Nayantara Sahgal Age, Husband, Children, Family, Biography & More
Nayantara Sahgal Age, Husband, Children, Family, Biography & More
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Quick Infoā
Marital Status: Widow
Hometown: Allahabad
Age: 97 Years
| Bio/Wiki | |
|---|---|
| Profession(s) | ā¢ Writer ā¢ Journalist check sources The Caravan ā¢ Political commentator check sources The Caravan |
| Physical Stats & More | |
| Eye Colour | Brown |
| Hair Colour | Brown (dyed) |
| Career | |
| Awards, Honours, Achievements | 1985: The Sinclair Prize (Britain) for her fiction novel 'Rich Like Us' check sources The Kennedy Center 1986: The Sahitya Akademi Award for her fiction novel 'Rich Like Us' check sources The Kennedy Center 1987: The Commonwealth Writers Award (Eurasia) for the book 'Plans for Departure' 1997: Awarded an Honorary Doctorate by the University of Leeds, the United Kingdom for Literature check sources The Kennedy Center 2002: The Alumna Achievement Award from Wellesley College, United States check sources The Kennedy Center |
| Personal Life | |
| Date of Birth | 10 May 1927 (Tuesday) check sources Library of Congress |
| Age (as of 2024) | 97 Years |
| Birthplace | Allahabad, British India (now Prayagraj in India) |
| Zodiac sign | Taurus |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Hometown | Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh check sources The Caravan |
| School | Attended a boarding school |
| College/University | Wellesley College, United States check sources The Telegraph |
| Educational Qualification | She holds a bachelor's degree. check sources The Telegraph |
| Religion | Hinduism check sources Hindustan Times |
| Political Inclination | Congress check sources The Indian Express |
| Controversy | Nayantara Sahgal returned Sahitya Akademi Award in a protest check sources NDTV Reportedly, in 2015, Nayantara Sahgal returned her Sahitya Akademi Award - a literary honour in India annually conferred by India's National Academy of Letters to recognise and promote excellence in Indian writing and acknowledge new trends - in a protest against the murders of writers by the rebels. check sources NDTV While talking about this in an interview, Nayantara Sahgal said, "In memory of the Indians who have been murdered, in support of all Indians who uphold the right to dissent, and of all dissenters who now live in fear and uncertainty, I am returning my Sahitya Akademi Award." check sources NDTV |
| Relationships & More | |
| Marital Status | Widow |
| Affairs/Boyfriends | Edward Nirmal Mangat Rai check sources The Hindu  |
| Marriage Date | ā¢ First marriage: 2 Jaunary 1949 check sources Out of Line by Rity Menon ā¢ Second marriage: 1979 check sources The Hindu |
| Family | |
| Husband/Spouse | ā¢ First Husband: Gautam Sahgal (m. 1949; div. 1967)  ā¢ Second Husband: Edward Nirmal Mangat Rai (m. 1979 - till his death in 2003)  |
| Children | Son- 1 ā¢ Ranjit Sahgal (from first marriage) check sources Out of Line by Ritu Menon Daughter- 2 ā¢ Nonika Sahgal  ā¢ Gita Sahgal (Writer and journalist) check sources Gita Sahgal - Twitter (from first marriage) check sources Out of Line by Ritu Menon  |
| Parents | Father- Ranjit Sitaram Pandit (Indian Barrister and Politician)  Mother- Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit (Indian Diplomat and Politician)  |
| Siblings | Brother- None Sister(s)- Chandralekha Mehta and Rita Dar  |
| Other Relatives | ā¢ Jawaharlal Nehru (uncle)  ā¢ Indira Gandhi (cousin) |
Some Lesser Known Facts About Nayantara Sahgal
Nayantara Sahgal is an Indian writer and author, who has also worked as a journalist and political commentator. check sources The Caravan She is known for her outspoken views.
