Nabaneeta Dev Sen facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Nabaneeta Dev Sen
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| Born | January 13, 1938 Calcutta, British India |
| Died | 7 November 2019 (aged 81) Kolkata, India |
| Occupation | Novelist, children's author, poet, academic |
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| Spouse | |
| Children | Antara Dev Sen (daughter) Nandana Sen (daughter) |
Nabaneeta Dev Sen (Bengali: নবনীতা দেব সেন; 13 January 1938 – 7 November 2019) was a famous Indian writer and teacher. She wrote over 80 books in Bengali, including poems, novels, short stories, and even books for children. She was also a respected academic who taught at many universities. For her amazing work, she received important awards like the Padma Shri in 2000 and the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1999.
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Growing Up and Learning
Nabaneeta Dev Sen was born in Calcutta (now Kolkata), India, on January 13, 1938. Her parents, Narendra Dev and Radharani Devi, were both poets. She was their only child. A very famous poet, Rabindranath Tagore, gave her her name.
As a child, she saw many big historical events. These included air raids during World War II, people suffering during the Bengal famine of 1943, and many refugees arriving after India was divided. She went to Gokhale Memorial Girls' School and Lady Brabourne College.
She loved to learn and studied a lot! She earned her first degree in English from the University of Calcutta. Then, she got her master's degree in comparative literature from Jadavpur University in 1958. She continued her studies in the USA, getting another master's degree from Harvard University and a doctorate from Indiana University. She also did more research at the University of California at Berkeley and Newnham College, Cambridge.
Her Career as a Teacher
Nabaneeta Dev Sen was a professor of comparative literature at Jadavpur University in Kolkata. She taught there until she retired in 2002.
She was also a visiting professor at many famous universities around the world. These included Harvard, Cornell, and Columbia in the USA, and universities in Canada, Australia, and Germany. She even gave special lectures at Oxford University about epic poems.
She was often invited to be a "writer in residence" at places where artists can focus on their work. These included Yaddo and MacDowell Colony in the United States.
Her Writing Life
Nabaneeta Dev Sen wrote more than 80 books in Bengali. She wrote many different kinds of books, like:
- Poetry
- Novels (long stories)
- Short stories
- Plays
- Essays (personal writings)
- Travelogues (stories about her travels)
- Humor writing
- Translations (changing books from one language to another)
- Children's literature
Her first book of poems, Pratham Pratyay (First Confidence), came out in 1959.
Stories for Young Readers
Nabaneeta Dev Sen was very well-known for her children's books. She started writing for children in 1979. She wrote many fairy tales and adventure stories. Often, her main characters in these stories were girls.
Exploring Important Topics
In her novels and stories, Dev Sen wrote about many important social and personal issues. For example, she wrote about:
- The role of thinkers in social movements.
- The challenges faced by Indians living abroad.
- Changes in family life.
- Life in homes for older people.
- Facing difficult health issues.
She also wrote about how women are shown in famous old stories, like the Ramayana. She even wrote short stories that showed the character of Sita in new ways.
Famous Works
Some of her popular books include:
- Ami Anupam (I, Anupam), a novel published in 1976.
- Monsieur Hulor Holiday (Monsieur Hulo's Holiday), her first collection of short stories from 1980.
- Karuna Tomar Kon Path Diye (The Path of Thy Grace, 1978), which tells about a woman's journey to a religious festival called Kumbh Mela.
- Truck Bahoney Mac Mahoney, a travelogue about her trip across northeast India and Tibet in a truck.
Awards and Recognition
Nabaneeta Dev Sen received many awards from India and other countries for her writing and academic work. Some of these include:
- The Sahitya Akademi Award in 1999, one of India's highest literary honors.
- The Padma Shri in 2000, a high civilian award from the Government of India.
- The Kamal Kumari National Award in 2004.
- The Big Little Book Award for children's literature in 2017.
Her Family Life
In 1959, she married Amartya Sen, who later became a Nobel Prize winner in economics. They had two daughters, Antara Dev Sen and Nandana Sen. After their marriage ended in 1976, she moved back to Kolkata with her daughters. She also had an adopted daughter, Srabasti Basu.
Nabaneeta Dev Sen enjoyed reading, listening to music, and traveling. She knew many languages, including Bengali, English, Hindi, French, German, and Sanskrit.
She passed away in Kolkata on November 7, 2019, after battling cancer.
