Vasubahen (23 March 1924 ― 13 December 2020), born Vasubahen Ramprasad Bhatt, was

Gujarati language Gujarati ( ; , ) is an Indo-Aryan language native to the Indian state of Gujarat and spoken predominantly by the Gujarati people. Gujarati is descended from Old Western Rājasthāni, Old Gujarati (). In India, it is one of the 22 Languages with ...

story writer and novelist from

Gujarat Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the List of states and union territories ...

, India. She was a director of various

All India Radio All India Radio (AIR), also known as Akashvani (), is India's state-owned public broadcasting, public radio broadcaster. Founded in 1936, it operates under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (India), Ministry of Information and Broa ...

stations in Gujarat as well as a Chairman of the Gujarat State Social Welfare Board.

Biography

Vasubahen was born on 23 March 1924 at

Baroda Vadodara (), also known as Baroda, is a city situated on the banks of the Vishwamitri River in the Indian state of Gujarat. It serves as the administrative headquarters of the Vadodara district. The city is named for its abundance of banyan ...

(now Vadodara) to Ramprasad Balkrishna Shastri and Sarasvatiben. Her father was a political secretary of Sayajirao Gaekwad III of

Baroda State Baroda State was a kingdom within the Maratha Confederacy and later a princely state in present-day Gujarat. It was ruled by the Gaekwad dynasty from its formation in 1721 until its accession to the newly formed Dominion of India. With th ...

. She was the fifth among seven siblings. Her family was a native of

Ahmedabad Ahmedabad ( ), also spelled Amdavad (), is the most populous city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It is the administrative headquarters of the Ahmedabad district and the seat of the Gujarat High Court. Ahmedabad's population of 5,570,585 ...

and her maternal family belonged to Amod village near

Bharuch Bharuch () is a city at the mouth of the river Narmada in Gujarat in western India. Bharuch is the administrative headquarters of Bharuch District. The city of Bharuch and surroundings have been settled since times of antiquity. It was a shi ...

. She completed her school education from Baroda. She completed Grihita Gama (equivalent to

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

) in Gujarati, Psychology and Sociology from S. N. D. T. College (now

SNDT Women's University SNDT Women's University, also called by its full name Shreemati Nathibai Damodar Thackersey Women's University, is a women's university in the city of Mumbai, India. The university headquarters are at Churchgate in South Mumbai, while the ma ...

). She then studied for a

Bachelor of Education A Bachelor of Education (B.Ed. or BEd) is an undergraduate academic degree which prepares students for work as a teacher in schools. A Bachelor of Education program typically lasts three to four years and combines both coursework and practical exp ...

. She joined

(now Akashvani) in 1949, later served as the Director at Ahmedabad,

Rajkot Rajkot () is the fourth-largest city in the Indian state of Gujarat Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the ...

and Vadodara and retired in 1982. She was a Chairperson of the Juvenile Welfare Board, Ahmedabad and a Chairman of the Gujarat State Social Welfare Board. She had also served as the President of Gujarat Stree Kelvani Mandal and the Children Academy. She also presided over the ''Anandam''. She was an actress as well. She died in Ahmedabad on 13 December 2020 following prolonged illness.

Works

She was a story writer. She started writing during her student life. ''Pariksha Ke Karkasha?'' was her first story. ''Pandade Pandade Moti'' was her first story collection. It was followed by other story collections such as ''Sarsij'' (1996), ''Divase Tara Rate Vadal'' (1968), ''Manaraj'' (1973), ''Ghadik Ashadh Ghadik Fagan'' (1980) and ''Be Ankhni Sharam'' (1996). ''Zakalpichhodi'' (1959) is a novella on the life of a female. Her stories are translated in Hindi, English,

Kannada Kannada () is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly in the state of Karnataka in southwestern India, and spoken by a minority of the population in all neighbouring states. It has 44 million native speakers, and is additionally a ...

and

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of ...

Awards

She had received the Delhi Award for artistic programmes on Akashvani in 1978. Her short story collection ''Pandade Pandade Moti'' (1963) and biography ''Yoganuyog'' (2002) were awarded by the

Gujarati Sahitya Parishad Gujarati Sahitya Parishad () is a literary organisation for the promotion of Gujarati literature located in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India. It was founded by Ranjitram Mehta with the aim of creating literature appealing to all classes of society and ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vasubahen, Bhatt 1924 births 2020 deaths Gujarati-language writers People from Vadodara 20th-century Indian short story writers Writers from Gujarat SNDT Women's University alumni 20th-century Indian women writers Indian novelists All India Radio women 21st-century Indian women writers

Biography

Works

Awards

See also

References