The 53rd Jnanpith Award was on Friday given to Krishna Sobti, a Sahitya Akademi Award winner and one of India’s most respected writers.

“She has immensely enriched Hindi literature by experimenting with new styles,” the Jnanpith Selection Board said, adding that the characters in Sobti’s works were “always bold and daring”. She “minted several words in Hindi, perhaps influenced by the rich diversity of cultures she grew up in”, it said.

Sobti was born in 1925, in Gujarat, Pakistan. Earlier this year, the 92-year-old released her autobiography, Gujarat Pakistan se Gujarat Hindustan.

Her writings covered several events, such as the partition and matters such as the changing dynamics in Indian society. Her Mitro Marjani, Ae Ladki and Zindaginama – the novel that won her the Sahitya Akademi Award – are considered classics of Hindi literature. Her works have been widely translated into other Indian languages, English, Swedish and Russian.