Shivani facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Gaura Pant
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| Born | 17 October 1923 Rajkot, Gujarat, India |
| Died | 21 March 2003 (aged 79) New Delhi, India |
| Pen name | Shivani |
| Occupation | Novelist |
| Nationality | Indian |
Gaura Pant (born October 17, 1923, died March 21, 2003) was a famous Indian writer. She was much better known by her pen name, Shivani. Shivani wrote many stories for Hindi magazines in the 1900s. She was one of the first writers to focus on stories about Indian women. In 1982, she received the Padma Shri award. This is one of India's highest honors, given for her great work in Hindi literature.
Before TV became popular in India, Shivani's stories were very famous. Her books, like Krishnakali, were published in parts in popular Hindi magazines. These magazines included Dharmayug and Saptahik Hindustan. Through her writing, she also shared the culture of the Kumaon region with many people in India. One of her novels, Kariye Chima, was even made into a film. Other novels, such as Surangma and Mera Beta, became popular television shows.
Early Life and Education
Gaura Pant, also known as Shivani, was born on October 17, 1924. This day was Vijaya Dasami, a special festival. She was born in Rajkot, Gujarat, India. Her father, Ashwini Kumar Pande, was a teacher there. He was a Kumaoni Brahmin. Shivani's mother was also very smart and studied Sanskrit.
Later, her father worked for the Nawab of Rampur. Then, her family moved to Orchha, where her father had another important job. Because of these moves, Shivani grew up seeing many different places and people. She learned a lot about the lives of wealthy women, which she often wrote about in her books.
When she was 12, in 1935, Shivani's first story was published. It appeared in a Hindi children's magazine called Natkhat. Around that time, she and her two siblings went to study at Rabindranath Tagore's Visva-Bharati University. This university is in Shantiniketan. Shivani stayed there for nine years and graduated in 1943. She started writing seriously during her time at Shantiniketan. This period greatly influenced her writing style. She wrote about these years in her book, Amader Shantiniketan.
Family Life
Shivani married Shuk Deo Pant, who was a teacher. He worked for the Education Department in Uttar Pradesh. Because of his job, the family moved to different cities. They lived in places like Allahabad and Nainital. Eventually, they settled in Lucknow, where Shivani lived for the rest of her life. She had four children, seven grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren.
Sadly, her husband passed away when he was still young. This meant Shivani had to raise her four children on her own. Her two daughters are Mrinal Pande and Ira Pande, who are also writers.
Writing Career
In 1951, Shivani's short story, Main Murga Hun (meaning 'I am a Chicken'), was published. It appeared in the magazine Dharmayug under her pen name, Shivani. She published her first novel, Lal Haveli, in the 1960s. Over the next ten years, she wrote many more important books. These books were often published in parts in Dharmayug magazine. In 1982, Shivani received the Padma Shri award for her contributions to Hindi literature.
Shivani was a very busy writer. She wrote more than 40 novels. She also wrote many short stories, articles, and essays. Some of her most famous works include Chaudah Phere, Krishnakali, and Lal Haveli. She also wrote travel books. For example, Yatriki was about her travels in London. Chareivati was about her trip to Russia.
Towards the end of her life, Shivani started writing about her own experiences. These stories appeared in her book, Shivani ki Sresth Kahaniyan. She also wrote a two-part memoir called Smriti Kalash and Sone De. Shivani continued to write until her last days. She passed away on March 21, 2003, in New Delhi.
Legacy
After Shivani's death, the Press Information Bureau said that the Hindi literature world had lost a very popular and important writer. They noted that it would be hard to fill the empty space she left behind.
In 2005, her daughter, Ira Pande, wrote a book about Shivani's life. It was called Diddi My Mother's Voice. In the Kumaoni language, Diddi means elder sister. Shivani's children called her Diddi because she was like a friend to them.
