Noted Feminist Author Mannu Bhandari Dies At 90

Mannu Bhandari, renowned Indian literary figure noted for her definitive feminist works in Hindi, passed away at the age of 90 on Monday. Reports suggest she had been keeping unwell and was under treatment at a hospital in Gurugram, Haryana. Her daughter said Bhandari breathed her last sometime in the afternoon.

One of the frontrunners of the Nayi Kahani Movement that unfolded post-independence, Bhandari was instrumental in giving shape to the idea of a new, liberated, real woman in the world of Hindi literature. Sexism, sex abuse, agency, equality were common themes across the expanse of her work. The most popular of these were the novels Banti and Mahabhoj.

Bhandari hailed from Madhya Pradesh and was a professor of Hindi literature for the better part of her career. She was married to writer and fellow Nayi Kahani pioneer Rajendra Yadav who died in 2013.

Remembering Mannu Bhandari, A Force Of Early Indian Feminism

In 1961, Bhandari published her first novel Ek Inch Muskaan, co-written with her husband Yadav. Through subsequent impactful works like Aap Ka Bunty, Yahi Sach Hai, Ek Plate Sailab, Bhandari captured the essence of the literary movement she was spearheading: she was crafting a new story.

What she chose to write on spanned difficult subjects but those that exposed the realities of our being. Her revolutionary-at-the-time ideas of the average modern Indian woman breaking convention to seek equality, for instance. And she wasn't just all words, no action.

As quoted in Times of India, writer Mridula Garg recalled a situation where, at a seminar, she was asked a "vulgar" question, which prompted Bhandari sharing stage with her to cut in, saying, "Please apologise to her. If you haven’t understood the book, please keep quiet, don’t ask such questions."

The winner of several awards, Bhandari's writings were instrumental in guiding the course of literature in a country that was just beginning to come to terms with its newfound independence.

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