Chapter - 25
Harvest

- Manjula Padmanabhan

Question- Write a note on the life and works of Manjula Padmanabhan.

Answer - 

Manjula Padmanabhan was born in Delhi in 1953 to an Indian diplomat father. She was raised in Sweden, Pakistan and Thailand. She was an avid reader of comics and cartoons and often drew and wrote as a child. Manjula Padmanabhan is an award-winning Indian playwright, journalist, comic strip artist, and children's book author. Her works explore science, technology, gender and international inequalities.

When Padmanabhan was sixteen her father retired and her family returned to India, where she was surprised by the more traditional society and was limited by not knowing Hindi or Marathi.

Padmanabhan attended Elphiastone college. While at school, she worked at Parsians to gain financial independence from her family.

His Career and Works - Manjula Padmanabhan continued working as a journalist and book reviewer in to her 20S and 30S. She began her career as an illustrator in 1979 with Ali Baig's book 'Indrani' and Enchanted Jungle'.

which In 1982, Padamanabhan created a comic strip, "Doubletalk", featured the female character Suki. She wrote a pitch to "The Sunday observer' editor Vinod Mehta who published her strip for many years. Suki then appeared six days a week in Delhi paper "The Pioneer" from 1992 to 1998. When Vinod Mehta left the publications and 'The Pioneer' stopped publishing comics, Padmanabhan stopped creating Doubletalk.

Padmanabhan won the first ever Onassis Award for her play Harvest. An award winning film Deham was made by Govind Nihalani based on the play.

Padmanabhan has continued to work as an author and illustrator, and has published short stories within many different volumes.

Padmanabhan returned to creating comics featuring Suki with the strip Suki Yaki for 'The Hindu's Business Life'. As a playwright he wrote -

2006 - Sextet,
2003 - Harvest London; Aurora Metro Books.
1996 - The Artist's Model
1984 -  'Lights Out.

As author and illustrator -
Island of Lost Girls-Hachette (2015)
Three virgins and other stories New Delhi, India, Zubaan Books (2013) I am different! can you find me? Wtertown, Massi, Charles bridge Pub. (2011)
Escape - Hachette (2008)
Unprincess! New Delhi; Puffin Boobs (2005) Double talk New Delhi; Penguin Books (2005) Kleptomania: Ten stories - New Delhi; (2004)
Mouse invadors, Pan MacMilan. Written under the name Manjula Padma (2004)
Mouse Attack, Pan Macmillan, written under the name Manjula Padma. (2003)
This is Suki! New Delhi: Duck foot press (2000)

Hot death, cold soup: twelve short stories -

New Delhi; Kali for women (1996)
A visit to the City Market New Delhi; National Book Trust.
As illustrator - 1989 - Indi Rana and Manjula Padmanabhan. The Devi in the Dustbin. London: Hamish Hamilton.
1984- Maithily Jugannathan and Manjula Padmanabhan. Droopy dragen. New Delhi, Thomson Press.
Comic strips - 2015 - Suki Yaki. The Hindut Business Line.
1982-1998 -Doubletalk. The sunday observer and The Pioneer.
Short Stories - 2019 "The Rehearsal" in Displaced lives: fiction poetry, memoirs, and plays from four continents.
2012 "The other woman" in Breaking the bow Speculative fiction inspired by the Ramayana. Ed. Anil Menon, Vandana Singh, New Delhi; Zubaan.
Autobiography - 2002 'Getting there'

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