Padma Sachdev (17 April 1940 – 4 August 2021) was an Indian poet and novelist. She was the first modern woman poet of the

Dogri language Dogri (Name Dogra Akkhar: ; Devanagari: डोगरी; Nastaliq: ; ) is an Indo-Aryan language primarily spoken in the Jammu region of Jammu and Kashmir, India, with smaller groups of speakers in adjoining regions of western Himachal Prad ...

. George, p. 522 She also wrote in Hindi. She published several poetry collections, including ''Meri Kavita Mere Geet'' (My Poems, My Songs), which won 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 1971. She also received the

Padma Shri Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī''), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. Instituted on 2 January 1954, ...

, India's fourth highest civilian award in 2001, and the Kabir Samman for poetry for the year 2007-08 given by

Government of Madhya Pradesh Government of Madhya Pradesh also known as the State Government of Madhya Pradesh, or locally as the State Government, is the supreme governing authority of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh and its 52 districts. It consists of an executive, ...

Saraswati Samman The Saraswati Samman is an annual award for outstanding prose or poetry literary works in any of the 22 languages of India listed in Schedule VIII of the Constitution of India. It is named after the Hindu goddess of knowledge, Saraswati. The Saras ...

for the year 2015,

Sahitya Akademi Fellowship The Sahitya Akademi Fellowship is a literary honour in India bestowed by the Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters.Quote: "In his acceptance speech when India's National Academy of Letters (Sahitya Akademi) in 1997 conferred its h ...

in 2019.

Personal life and death

Sachdev was born in a Khatri Family in Purmandal, Jammu on 17 April 1940. She was the eldest of three children of a Sanskrit scholar, professor Jai Dev Badu, who was later killed during the

partition of India The Partition of British India in 1947 was the Partition (politics), change of political borders and the division of other assets that accompanied the dissolution of the British Raj in South Asia and the creation of two independent dominions: ...

in 1947. She first married Vedpal Deep and later married singer Surinder Singh of the musical duo "

Singh Bandhu Singh Bandhu is an Indian musical duo composed of brothers Tejpal Singh (b 1937) and Surinder Singh (b 1940), exponents of Hindustani classical music and Sikh music (shabad kirtan). In 2004, Tejpal Singh and Surinder Singh were given a joint S ...

" in 1966. She and Surinder Singh first lived in

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament House ...

, but later shifted to Mumbai. Mathur, p. 182 She died on 4 August 2021 in Mumbai at the age of 81, leaving behind husband Surinder Singh and their daughter Meeta Sachdev.

Career

Sachdev worked in

All India Radio All or ALL may refer to: Language * All, an indefinite pronoun in English * All, one of the English determiners * Allar language (ISO 639-3 code) * Allative case (abbreviated ALL) Music * All (band), an American punk rock band * ''All'' (All a ...

Jammu Jammu is the winter capital of the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), Jammu and Kashmir. It is the headquarters and the largest city in Jammu district of the union territory. Lying on the banks of the river Tawi Ri ...

as an announcer since 1961. Here she met Surinder Singh, Hindustani vocalist of the Singh Bandhu musical duo, who was a duty officer at the time. In the following years, she also worked with All India Radio,

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

. Sachdev won the

for her anthology ''Meri Kavita Mere Geet'' () in 1969. Writing in the preface of the work, Hindi poet

Ramdhari Singh Dinkar Ramdhari Singh (23 September 1908 – 24 April 1974), known by his pen name Dinkar, was an Indian Hindi and Maithili language poet, essayist, freedom fighter, patriot and academic. He emerged as a poet of rebellion as a consequence of his ...

noted "After reading Padma's poems I felt I should throw my pen away for what Padma writes is true poetry." Her autobiography ''Boond Bawadi'' is considered a classic. Her book ''In Bin ('') addressed the under appreciated role played by domestic helps in Indian households. She wrote the lyrics of the song 'Mera chhota sa ghar baar' from the 1973 Hindi film by Ved Rahi "

Prem Parbat ''Prem Parbat'' () is a 1973 Hindi-language film directed by Ved Rahi. The film stars Rehana Sultan, Satish Kaul, Nana Palsikar, Agha and Hema Malini in a special appearance. The film has music by Jaidev with lyrics by Jan Nisar Akhtar and Padm ...

