AGENCY
New Delhi: Jammu-based poet and novelist Padma Sachdev was awarded the prestigious Saraswati Samman today for the year 2015 for her autobiography ‘Chitt-Chete’ in Dogri language.
The 76-year-old writer’s autobiography, published in 2007, was shortlisted from 22 works written in as many languages published between 2005 and 2014. “The world is full of beautiful words which are incorporated in making a story. Some of these belong to my native language Dogri and the honour which I have received today has made the whole Dogri community proud and happy. Our identity lies in Dogra regiments, the world famous Basohli paintings and our folk songs,” Sachdev said.
Sachdev, who is the first women poet in Dogri language, has been a recipient of Sahitya Akademi Award in 1971 for her poetry book ‘Meri Kavita Mere Geet.’
She was felicitated by Delhi’s Lt Governor Najeeb Jung on Monday.
“We are aware of her services as a prose writer in Hindi.
I looked for her Urdu novel ‘Nausheen’ but I was unable to lay my hands on it. Her finesse in both Dogri and Hindi makes her one of the leading writers of our times,” said Jung who closed his address to the author with lines from her famous poem ‘Don’t close me in’. In her 662-page autobiography, Sachdev has included some historic photographs with various dignitaries from her state, besides the nation and the world. Sachdev, who has 60 books to her credit, recited poems in several regional languages, including Gujarati and Punjabi, underlining their importance during her address. “A writer lives in the pain and happiness of the people around her and gets along with her characters while writing. I am overwhelmed with this award. Whatever I have received has been an inspiration from these characters and my Dogri folk songs,” she said.
