slot her as a 'feminist' writer alone. She was married to another writer - Rajendra Yadav - who was also a demanding, and at times a difficult husband. A talented couple, who both had different literary styles. She was a lot more successful, and her work was also disseminated a lot more through different mediums like films."
Born in Bhanpur, Madhya Pradesh, Bhandari earned her masters at Banaras Hindu University and later went on to teach at the Delhi University. She was married to eminent writer-editor Rajendra Yadav who passed away in 2013.
