Shukhalata Rao (1886–1969) was an Indian social worker, artist and children's book author. Born in

Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comm ...

in the Bengal province of

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

, she was the daughter of

Upendrakishore Ray Chowdhury Upendrakishore Ray Chowdhury (12 May 1863 – 20 December 1915) was a Bengali writer and painter. One of his written book is ''Chotoder Shera Biggan Rochona Shongkolon''. He was the son-in-law of reformer Dwarkanath Ganguly. He was also an entre ...

, and sister of

Sukumar Ray Sukumar Ray (; 30 October 1887 – 10 September 1923) was a Bengali writer and poet from the Indian subcontinent. He is remembered mainly for his writings for children. He was the son of children's story writer Upendrakishore Ray Chowdhury and ...

. She studied in

Bethune College Bethune College is a women's college located on Bidhan Sarani in Kolkata, India, and affiliated to the University of Calcutta. It is the oldest women's college in India. It was established as a girls' school in 1849, and as a college in 1879. ...

, and obtained a bachelor's degree. She married Dr. Jayanta Rao from

Cuttack Cuttack (, or officially Kataka ) in Odia is the former capital and the second largest city in the Indian state of Odisha. It is the headquarters of the Cuttack district. The name of the city is an anglicised form of ''Kataka'' which literall ...

. After moving to Cuttack, Shukhalata founded the Shishu-o-Matri Mangal Kendro ('Centre for the Welfare of Children and Mothers'). She also established the Orissa Nari Seva Sangha.

Writings

Shukhalata was the editor of Alok, a newspaper. Her writings include children's stories, and fairy tales. Her books include: * ''Galpa-ar-Galpa'' * ''Galper Boi'' (1912) * ''Aro Galpa'' (1916) * ''Khoka Elo Beriye'' (1916) * ''Natun Para'' (1922) * ''Shonar Mayur'' * ''Natun Chhora'' (1952) * ''Bideshi Chora'' (1962) * ''Nanan Desher Rupkatha'' * ''Pather Alo'' * ''Aesoper Golpo'' * ''Living Lights'' *''Nije Pora'' *''Behula''

Awards

Shukhalata Rao was given the Kaiser-e-Hind award by the Government of India in 1956 for her book ''Nije Pora''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rao, Shukhalata Bethune College alumni University of Calcutta alumni Bengali writers 1886 births 1969 deaths 20th-century women artists Indian women writers Indian writers Indian women artists Indian artists Indian children's writers 20th-century Indian women artists 20th-century Indian women writers Indian social workers Social workers Indian women children's writers Writers from Kolkata Indian illustrators Indian women illustrators Women artists from West Bengal