Indira Sant
Indira Sant (Marathi: इंदिरा संत; 1914–2000) was a Marathi poet from Maharashtra, India.
Indira was born on January 4, 1914, as Indira Dikshit in the small town of Belgaum, India, Karnataka.
Indira studied at Rajaram College[1] in Kolhapur, and Fergusson College in Pune where she met her future husband Narayan Sant. In 1940, four years after their marriage, the two published a joint collection of their poems titled Sahawas (सहवास). Indira's husband, Narayan Sant, died in 1946. The pain of loss of her husband found its expression in some of her poems. The principal theme of most of her poetry is love and longing. The love of nature is also evident in her poems. Her poetry further pertains to different dimensions of a woman's life.
Indira Sant wrote about 25 books. She worked first as a professor and then as the principal in a teacher's training college in Belgaum.
The Sant couple had three children. Her son Prakash has written four books: Vanavas, Sharada Sangeet, Pankha, and Jhumbar. Her younger sister Kamala was a writer and the wife of acclaimed marathi novelist N. S. Phadke (Na. Si.)
Major works
Collections of Poems:
- Shele (शेले) (1951)
- Mendi (मेंदी) (1955)
- Mrugajal (मृगजळ) (1957)
- Ranga Bawari (रंगबावरी) (1964)
- ”Bahulya (बाहुल्या) (1972)
- Garbhareshim (गर्भरेशीम) (1982)
- Malan Gatha (मालन गाथा)
- Wamsh Kusum (वंशकुसुम)
- Marawa (मरवा)
- ”Nirakar (निराकार)
- Ghungurwala (घुंघुरवाळा)
Semi-autobiographical articles by Sant were published in 1986 in a book titled Mrudgandha (मृद्गंध). The book Phulwel (फुलवेल) contains a collection of her essays.
Ramesh Tendulkar published in 1982 a compilation titled Mrunmayi (मृण्मयी) of Sant's selected poetry.
Her poems have been translated into English as "Snake-skin and other poems of Indira Sant" (1975).
Awards
Besides receiving in 1984 Sahitya Akademi Award for her collection of poems Garbhareshami (गर्भरेशमी), Sant received for her poetry:
- Anant Kandekar Award
- Sahitya Kala Academy Award
- Maharashtra State Award
- Janasthan Award
