New Delhi: Every year, the Bharatiya Jnanpith presents the Jnanpith Award to an author for their immense contribution to the field of literature. It is the oldest and the highest literary award in India. The award was established in 1961 and is given only to Indian writers who have written in Indian languages included in the Indian Constitution’s Eighth Schedule and English. This year, Gulzar, the Urdu poet and Bollywood writer and Sanskrit scholar Jagadguru Rambhadracharya have been selected for the Jnanpith Award.
Who was the first woman to receive the Jnanpith Award?
Born on January 8, 1909, Ashapurna Devi, also Ashapoorna Devi was the first woman to receive the Jnanpith Award. She was a prominent novelist and poet in Bengali. In 1976, she was awarded the Jnanpith Award. The Government of India honoured her with Padma Shri in the same year. In 1989, the Vishwa Bharati University honoured her with Deshikottam. In 1994, she was honoured with the Sahitya Akamedi Fellowship for her contribution as a novelist and short story writer.
A childhood of self-education
It is mind-boggling to think that Ashapurna Devi was born into an extremely conservative family where the female children were barred from going to school and only the boys had the luxury of getting private tutors. As a child, Ashapurna used to listen to her brothers reading by sitting opposite to them and it was through that rigorous way that she learnt the alphabet. She was self-educated and had no formal education. Interestingly, her father Harendra Nath Gupta was a famous artist and her mother Sarola Sundari was a great lover of books and she probably got her penchant to read from them.
A period of turmoil and an early marriage
Ashapurna grew up at a time when India was going through a period of social and political restlessness. Our country was fighting to free herself from the yoke of British rule and it shaped the lives of Ashapurna Devi and her sisters. Notably, she was sent off into marriage when she was just 15 years old.
Some famous books of Ashapurna Devi
Some of the famous books of Ashapurna Devi are Aar Ek Ashapurna, Agniparikha, Asha Purna Devir Rachanaboli, Asha Purna Bithika, Anamaniyaa, Bakul Katha, Biswas Abiswas, Chabibandha Sinduk Chitrakalpa, Chosma Palte Jai and Dibyahasini’r Dinolipi.
It is mind-boggling to think that Ashapurna Devi was born into an extremely conservative family where the female children were barred from going to school and only the boys had the luxury of getting private tutors. knowledge Knowledge News, Photos and Videos on General Knowledge