" which had music by

Jaidev Jaidev (3 August 1918 – 6 January 1987; born Jaidev Verma) was a music composer in Hindi films, most known for his work in films: '' Hum Dono'' (1961), ''Reshma Aur Shera'' (1971), ''Prem Parbat'' (1973), ''Gharaonda'' (1977) and ''Gaman'' ...

. Thereafter, she wrote the lyrics of two songs of the 1978 Hindi film "Aankhin Dekhi", which had music by J.P. Kaushik including the famous duet "Sona re, tujhe kaise miloo" sung by

Mohd Rafi Mohammed Rafi (24 December 1924 – 31 July 1980) was an Indian playback singer and musician. He is considered to have been one of the greatest and most influential singers of the Indian subcontinent. Rafi was notable for his versatility and ...

and

Sulakshana Pandit ''Sulakshana Pandit'' is an Indian playback singer and former Bollywood leading lady belonging to the Mewati Gharana. Career Sulakshana's career as an actress spanned the 1970s and early '80s. As a leading lady she has worked with most of the t ...

. She also wrote the lyrics along with

Yogesh Yogesh is an Indian masculine given name. The Sanskrit word ' is a compound of the words ' and ' and has the meaning "master of yoga" and has also been used as an epithet of Shiva. Notable people * Yogesh (actor) (born 1990), Indian actor * Y ...

for the 1979 Hindi film "Saahas", which had music by Ameen Sangeet.

Works

Source(s): *''Meri Kavita Mere Geet'' (1969) *''Tavi Te Chanhan'' (Rivers Tawi and Chenab, 1976) *''Nheriyan Galiyan'' (Dark Lanes, 1982) *''Pota Pota Nimbal'' (Fingertipful Cloudless Sky, 1987) *''Uttar Vahini'' (1992) *''Tainthian'' (1997). *''Amrai'' (Hindi Interviews) *''Diwankhana'' (Interviews) *''Chith Chete'' (Memoirs)

Awards

Source(s): *''Dinu Bhai Pant Life Time Achievement Award'', 2017 by D.B. Pant Memorial Trust, Jammu, J&K * ''Krutitava Smagra Samman'', 2015 by Bharatiya Bhasha Parishad, West Bengal * ''

'', 2015 for her autobiography "Chitt-Chete" in

* ''

'' Award. 2001 * ''

'' 1971 * ''Kabir Samman'' for poetry. 2007-08

Bibliography

* ''Naushin''. Kitabghar, 1995. * ''Main Kahti Hun Ankhin Dekhi'' (Travelogue). Bharatiya Gyanpith, 1995. * *''Bhatko nahin Dhananjay''. Bharatiya Gyanpith, 1999. . *
Amrai
'. Rajkamal Prakashan, 2000. . * ''Jammu Jo Kabhi Sahara Tha'' (Novel). Bharatiya Jnanpith, 2003. . *''Phira kyā huā?'', with Jnaneśvara, and Partha Senagupta. National Book Trust, 2007. . Translations *
Where Has My Gulla Gone (Anthology)
'. Prabhat Prakashan, 2009. . * ''A Drop in the Ocean: An Autobiography''. tr. by Uma Vasudev, Jyotsna Singh. National Book Trust, India, 2011. .

References

External links

Mother of Modern Dogri Poetry: A Literary Profile of Padma Sachdev
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sachdev, Padma 1940 births 2021 deaths People from Jammu (city) 20th-century Indian poets 20th-century Indian novelists Dogri language Hindi-language writers Indian women novelists Indian autobiographers Indian women non-fiction writers Recipients of the Padma Shri in literature & education Recipients of the Sahitya Akademi Award in Hindi Indian women poets Women autobiographers Poets from Jammu and Kashmir Women writers from Jammu and Kashmir 20th-century Indian women writers 21st-century Indian women writers 21st-century Indian novelists Novelists from Jammu and Kashmir Recipients of the Sahitya Akademi Prize for Translation Recipients of the Sahitya Akademi Award in Dogri