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Nayantara Sahgal

ナヤンタラ・サーガル

Nayantara Sahgal

Profile

Gender
Female
Born
1927-05-10 （Allahabad (now Prayagraj), United Provinces, British India）
Nationality
Indian
Languages
English
Residence History
Dehradun (long-term residence) → Mussoorie (attended Woodstock School) → Allahabad (birthplace)

Career

Occupations
Writer, Novelist, Memoirist, Political commentator
Active Years
1954-2025
Affiliations
PEN International (Vice President)
Memberships
PEN International
Influenced By
Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit (mother), Jawaharlal Nehru (uncle)
Influenced
Gita Sahgal (daughter), Indian women writers and political writers

Education

Woodstock School
Degree: 卒業
Period: 在学〜1943
Year of Graduation: 1943
Country: India
Himalayan boarding school; attended during childhood and adolescence.
Wellesley College
Degree: BA
Period: 〜1947
Year of Graduation: 1947
Country: United States
Earned BA in English; attended along with sister Chandralekha.

Awards

Sahitya Akademi Award
1986
Work: Rich Like Us
Organization: Sahitya Akademi
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Prison and Chocolate Cake

1954 Memoir

A memoir of childhood and the Nehru family's involvement in the independence movement, recounting personal and political experiences.

FamilyIndependence movementComing of age

Rich Like Us

1985 Novel (socio-political)

A novel interweaving personal lives with India's political turmoil, set against the backdrop of Indira Gandhi's era and exploring power and society.

PowerPolitical repressionWomen's position

Indira Gandhi: Her Road to Power

1982 Biography / Political analysis

A critical account of Indira Gandhi's rise and political methods, offering an insider's perspective given the author's family ties.

Political powerBiographyCritique

Mistaken Identity

1988 Novel

A story where personal and national identities intersect, depicting individual choices and social pressures.

IdentityPoliticsIndividual freedom

Lesser Breeds

2003 Novel

A work focusing on social margins and individual conflicts, depicting aspects of modern Indian society.

MarginalizationSocial structure

Bibliography

  • Prison and Chocolate Cake (1954)
  • A Time to Be Happy (1958)
  • From Fear Set Free (1963)
  • This Time of Morning (1965)
  • Storm in Chandigarh (1969)
  • Sunlight Surrounds You (1970)
  • The Day in Shadow (1971)
  • A Voice for Freedom (1977)
  • Indira Gandhi's Emergence and Style (1978)
  • Indira Gandhi: Her Road to Power (1982)
  • Plans for Departure (1985)
  • Rich Like Us (1985)
  • Mistaken Identity (1988)
  • A Situation in New Delhi (1989)
  • Point of View: A Personal Response to Life, Literature, and Politics (1997)
  • Relationship (1994, correspondence with E.N. Mangat Rai)
  • Lesser Breeds (2003)
  • When the Moon Shines by Day (2017)
  • The Fate of Butterflies (2019)
  • Before Freedom: Nehru's Letters to His Sister 1909-1947 (editor)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Clear, direct English proseFocus on political and social themesMemoiristic and analytical narration
Recurring Motifs
Conflict between power and the individualWomen's position and independenceIntersection of family and politics

Legacy

Nayantara Sahgal, born into the Nehru–Gandhi family, is acclaimed for works that combine political insight with a woman's perspective. Her public acts of conscience (returning the Sahitya Akademi Award in 2015) and work with PEN International have contributed to advocacy for freedom of expression.

Academic Societies

  • PEN International

Archives

  • National Archives of India and related collections

Trivia

  • Member of the Nehru–Gandhi family; daughter of Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit and niece of Jawaharlal Nehru.
  • Won the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1986 for 'Rich Like Us' and returned the award in 2015 in protest against growing intolerance.
  • Photographed with Frida Kahlo in Mexico City in 1947.
  • Lived for decades in Dehradun and attended Woodstock School in Mussoorie.