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Kavita Mahajan

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Indian writer

Kavita Mahajan (5 September 1967 – 27 September 2018) was an Indian author and translator who wrote in Marathi. She is noted for her critically acclaimed novels Brr (2005), Bhinna (2007) and Kuhoo (2011), as well as a non-fiction work Graffiti Wall (2009). She was the winner of the 2011 translation award conferred by the Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters.

Early life and education

Mahajan was born in the city of Nanded in Maharashtra. She was the daughter of S.D. Mahajan, the ex-secretary of Marathi Vishwakosh and the granddaughter of the painter Tryambak Vasekar.

Literary career

Mahajan wrote on themes of social emancipation and against discrimination. Mahajan's book Brr is a collection of stories about women's sarpanch and their experience after the Panchayati Raj system was implemented whilst she wrote Bhinna to describe the lives of those affected by HIV/AIDS. Both books bring out the politics of representation at three levels – one of the institutions like the Panchayats, the corruption in the non-governmental organisations (NGOs), and the intricacies of human relationships. Mahajan's work focuses on political, social, and economic matters rather than maternal or romantic considerations.

Mahajan's 2011 novel, Kuhoo (Marathi: कुहू) dealt with the relationship between human and nature, and was marketed as a 'multimedia novel'. It came with a DVD containing sights and sounds from nature, including a few animations. She is also renowned for her poetry, including a collection entitled Dhulicha Awaz. She was awarded Sahitya Akademi Translation Prize (2011) for her translation Rajai, a collection of 17 short stories by Ismat Chughtai which she translated from Urdu into Marathi.

Mahajan also authored children's literature and published a collection of short stories Joyanache Ranga (Marathi: जोयानाचे रंग) in 2011. This collection won her the Shashikalatai Agashe Award for Children's Literature in 2013.

Speaking in April 2016 at a programme organised by T. M. A. Pai Chair for Indian Literature at Manipal University (now MAHE), she said: "I am a woman and before that I am a human being. If all are human beings, why is there discrimination? That is a question, which has haunted me from my childhood."

Death

Mahajan died on 27 September 2018 of pneumonia at the Chellaram Diabetes Hospital. She was survived by her daughter.

Selected works

  • Bhinna (in Marathi). Pune, India: Rajhans Prakashan. 2020 . ISBN 978-81-7434-383-3.
  • Thhaki Ani Maryadit Purushottam (in Marathi). 2011.

References

  1. ^ "Sahitya Akademi award for Kavita Mahajan". Pune Mirror. Archived from the original on 14 February 2017. Retrieved 2 February 2017.
  2. ^ "Marathi litterateur Kavita Mahajan passes away in Pune". The Hindu. 28 September 2018. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
  3. ^ "Marathi novelist Kavita Mahajan speaks about discrimination in society". KonkanConnect. Archived from the original on 28 September 2018. Retrieved 2 February 2017.
  4. Patil, Mukta. "The Fight of the Fiery Tongue: New Women's Voices in Marathi". Footnotes. Archived from the original on 3 February 2017. Retrieved 2 February 2017.
  5. "कुहूचि अद्भुत दुनिया". Maharashtra Times (in Marathi). Retrieved 2 February 2017.
  6. "Marathi litterateur Kavita Mahajan passes away in Pune". The Hindu. 27 September 2018. Retrieved 6 July 2022.
  7. "कविता महाजन, स्वाती काटे, पृथ्वीराज तौर यांना आगाशे पुरस्कार". Divya Marathi (in Marathi). Retrieved 2 February 2017.
  8. "Marathi writer Kavita Mahajan passes away". Business Standard India. Press Trust of India. 27 September 2018.
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