Pritam, Amrita (1919–2005)

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Pritam, Amrita (1919–2005)

Indian poet, novelist and short-story writer. Born Aug 31, 1919, into a Sikh family in Gujranwala, India (now Pakistan); died Oct 31, 2005; dau. of a schoolteacher and poet; married an editor (div. 1960).

The 1st prominent woman Punjabi poet and fiction writer, moved to New Delhi after Partition (1947) and worked for All India Radio until 1961; works include Amrit Lehran (1936), Trel Dhote Phul (1942), Pagthar Glite (1946), Sunehray (1955), Kasturi (1957), Ik Si Anita (1964), Cham Nambar Chatti (1964, trans. into English as A Line in Water), Uninja Din (1979), Kagaz Te Kanvas (1981), The Skeleton (1987) and (short stories) Teesri Aurat; edited monthly magazine in Punjabi, Nagmani. Was the 1st woman to receive the Sahitya Akademi Award and the 1st Punjabi woman to receive the Padma Shree from the president of India (1969); also received the Jananpeeth award (1982) for lifetime contribution to Punjabi literature.

See also autobiography Shadows of Words.

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