Renowned novelist Mannu Bhandari dies at 90
She was know for her novels like Mahabhoj and Ek Plate Sailab.

Renowned author Mannu Bhandari died on Monday, ANI reported. She was 90. Bhandari was unwell and was being treated at a hospital in Haryana’s Gurugram city, her daughter Rachna Yadav said.
Bhandari was born in Bhanpura city of Madhya Pradesh in 1931 and grew up in Rajasthan’s Ajmer. Her father Sukhsampat Rai was a freedom fighter, who worked on English to Hindi and English to Marathi dictionaries.
Some of Bhandari’s notable works include Mahabhoj (1979), Ek Plate Sailab (1962), Yehi Sach Hai aur Anya Kahaniya (1966), Teen Nigahen Ek Tasveer (1969), and Trishanku (1999).
“The quiet heroism of her battle, the odds against women in a hyper-patriarchal society, the small victories of self-assertion and independence, sparkle in her stories and give them resonance even with the passage of time,” writer Namita Gokhale had said in an article for Scroll.in.
Bhandari was also one of the key members of the Nayi Kahani movement of Hindi literature.
“The ‘Nayi Kahani’ movement mirrored the angst of the new and emergent middle classes, and the conflicts that arose as they struggled for a contested individualism, and the right to articulate their hopes and desires,” Gokhale had said in the Scroll.in article.
Gokhale also wrote that Bhandari was one of the authors who took on “entrenched patriarchy” that they were born in.
Bhandari was married to author Rajendra Yadav, who died in 2013.
Many social media users paid their tributes to Bhandari on Monday.
Om Shanti. #ManuBhandari 💙 pic.twitter.com/tqprRNBHR4
— Rahul Verma (@rahulverma08) November 15, 2021
We are very sorry about the passing of Mannu Bhandari, a giant of Indian literature. Earlier this year we had the honour of publishing The Best of Mannu Bhandari translated by Vidya Pradhan and with a Foreword by @NamitaGokhale_ Our deepest condolences to her family. pic.twitter.com/rfB4uMjtzE
— Roli Books (@RoliBooks) November 15, 2021
What a great loss to the world of literature. I remember watching Rajnigandha and thinking how progressive it was. That's when I got to know it was based on a story by Mannu Bhandari. I had to read more by her, which I did. In English and in Hindi. Please read her. RIP, Mannuji. pic.twitter.com/I6TCbxiK9A
— vivek tejuja 🌈 (@vivekisms) November 15, 2021
Mannu Bhandari, one of the doyens of the Nayi Kahaani Movement in Hindi, is no more. She is credited with popularizing the image of a 'new woman' who was strong, and intellectually independent. I met her twice at Rajendra Yadav ji's place in Daryaganj, Delhi. pic.twitter.com/IEhKEPcrwS
— Anurag Shukla (@Anuraag_Shukla) November 15, 2021
दुःखद खबर, हिंदी की मशहूर लेखिका और कथाकार मन्नू भंडारी का निधन। भावभीनी श्रद्धांजलि 🙏
— कविताएँ और साहित्य🥀 (@kavitaaayein) November 15, 2021
[ 03 अप्रैल, 1931 - 15 नवम्बर, 2021 ]#mannubhandari pic.twitter.com/gnWdyf9KKo