Nirupama Devi

Nirupama Devi (7 May 1883 – 7 January 1951) was a Bengali novelist and short story writer of the early 20th century from Berhampore in Murshidabad district. She also wrote under the pseudonyms Srimati Devi and Anupama Devi.

Early life and education Nirupama Devi's father was Nafar Chandra Bhatta who was a judicial employee. Married at the age of ten, and widowed at fourteen, she was educated at home.

Devi also met Anurupa Devi, another noted Bengali female author, in Bhagalpur and their mutual encouragement was to grow into a friendship that lasted until her death.

Work Nirupama Devi was encouraged to write by both Bibhutibhusan Bhatta - himself a litterateur - and Saratchandra Chattopadhyay. Bhatta and his friends put together a hand-written magazine in which Devi's first stories appeared. She used the pseudonym Srimati Devi for them, and later submitted stories under the pseudonym Anupama Devi to the Kuntalin magazine started by Hemendra Mohan Bose. She won the Kuntalin Award in both 1904 and 1905 for two of her stories in the magazine.

Works Uchchhrinkhal was her first novel. Her other works include: Annapurnar Mandir (1913), a same name film was made by Naresh Mitra in 1954. Didi (1915) Aleya (1917) Bidhilipi (1919) and then in 1974 as Gumasthavin Magal.

Devi's novel Shyamali was adapted for the screen, in Bengali as Shyamali in 1956 and in Tamil as Kodimalar in 1966.

Awards and honours Nirupama Devi received the 'Bhubanmohini Gold Medal' in 1938 and 'Jagattarini Gold Medal' in 1943 from the University of Calcutta in recognition of her contribution to literature.