Mannu Bhandari is a leading Indian writer who was particularly known for her work between 1950 and 1960. She is most famous for her two novels. The first is “Aapka Bunty (Your Bunty)” and the second is “Mahabhoj (Feast).” Writers Nirmal Verma, Rajendra Yadav, Bhisham Sahni, Kamleswar, etc. described her as the most famous writer of the campaign during the New Story Campaign and Hindi Literature Campaign.
It was only a few years since India gained independence in 1950, and at that time India was struggling with problems like social change. So, at this time people started giving their opinions to promote new stories including Mannu Bhandari. Her articles were always based on gender discrimination class discrimination and economic inequality.
Biography of Mannu Bhandari
| Name | Mannu Bhandari[1] |
| Full Name | Mahendra Kumari |
| Date of Birth | April 3, 1931 |
| Place of Birth | Bhanpura, Madhya Pradesh |
| Father’s Name | Sukhsampat Rai Bhandari |
| Spouse | Rajendra Yadav |
Early Life and Education
Mannu Bhandari, a modern storyteller and novelist of Hindi literature, was born on April 3, 1931, in Bhanpura, Madhya Pradesh, and grew up largely in Ajmer, Rajasthan, where her father Sukhsampat Rai Bhandari, was a freedom fighter, social reformer and the producer of the first English to Hindi and English to Marathi dictionaries. She was the youngest of five children. Mannu Bhandari has run pens in both stories and novels. Her novel ‘Ek Inch Muskan’ written with Rajendra Yadav is a sad love story of educated and modern people. Bhandari was initially educated in Ajmer and graduated from Calcutta University in West Bengal. She went to earn an M.A. degree in Hindi language and literature, at Banaras Hindu University. As a student she was active politically and in 1946, she helped organize a strike after two of her colleagues were dismissed for being involved with Subhash Chandra Bose’s Indian National Army.
Also Read: Biography of Makhanlal Chaturvedi
Marriage Life of Mannu Bhandari
Mannu Bhandari’s husband’s name was Rajendra Yadav. Rajendra Yadav was a well-known Hindi writer. They got married in Kolkata on November 22, 1959. Mannuji and Rajendraji met in Calcutta, when they first met, there was a discussion on books, writers, and literary subjects, which later gradually turned into personal discussions and they reached out to each other.
Bhandari and Yadav lived in Tollygunge in Kolkata until 1964 when they moved to Delhi. They lived in Delhi thereafter and had one child, a daughter named Rachana. Bhandari and Yadav separated in the 1980s, but never divorced, remaining friends until Yadav’s death in 2013.
Professional career of Mannu Bhandari
She started his career as a Hindi language professor. She worked as a lecturer in Hindi in Calcutta, teaching first at Ballygunge Shiksha Sadan, a primary and secondary school, and later at Kolkata’s Rani Birla College from 1961 to 1965. After moving to Delhi with her husband, she became a lecturer in Hindi literature at Miranda House College, at the University of Delhi. From 1992 to 94 she chaired an honorary directorship at Ujjain’s Premchand Srijanpith, at Vikram University.
Literary career of Mannu Bhandari
Mannu Bhandari is one of the leading writers in India. She wrote her first story, “Mein Har Gayi”. (I Have Been Defeated) in 1957, in the Hindi Kahaani magazine. This story was later adapted into a highly popular and successful play and was performed all over the nation. She followed it with a novel, Ek Inch Muskan (One Inch Smile) in 1961, which she co-authored with her husband, the Hindi writer Rajendra Yadav. Ek Inch Muskan was an experimental novel, narrating the story of marriage between a man and woman, with Yadav and Bhandari writing for each character in alternate chapters. The plot was devised by Bhandari and the title by Yadav. The book was initially serialized in a Hindi magazine ‘Gyanoday’, and was republished as a book in 1991. Bhandari continued to write short stories during this period, and she followed the success of Ek Inch Muskaan with four collections of short stories, which were published between 1961 and 1970.
She was a leading writer in India after independence. She was known for her work between 1950 and 1960. Most famous for her two novels “Apka Bunty” and “Mahbhoj.”
It was only a few years since India gained independence in 1950, and at that time India was struggling with problems like social change. So, at this time people started giving their opinions to spread new stories including Bhandari. Her articles were always based on gender discrimination class discrimination and economic inequality.
Her novel “Aapka Bunty” (1971) is considered one of the most successful novels in Hindi. Mannu Bhandari is one of the most popular storytellers in Hindi. The play, based on her novel “Mahabhoj” (1979), which highlighted the depth of suffering and pain of the common man amid widespread corruption in the bureaucracy, became quite popular.
Bhandari continued to write short stories through her career, publishing in Hindi magazines as well as in Indian Literature, and the Journal of South Asian Literature. Bhandari published several more collections of these stories in Hindi, including Ek Plate Sailab (1962), Teen Nigahon Ki Ek Tasvir, Yehi Sach Hai, Trishanku, and Sampoorna Kahaniyan. The film titled “Yehi Sach Hai” became very popular, and also won the Best Film Award of 1974.
In 2007, she published an autobiography, Ek Kahaani Yeh Bhi, describing her life, political activism, writing, and marriage.
Writing Features
Mannuji, who created the surroundings as her subject, has not only shown the problems associated with women but also the social problems and family problems prevalent in society through her stories, novels, etc. Mannuji, who has written more than 50 stories and novels, has inaugurated arrogancies, selfishness, etc., by portraying the problems arising out of the conflict and the stress of the middle class.
In the world of Hindi fiction, writers like Mannu Bhandariji, not only limit the issue of sympathy for women but also portray political problems, and children’s problems in her literature.
Literary works of Mannu Bhandari
Fiction
‘Ek Inch Muska (1962)’, ‘Aapka Bunty (1971)’, ‘Mahabhoj (1979).’
Story Collection
‘Mai Haar Gayi (1957)’, ‘Ek Plaite Sailab (1962)’, ‘Yahi Sach Hai (1966)’, ‘Tin Nigahonki Ek Tasvir (1959)’, ‘Trishanku (1978)’, ‘Meri Priya Kahaniya (1973)’, ‘Pratidhi Kahaniya (1986)’, ‘Srestha Kahaniya (1979)’, ‘Sampurna Kahaniya (2008).’
Plays
Mahabhoj: Dramatisations (1981), ‘Bina Divaron Ka Ghar (1965)’, ‘Pratishodh tatha Anya Ekanki (1987).’
Screenplay
Katha-Patkatha (2003)
Autobiography
Ek Kahaani Yeh Bhi (2007)
Children’s Literature
‘Ankhon Dekha Jhooth’, ‘Assmata’, ‘Kala.,
Death of Mannu Bhandari
Mannu Bhandari died on November 15, 2021, at the age of 90 in Gurgaon, Haryana.
FAQ
1. What is the real name of Mannu Bhandari?
Ans: Mannu Bhandari’s original name was Mahendra Kumari.
2. When and where was Mannu Bhandari born?
Ans: Mannu Bhandari was born on 3 April 1931 in Bhanpura, village, Mandsaur district, Madhya Pradesh.
3. What is the name of Mannu Bhandari’s husband?
Ans: Mannu Bhandari’s husband’s name is Rajendra Yadav.
4. Whose composition is the novel “Aapka Bunty” (Your Bunty)?
Ans: Aapka Bunty” is the work of Mannu Bhandari.
5. When did Mannu Bhandari die?
Ans: Mannu Bhandari died on 15 November 2021 in Gurgaon, Haryana.
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