Geetanjali Shree, also popularly called Geentanjali Pandey, who took her mother`s first name Shree as her last name, was born in the year 1957. She is a Hindi novelist and short story writer based in Delhi. She is the author of several short stories and three novels. Mai was short listed for the Crossword Book Award in 2001. She has also written a critical work on Premchand.
Personal life of Geetanjali Shree
Geetanjali Shree was born in an educated family, where her father was a Civil Servant. As a result she had to travel to various towns in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, as her father was a Civil Servant. She claims that it is this upbringing in Uttar Pradesh, along with the lack of children`s books in English that gave her rich connection to Hindi.
Works of Geetanjali Shree
First story written by Geetanjali Shree was Bel Patra (1987) which was published in the literary magazine Hans and was followed by a collection of short stories Anugoonj in the year 1991.
The English translation of her novel Mai catapulted her into fame. The novel is about three generations of women and the men around them, in a North Indian middle-class family. Mai is translated into Serbian, Korean and German. It has been translated into English by Nita Kumar, who was awarded the Sahitya Akademi Award for the translation. It has been also translated into Urdu language by Bashir Unwan with preface by Intizar Hussain
Her second novel Hamara Shahar Us Baras set loosely after the incidents of Babri Masjid demolition.
Academic Publications of Geetanjali Shree
* Between Two Worlds: An Intellectual Biography of Premchand
* Premchand and Industrialism: A Study in Attitudinal Ambivalence, The Indian Economic and Social History Review
* Premchand and the Peasantry: Constrained Radicalism, Economic and Political Weekly
* The North Indian Intelligentsia and the Hindu-Muslim Question
Awards Received by Geetanjali Shree
Geetanjali Shree is the recipient of the Indu Sharma award and has been a fellow of Ministry of Culture, India, and Japan Foundation. She also participates in theatre and works with Vivadi, a theatre group comprising writers, artists, dancers, and painters
