Illindala Saraswati Devi (1918–1998) was a

Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India *Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language ** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode S ...

novelist, short story writer, biographer, essayist and social worker from

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...

, India. She received the

Sahitya Akademi Award The Sahitya Akademi Award is a literary honour in India, which the Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters, annually confers on writers of the most outstanding books of literary merit published in any of the 22 languages of the ...

in 1982 for her short story collection, ''Swarnakamalalu''.

Biography

Saraswati Devi was born in 1918 in Andhra Pradesh, India. She started the Andhra Yuvati Mandali, a women's educational and social organization in 1936. Some time after 1950, she completed a course in journalism at

Osmania University Osmania University is a collegiate public state university located in Hyderabad, Telangana, India. Mir Osman Ali Khan, the 7th Nizam of Hyderabad in 1918 , He released a farman to establish OSMANIA UNIVERSITY on the day of 28 August 1918. It ...

. Subsequently she published several short stories in journals such as ''Bharati'' and ''Sujata''. She served as a member of both the central and state Film Award Committees. She was a nominated member of the State Legislative Council from 1958 to 1966.

Works

She has published over forty works, including twelve novels, several plays, and essays, biographies and short stories. She has used literature as a way of upholding ethical and cultural values. Her short story collection ''Swarnakamalalu'' depicts the multiplicity of human experience, insights into personal relationships, a progressive outlook and an engrossing style. She has also written children's literature, including a concise biography of

Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...

, and ''Mahatmudu Mahila'' (''Gandhiji's View about Woman''), published in 1969 by Andhra Pradesh Sahitya Akademi. Her other significant works are the novels: ''Muthyalu Manasu'' (1962; ''Muthtalu's heart''), ''Darijerina Pranulu'' (1963; ''Lives That Have Reached the Shore''), ''Tejomurtulu'' (1976; ''Icons of Light'') and ''Akkaraku Vacchina Chuttamu'' (1967, ''A Helpful Relative''); and the short story collection: ''Raja Hamsalu'' (1981, The Royal Swans). She has written over a hundred short stories which have since been published as a collection, ''Swarnakamalalu''.

Recognition

In appreciation of her services to literature she was honoured in 1964 with the Grihalakshmi Sanstha Gold Bangle Award. The Andhra Pradesh Sahitya Akademi awarded her the Best Woman Writer Award in 1974. She received the

in 1982 for her short story collection, ''Swarnakamalalu''.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Devi, Illindala Saraswati 1918 births 1998 deaths Telugu women writers Telugu writers Recipients of the Sahitya Akademi Award in Telugu 20th-century Indian women writers 20th-century Indian novelists 20th-century Indian short story writers

Biography

Works

Recognition

References

Further reading

External links