Shakuntalā Parānjpye (17 January 1906 – 3 May 2000) was an India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

n writer and a prominent social worker. She was a member of Maharashtra

Maharashtra

Maharashtra is a state located in India. It is the second most populous after Uttar Pradesh and third largest state by area in India...

 Legislative Council during 1958–64, and was a nominated member of Indian Rajya Sabha

Rajya Sabha

The Rajya Sabha or Council of States is the upper house of the Parliament of India. Rajya means "state," and Sabha means "assembly hall" in Sanskrit. Membership is limited to 250 members, 12 of whom are chosen by the President of India for their expertise in specific fields of art, literature,...

 (Upper House of Parliament) during 1964–70

. In 1991, the Government of India awarded her the Padma Bhushan

Padma Bhushan

The Padma Bhushan is the third highest civilian award in the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan, but comes before the Padma Shri. It is awarded by the Government of India.-History:...

 title in recognition of her pioneering work in the field of family planning since 1938. The recent low population growth rate in Maharashtra is largely attributed to her work.

Biography

Shakuntala Paranjpye was the daughter of Sir R. P. Paranjpye, who was India's first Senior Wrangler (Cambridge) (mathematics), an educationist, and India's High Commissioner to Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

 during 1944–1947.

Shakuntala took her Tripos in mathematics from Cambridge University in England in 1929. She received a Diploma in Education from London University the next year.

Shakuntala worked in the 1930s with the International Labour Organization

International Labour Organization

The International Labour Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations that deals with labour issues pertaining to international labour standards. Its headquarters are in Geneva, Switzerland. Its secretariat — the people who are employed by it throughout the world — is known as the...

 in Geneva

Geneva

Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...

, Switzerland

Switzerland

Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....

. In the 1930s and '40s, she also acted in some Marathi

Marathi language

Marathi is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people of western and central India. It is the official language of the state of Maharashtra. There are over 68 million fluent speakers worldwide. Marathi has the fourth largest number of native speakers in India and is the fifteenth most...

 and Hindi

Hindi

Standard Hindi, or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi, also known as Manak Hindi , High Hindi, Nagari Hindi, and Literary Hindi, is a standardized and sanskritized register of the Hindustani language derived from the Khariboli dialect of Delhi...

 movies. (See Acting below.) Her most noted role was in V. Shantaram

V. Shantaram

V. Shantaram is a renowned Indian filmmaker, film producer and actor. He is most known for his films like Dr...

's Hindi social classic, Duniyā Nā Māne

Duniya Na Mane

Duniya Na Mane is a 1937 Hindi social classic directed by V. Shantaram, and based on the Marathi novel, "Na Patnari Goshta” by Narayan Hari Apte, who also wrote film’s screenplay...

. (This movie was remade in its Marathi version as Kunku.)

Shakuntala wrote many plays, sketches, and novels in Marathi

Marathi language

Marathi is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people of western and central India. It is the official language of the state of Maharashtra. There are over 68 million fluent speakers worldwide. Marathi has the fourth largest number of native speakers in India and is the fifteenth most...

. Some of her work was in English. (See Authorship below.)

A Hindi children's movie, Yeh Hai Chakkad Bakkad Bumbe Bo, which was based on a Marathi story by Shakuntala was released in 2003.

Personal life

Shakuntala was married for a short time to a Russian painter, Youra Sleptzoff. She had a daughter, Sai Paranjpye

Sai Paranjpye

Sai Parānjpye is a movie director and a screenwriter in India. She is the director of award-winning movies, Sparsh, Katha, Chasme Buddoor, and Disha....

, by him in 1938. Soon after Sai's birth, she divorced Youra, and reared Sai in her own father's household.

Sai Paranjpye is a noted Hindi movie director and screenwriter. She is known for her comedies and children's movies. In 2006, the Government of India awarded her the Padma Bhushan

Padma Bhushan

The Padma Bhushan is the third highest civilian award in the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan, but comes before the Padma Shri. It is awarded by the Government of India.-History:...

title in recognition of her artistic talents.

Acting

Shakuntala had acting roles in the following movies:

Ganga Maiyya (1955)

Ramshastri (1944)

Jawani Ka Rang (1941)

Paisa (1941)

Stree (1938)

Duniya Na Mane (1937)

Jeevan Jyoti (1937)

Kunku (1937)

Sultana Chand Biwi (1937)

Bahadur Beti (1935)

Kali Waghan (1935)

Typist Girl (1935)

Bhakta Prahlad (1934)

Bhedi Rajkumar (1934)

Partha Kumar (1934)

Sairandhri (1933)

Authorship

• Three years in Australia, (English), Poona, 1951..
• Sense and nonsense. (English), New Delhi, Orient Longman, 1970.http://www.worldcatlibraries.org/search?q=au%3AShakuntala+Paranjpye&qt=hot_author
• Kāhi Āmbat, Kāhi Goad, (Marathi), Pune, Śrīvidyā Prakāshan, 1979.
• Desh-Videshichyā Lok-Kathā, (Marathi)

External links