Subhadra Sen Gupta: Difference between revisions

| birth_date = {{birth year|1952}}

| death_date = {{death date and age|2021|05|03| 1952|| |df=yes}}

'''Subhadra Sen Gupta''' (1952 – 3 May 2021)<ref name="Scroll.in" /> was an Indian writer. She was the winner of [[Sahitya Akademi]]'s 2015 Bal Sahitya Puraskar<ref name="Hindu-World-2015">{{Cite news|last=Pisharoty|first=Sangeeta Barooah|date=2015-01-28|title=In the world of children|language=en-IN|work=The Hindu|url=https://www.thehindu.com/books/books-children/subhadra-sen-gupta-winner-of-the-sahitya-akademis-bal-sahitya-puraskar-this-year-talks-about-her-latest-books/article6830820.ece|access-date=2020-11-29|issn=0971-751X}}</ref> and wrote over 30 books. Her book, ''Mystery of the House of Pigeons'', was adapted into a television series for [[Doordarshan]] as ''Khoj Khazana Khojher''.<ref name="Hindu-Rewind-2015">{{Cite news|last=Raza|first=Asif|last2=Ali|first2=Darab Mansoor|date=2015-07-01|title=Rewind with relish|language=en-IN|work=The Hindu|url=https://www.thehindu.com/features/metroplus/subhadra-sen-gupta-underlines-the-history-of-india-for-children/article7374741.ece|access-date=2020-11-29|issn=0971-751X}}</ref> Most of her books are in the genres of historical fiction and non-fiction, but she also wrote travelogues, comic strips and detective and ghost stories.<ref name="Rediff-Danger">{{Cite web|title=Danger in Darjeeling: Satyajut Ray's Feluda Mysteries {{!}} Book by Subhadra Sen Gupta|url=http://books.rediff.com/book/danger-in-darjeeling--satyajut-ray-s-feluda-mysteries/9780143331506|access-date=2020-11-29|website=Rediff Books}}</ref><ref name="Penguin-8Things-2018">{{Cite web|date=2018-06-10|title=8 Things worth knowing about Subhadra Sen Gupta|url=https://penguin.co.in/8-things-worth-knowing-about-subhadra-sen-gupta/|access-date=2020-11-29|website=Penguin Random House India|language=en-US}}</ref>

Some of her works include ''Goodbye Pasha Begum!'' from ''The Puffin Book of Spooky Ghost Stories'' (a horror story where a girl holidaying in Delhi finds herself as a slave in the [[Mughal era]]), ''Bishnu - The Dhobi Singer'' (a [[dhobi]] boy who is taken under the tutelage of [[Tansen]]) and ''A Mauryan Adventure'' (the daughter of a soldier in [[Ashoka]]'s army finds herself travelling the world). ''The Secret Diary of the World's Worst Cook'' (the child of two physicists who is bad at physics himself finds a diary written by a boy in a similar situation coming from a family of cooks)<ref>{{Cite news|agency=BLPS|date=2015-03-10|title=Works of Subhadra Sen Gupta: our pick|language=en-IN|work=The Hindu|url=https://www.thehindu.com/in-school/1/article6978422.ece|access-date=2020-11-29|issn=0971-751X}}</ref> is part of a book series, ''World's Worst'', written in the diary format. This series also includes ''The Secret Diary of the World's Worst Cook''.<ref name="Hindu-World-2015" /> ''A Flag, A Song And a Pinch of Salt'' features 19 freedom fighters of India and their inspiring stories.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Kurian|first=Nimi|date=2020-08-10|title=In turbulent times|language=en-IN|work=The Hindu|url=https://www.thehindu.com/children/in-turbulent-times/article32314128.ece|access-date=2020-11-29|issn=0971-751X}}</ref>

She also wrote a book for [[TERI]], ''Caring for Nature: Bapu and the Missing Blue Pencil''.<ref name="Hindu-World-2015" /> Her 2015 book, ''A Children's History of India'', was about the history of India written for children over the age of 10 years.<ref name="Hindu-Rewind-2015" /> In 2020, she released ''The Constitution of India for Children'' (sourced from books written by [[Ramachandra Guha]], [[Bipan Chandra]], [[Granville Austin]] and [[Derek O'Brien (politician)|Derek O'Brien]])<ref>{{Cite web|first=Paromita|last=Chakraborti|date=2020-03-12|title=A Home for Hope: Subhadra Sen Gupta’s new book makes the Constitution accessible to children|url=https://indianexpress.com/article/lifestyle/books/a-home-for-hope-6309823/|access-date=2020-11-29|website=The Indian Express|language=en}}</ref> and ''Mahal: Power and Pageantry in the Mughal Harem'' (about the social life of a [[harem]] in the Mughal era).

Sen Gupta died of [[COVID-19]] on 3 May 2021 at the age of 68, amid the [[COVID-19 pandemic in India]].<ref name="Scroll.in">{{cite web|url=https://scroll.in/article/994325/subhadra-sen-gupta-1952-2021-a-beloved-childrens-author-is-taken-away-by-covid-19|title=Subhadra Sen Gupta (1952-2021): A beloved children’s author is taken away by Covid-19|work=Scroll.in|first=Sudeshna|last=Shome Ghosh|date=8 May 2021|access-date=11 June 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Acclaimed children’s author Subhadra Sen Gupta passes away due to Covid-19 |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/books-and-literature/acclaimed-childrens-author-subhadra-sen-gupta-passes-away-due-to-covid-19-7301614/ |first=Paromita |last=Chakrabarti |access-date=4 May 2021 |work=The Indian Express |date=4 May 2021}}</ref>

Her book, ''Mystery of the House of Pigeons'', was adapted into a six-part television series by Feisal Alkazi as ''Khoj Khazana Khojher'' on Doordarshan. Her works were also chosen as part of [[NCERT]] textbooks.<ref name="Hindu-Rewind-2015" /> Three of her books, ''Twelve O'Clock Ghost Stories'', ''Jodh Bai'' and ''A Clown for Tenali Rama'' were included in the annual [[White Ravens]] catalogue at the [[Bologna Children's Book Fair]].<ref name="Rediff-Danger" /> In 2015, she was awarded the Bal Sahitya Puraskar by the [[Sahitya Akademi]] for her contribution to children's literature in the English language.<ref name="Hindu-Rewind-2015" />

* ''Goodbye Pasha Begum!'' (in ''The Book of Spooky Ghost Stories'')

* ''A Mauryan Adventure''