Sonia's tributes to Hindi writer Amarkant

Congress President Sonia Gandhi today paid rich tributes to noted Hindi litterateur and Jnanpith award winner Amarkant, who died in Allahabad yesterday, saying his writings reflected the reality of life.
In a letter to his son Amar Vardhan, Gandhi said Amarkant was like a father for many new writers.
"It will not be an exaggeration to say that he was the senior most writer in this period in the tradition of Munshi Premachand. His writings reflected the reality of life and his extreme sensitivity towards the situation," Gandhi said in her condoloence message.
89-year old Amarkant died following a prolonged illness.

Born in 1925 in Ballia district of Uttar Pradesh, Amarkant took active part in the Quit India movement of 1942, which caused him to abandon his studies for a few years.
Later on, he completed his graduation from Allahabad University and pursued his career as a journalist with a number of local Hindi newspapers.

Recognition came late to the writer who wielded his pen with equal felicity in short stories and novels and was noted for his authentic portrayal of lives of common people in the Hindi heartland, which often led to his works being compared to that of legendary Prem Chand.

He received the Sahitya Akademi award in 2007 for his novel "Inhin Hathiyaron se", a voluminous work set against the backdrop of the Quit India Movement.
The book also earned him the Vyas Samman in 2009, the year which saw him being conferred with the Jnanpith award alongside reputed Hindi satirist Shree Lal Shukla of "Raag Darbari" fame.
His other novels include "Sukha Patta", "Akash Pakshi", "Kale-Ujle Din" and "Khudiram".
He is survived by two sons and a daughter.