She belongs to an illustrious political family ā the Nehru-Gandhi family; however, in an interview, Nayantara claimed that she belongs only to the Nehru family. check sources
Nayantara Sahgal grew up with her first cousin, Indira Gandhi , in Anand Bhawan, the residence of the Nehru family in Allahabad. check sources The Caravan
Nayantara Sahgal (left) with Indira Gandhi (right) ā Picture from Nayantara Panditās wedding to her first husband, Gautam Sahgal, in Allahabad in 1949
Nayantaraās mother was the first Indian woman to hold a cabinet post in the pre-independence India and become an ambassador to the United Nations. check sources The Print
Nayantara considered Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru her father figure after her father, Ranjit Sitaram Pandit, died during his fourth imprisonment. check sources
A picture of Nayantara went viral in which she was greeting her uncle, Jawaharlal Nehru, with a peck on his cheek when he reached the London airport. check sources Aaj Tak Reportedly, it was falsely claimed that Jawaharlal Nehru was being greeted by some British woman; however, the picture was declared to be fake by media outlets. check sources Aaj Tak
She was fascinated with the famous Japanese sculptor Isamu Noguchi. check sources The Hindu
In an interview, Nayantara expressed her thoughts on āHindutvaā and said that she believed that the term āHindutvaā had twisted and divided Hinduism from other religions instead of binding all of them together,Ā check sources Hindustan Times and that was the reason she did not adopt any kind of religious identity post-independence. check sources Hindustan Times Nayantara added,
I refused a religious identity when we attained Independence because weāre a deeply religious country with many religions. My problem is with Hindutva because Iām a Hindu myself and it makes me sad that the Hindutva mentality has divided us into Hindus and others. Hindutva is a complete distortion of Hinduism.ā check sources Hindustan Times
Reportedly, Nayantara immensely fell in love with E.N. Mangat Rai, an ICS Officer check sources The Hindu while Nayantara and Gautam Sahgal were still together. check sources The Hindu
In an interview, Nayantara revealed that she couldnāt adjust to the marriage with Gautam Sahgal as there were many differences between them due to different backgrounds. check sources
Nearly twelve years after her divorce from Gautam Sahgal, Nayantara and E. N. Mangat Rai got married in 1979. check sources The Hindu
According to sources, she exchanged over 6000 letters with Edward Nirmal Mangat Rai for over three years before their marriage. check sources The Hindu Later, most of the letters were published in a book titled āRelationship,ā authored by Nayantara, which revealed their āprivate relationshipā publically for the first time in 1994. check sources The Hindu
Growing up in a family with a strong political background, Nayantara developed her political evaluation and decided to write about political policies and their impact on society.
Nayantaraās work has been a blend of her personal and political experiences.
In an interview, Nayantara recalled her childhood days when her parents were kept as prisoners during British rule in India and said that she was often told not to cry rather feel proud for what her parents were doing for the country. check sources Hindustan Times According to her, the first time when her father was arrested, her mother bought her a chocolate cake to cheer her up, and that was the reason her first book was titled āPrison and Chocolate Cakeā (1954). check sources Hindustan Times Sahgal said,
Seeing our parents go so often to the prison as political prisoners, we thought that jail-going was a profession. We were taught not to shed tears in front of the policemen. I remember us teary when my father, a Marathi scholar, Ranjit Sitaram Pandit, was arrested for the first time we were very sad and our mother ordered a chocolate cake to cheer us.ā check sources Hindustan Times
Nayantara has worked as a political columnist with Sunday Standard for nearly fourteen years. check sources The Caravan
Reportedly, Sahgal wrote against the declaration of Emergency in India (1975-1977) by her cousin Indira Gandhi . The article brought a strain on their relationship. check sources Hindustan Times While recalling that time in an interview, Nayantara said,
I was very close to my cousin Indira Gandhi. I have fond memories of putting together my mathematics homework. However, my mother and I were very strong opponents of the Emergency imposed in 1975 and Indira who liked no opposition broke all ties with me. Later, Rajiv Gandhi made things all right and I am in touch with Sonia and the children.ā check sources Hindustan Times
Nayantara was the Fellow of the National Humanities Center (1983-1984), check sources National Humanities Center and the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in the United States. check sources The Kennedy Center
She has also served as the Vice President of the Peopleās Union for Civil Liberties. check sources The Times of India
āOut of Lineā ā a biography of Nayantara Sahgal ā has been written by one of the popular writers in India, Ritu Menon. The book gives the readers an insight into Nayantaraās personal, political, and literary life.
āOut of Lineā by Ritu Menon
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