Nayantara Sahgal is an Indian writer, who writes mostly in English. He has also worked as a journalist and political commentator. In most of her essays and novels (fiction and non-fiction), Nayantara has used examples from her personal life. He is a member of India’s famous political family, the Nehru-Gandhi family.
Wiki/Biography
Nayantara Sahgal was born on Tuesday, 10 May 1927 (age 96 years; in 2023) in Allahabad, British India (now Prayagraj in India). Nayantara Sahgal attended a boarding school. He completed his studies at Wellesley College, United States. Nayantara grew up in Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh with her first cousin, Indira Gandhi, the former Prime Minister of India. He grew up listening to the stories of freedom fighters who tried for India’s independence from British rule. Growing up, Nayantara Sahgal’s political views were shaped by the ideology of the Nehru-Gandhi family.
Nayantara Sahgal in her youth
Physical appearance
Hair Color: Brown (dyed)
Eye Color: Brown
Nayantara Sahgal with Indian novelist Kiran Nagarkar
Family
Nayantara Sahgal belongs to the fourth generation of the Nehru-Gandhi family. In an interview, Nayantara said that she only belongs to the Nehru family.
Nayantara Family Tree
Group photo of the Nehru Family, 1927
Pictured when Motilal Nehru visited England to meet his son, Jawaharlal Nehru, who was studying at Cambridge. From left – Krishna Kumari, Swarup Rani (Vijay Lakshmi), Motilal Nehru, Sarup Kumari (Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit), Jawaharlal Nehru
Parents & Siblings
Nayantara Sahgal’s mother, Vijayalakshmi Pandit, was the first Indian woman to hold a cabinet post and Ambassador to the United Nations, and her father, Ranjit Sitaram Pandit, was an Indian politician, lawyer and scholar from Rajkot, British India. Nayantara has two younger sisters, Chandralekha Mehta and Rita Dar. After his father’s death in 1944, during his fourth imprisonment under British rule, he began referring to Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru as a father figure.
Picture of Nayantara Sahgal’s mother, Vijay Lakshmi Pandit
Nayantara Sahgal’s mother, Vijay Lakshmi Pandit with her brother, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru
Ranjit Sitaram Pandit – father of Nayantara Sahgal
Photo of Farida Kahlo (center), Nayantara Sahgal (right), and Nayantara’s younger sister Rita Dar (left)
Husband & Son
On 2 January 1949, at the age of 22, Nayantara Sahgal married Gautam Sahgal, a pharmaceutical executive, with whom she had three children, Ranjit, Nonika Sahgal, and Gita Sahgal. Gita Sahgal is a writer and journalist, whose work focuses on issues of fundamentalism, feminism and racism. According to Nayantara Sahgal, after marrying Gautam Sahgal, she found it difficult to settle down as both of them came from different backgrounds. In 1967, the couple separated.
Photo of Nayantara Sahgal with Gautam Sahgal
Gita Sahgal – daughter of Nayantara Sahgal
Relationships/Affairs
Reportedly, Nayantara Sahgal developed an unusual love for an ICS Officer, EN Mangat Rai, with whom she exchanged over 6000 letters over three years while she was still married to Gautam Sahgal. Many of those letters were published in the book ‘Relationships,’ written by Nayantara Sahgal, who gave voice to their personal relationship for the first time in 1994. Nayantara Sahgal and EN Mangat Rai tied the knot in 1979.
Pictures of Nayantara Sahgal and Mangat Rai
Religion/Religious Views
Nayantara Sahgal is a Hindu. In an interview, he shared his religious views as a citizen of a country with many religions. He said,
We rejected religious identity when we achieved Independence because we are a very religious country with many religions. My problem is with Hindutva because I am a Hindu myself and it saddens me that the Hindutva mentality has divided us into Hindus and others. Hindutva is a complete perversion of Hinduism.”
Career
Nayantara Sahgal is an outspoken writer. Growing up among freedom fighters and witnessing political changes in the country, Nayantara Sahgal decided to write her views on political affairs and their impact on society.
Nayantara Sahgal at work
Writer
He has written several books. Nayantara Sahgal has also written various articles such as ‘Hands That Model Clay,’ ‘Nehru’s Turning In His Grave,’ The Endless Struggle of Memory Against Injustice, ‘A Premonition, And Longing For Something Soft And Beautiful,’ ‘A Thousand Writers, One Flat World,’ etc.
Prison & Chocolate Cake (1954)
‘Prison and Chocolate’ is one of the popular books written by Nayantara Sahgal, published in 1954. It is a story about her childhood. The story depicts the feeling of patriotism among the family members at that time because nothing was more important than making India an independent country. This work of Nayantara Sahgal clearly shows her love for her maternal uncle, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, a man she admired and considered her father.
Nayantara Sahgal’s ‘Prison & Chocolate Cake’
Rich Like Us (1985)
‘Rich Like Us’ is a fictional story which is a compilation of various chapters of Indian history and politics. It depicts the lives of two female protagonists, Rose and Sonali, who are up against political and social instability. This is Nayantara Sahgal’s award winning book.
Sinclair Sahgal Prize and Sahitya Academy Award winner ‘Rich Like Us’
Columnist
Nayantara Sahgal has worked as a political columnist in the country. He worked with the Sunday Standard for almost fourteen years.
Controversy
In 2015, Nayantara Sahgal returned the Sahitya Akademi Award in protest against the killing of the writer by a group of rebels. In an interview, he talked about this and said,
In memory of the Indians who were killed, in support of all Indians who uphold the right to dissent, and all dissidents who now live in fear and uncertainty, I am returning my Sahitya Akademi Award.”
Awards, Honors, Achievements
- In 1987, he received the Commonwealth Writers’ Award (Eurasia) for one of his great works ‘Plans for Departure’. This book is a combination of love story and mystery.
Nayantara Sahgal’s ‘Departure Plan’
- In 1985, his novel ‘Rich Like Us’ won the Sinclair Prize (Britain) for fiction.
- In 1986, he was awarded the Sahitya Academy Award for his fictional novel ‘Rich Like Us.’
- In 1997, he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by the University of Leeds, United Kingdom for Literature.
- In 2002, she received the Alumna Achievement Award from Wellesley College, USA.
Facts/Trivia
- At the age of 17, Nayantara Sahgal fell in love with Isamu Noguchi, the famous American sculptor.
- Nayantara Sahgal wrote against some of the policies introduced by her cousin Indira Gandhi, which affected their relationship.
- Nayantara Sahgal opposed the Emergency in India (1975-1977), which was declared by Indira Gandhi.
- He has been a Fellow of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, a quasi-governmental entity that conducts and promotes objective research on a variety of public policies.
- He was a Fellow of the National Humanities Center from 1983-1984.
- Nayantara Sahgal’s biography titled ‘Out of Line’ was written by Ritu Menon, a popular Indian feminist and writer; the book opens almost every chapter in Sahgal’s life.
Ritu Menon’s ‘Out of Line’ cover – A literary and political biography of Nayantara Sahgal
- He was once the Vice President of the People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL).
- ‘Before Freedom: Nehru’s Letter to his Sister 1909 -1947,’ a book edited by Nayantara, consists of edited and compiled letters, originally written by Nehru to his sister and Nayantara’s mother, Vijay Lakshmi Pandit, whom she refers to as Nan.
Nehru’s Letters to His Sister 1909-1947, edited by Nayantara Sahgal
- Nayantara Sahgal calls herself Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru’s daughter because she considers him a father figure.
Nayantara Sahgal and Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru
Categories: Biography
Source: SCHOOL TRANG DAI
