often called the modern Mirabai, prose writer, translator, journalist and activist She is also considered an important figure in Indian feminism.
In a conservative society that viewed women as nothing more than homemakers,
- considered one of the four major pillars of the Chhayawadi era in Hindi literature. The other three were Jay Shankar Prasad, Sumitra Nandan Pant, and Suryakant Tripathi ‘Nirala.’
Wrote about a range of topics. She wrote about anguish and pain. Her social upliftment work and welfare development among women was also depicted in her work. She advocated women’s rights even before Simone de Beauvoir’s book ‘The Second Sex’ was published
In another essay, Ghar Aur Bahar (Home and The World), she writes, “As soon as [women] are married, the dreams of a happy home life become handcuffs and chains and grip their hands and feet in such a way that the flow of the life-force stops within them.”
She was the principal, and later the vice-chancellor of Prayag Mahila Vidyapeeth, a girl’s college in Allahabad for nearly three decades.
written 18 novels and short stories in which Mera Parivar, Smriti ki Rehaye, Patha ke Sathi are prominent.
She was married at the tender age of nine in 1916, but she remained at her parental home and continued her education at Crossthwaite Girls’ School in Allahabad.
She said she was lucky to be born in a liberal family given the condition of women in the country. Despite being married at a young age, she decided to live the life of an ascetic. She was accompanied by many animal friends about whom she has written.
Awards 1956: Padma Bhushan 1979: Sahitya Akademi Fellowship 1982: Jnanpith Award 1988: Padma Vibhushan