Shivani

Gaura Pant (17 October 1923 - 21 March 2003), better known as Shivani, Novelist, was a Hindi writer of the 20th century and a pioneer in writing Indian women-centric fiction. She was awarded the Padma Shri for her contribution to Hindi literature in 1982. She garnered a following in the pre-television era of 1960s and 1970s, and her literary works such as Krishnakali, were serialised in Hindi magazines like Dharmayug and Saptahik Hindustan. During the career, she wrote over 30 novels, prominently 'Bhairvi', 'Krishnakali', 'Chaudhan Phere', 'Atithi', 'Kalindi' and 'Akash'. Through her writings, she also made the culture of Kumaon known to the Hindi speakers in India. Her novel Kariye Chima was made into a film, while her other novels including Surangma, Rativilaap, Mera Beta, and Teesra Beta have been turned into television serials. Gaura Pant 'Shivani' was born on 17 October 1923, the Vijaya Dasami day in Rajkot, Gujarat, where her father, Ashwini Kumar Pande was a teacher with the princely state of Rajkot. He was a Kumaoni Brahmin. Her mother was a Sanskrit scholar, and the first student of Lucknow Mahila Vidyalaya. Later her father became the Diwan with the Nawab of Rampur and the member of Viceroy's Bar Council, thereafter the family moved to the princely state of Orchha, where her father held an important position. Thus Shivani's childhood had influences from these varied places, and an insight into women of privilege, which reflected in much of her work. At Lucknow, she became the first student of the local Mahila Vidyalaya Lucknow (Lucknow University). In 1935, Shivani's first story was published in the Hindi Children's magazine Natkhat, at age twelve. That was also when the three siblings were sent to the study at Rabindranath Tagore's Visva-Bharati University at Shantiniketan. Shivani remained at Shantiniketan for another 9 years and left as a graduate in 1943. Her serious writings started during the years spent at Shantiniketan. It was this period that she took to writing whole-heartedly and had the most profound influence in her writing sensibilities, a period she recounts vividly in her book, Amader Shantiniketan.