https://indianpedia.org/index.php?action=history&feed=atom&title=Manorama_JafaManorama Jafa - Revision history2026-07-30T20:30:06ZRevision history for this page on the wikiMediaWiki 1.45.4https://indianpedia.org/index.php?title=Manorama_Jafa&diff=316733&oldid=prevUpdateBot at 01:35, 26 June 20222022-06-26T01:35:17Z<p></p>
<p><b>New page</b></p><div>{{short description|Indian writer of children's literature (born 1932)}}<br />
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2018}}<br />
{{Use Indian English|date=June 2018}}<br />
{{Infobox person<br />
| name = Manorama Jafa<br />
| image = <br />
| imagesize = <br />
| caption = <br />
| birth_date = 1932<br />
| birth_place = [[India]]<br />
| death_date = <br />
| death_place = <br />
| restingplace = <br />
| restingplacecoordinates =<br />
| othername = <br />
| occupation = Writer<br />
| yearsactive =<br />
| spouse = Virendra Singh Jafa<br />
| domesticpartner = <br />
| children = Asim Jafa , Dr. Navina Jafa<br />
| parents = <br />
| website = <br />
| awards = [[Padma Shri]], [[Order of the Rising Sun]]<br />
}}<br />
'''Manorama Jafa''' is an Indian author of more than 100 books for children, as well as feminist novels for adults, and academic research and writing on children's literature. She has served as Secretary General of the Association of Writers and Illustrators for Children and as the Secretary General of the Indian National Section of the International Board on Books for Young People.<ref name="Nath 2014" /> She was awarded the [[Padma Shri]] in 2014, and the [[Order of the Rising Sun]] in 2016.<br />
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==Early life and education==<br />
Jafa was born in 1932.<ref>{{cite book |editor1-last=Zipes |editor1-first=Jack |title=The Oxford encyclopedia of children's literature |date=2006 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Oxford |isbn=9780195146561 |page=316 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VD4OAQAAMAAJ&q=Manorama+Jafa |access-date=9 July 2021}}</ref><br />
Jafa completed a master's degree in Geography from [[University of Allahabad]].<ref name="Nath 2014" /> She also later completed a course in writing for children at the Massachusettes Institute of Technology.<ref name="Nath 2014" /><br />
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==Career==<br />
{{quotebox|align = right|width=22em|''Creativity starts at a very young age. To garner and hone it further, it is very important that it is polished and harnessed right from the very beginning'', says Manorama Jafa.<ref name="No child's play">{{cite news|last=Naim |first=Faisal M. | url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Delhi/no-childs-play/article1102828.ece | title=No child's play | work=The Hindu | date=19 January 2011 | access-date=9 September 2014}}</ref>}}<br />
Jafa began writing in the late 1960s, first for local newspaper columns, but then began developing stories, and her first book for children was ''Donkey on the Bridge''.<ref name="Nath 2014">{{cite news |last1=Nath |first1=Dipanita |title=A Life of Stories |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/delhi/a-life-of-stories/ |access-date=9 July 2021 |work=The Indian Express |date=May 13, 2014}}</ref> Other works for children include ''The Parrot and the Mynah'', ''Laughing Parrot'', and ''The Ladybird and the Butterfly'', which according to Dipanita Nath of ''[[The Indian Express]]'', make "clear that Manorama sticks to earthy values, especially unity in diversity."<ref name="Nath 2014" /> <br />
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Some of her works, such as ''Gabbar and Babbar'' and ''I am Sona'', are designed for children with special needs.<ref name="No child's play"/> She has said ''I am Sona'' was inspired by a visit to South Africa and addresses children with HIV,<ref name="Tandon 2006">{{cite news |last1=Tandon |first1=Aditi |title=Life-saving knowledge: AIDS awareness fiction from an acclaimed children's writer |url=https://www.tribuneindia.com/2006/20060810/edit.htm#6 |access-date=9 July 2021 |work=Tribune India |date=August 10, 2006}}</ref> and her book ''Toru Nanu and Hipu'' is written for children who became orphans after the [[2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami|Indian Ocean tsunami]].<ref name="TOI 2011"/> In a 1996 discussion of her 1995 book ''Gandhi: The Man of Peace'' in ''Indian Review of Books'', she is referred to as "one of the pioneers of children's literature in English in India."<ref>{{cite journal |journal=Indian Review of Books |date=1996 |volume=6 |page=80 |publisher=Acme Books Pvt. Limited}}</ref> Her books written for adults, including ''Devita'', were described by Nath as having "a strong feminist accent."<ref name="Nath 2014" /><br />
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In 2011, Faisal M. Naim of ''[[The Hindu]]'' wrote, "over the past three decades, Jafa has been pioneering a movement for better books for children in India."<ref name="No child's play" /> In 1976, she began conducting workshops for authors of children's literature.<ref name="No child's play"/> Jafa has also produced many research papers on children's literature.<ref>{{cite news |last1=STP Team |title=Female Children's writers your kids should read |url=https://www.shethepeople.tv/news/female-childrens-writers-your-kids-should-read/ |access-date=9 July 2021 |work=[[SheThePeople.TV]] |date=May 5, 2015}}</ref> She also co-founded the Association of Writers and Illustrators for Children (AWIC) with the cartoonist [[K. Shankar Pillai|Shankar Pillai]],<ref name="No child's play"/> and served as director of its Children's Literacy Project beginning in 1995.<ref name="Tandon 2006"/> She has written a book about technical writing for children,<ref name="No child's play" /> ''Writing For Children'', and edited the AWIC quarterly children's literature journal ''Writer and Illustrator'',<ref name="TOI 2011">{{cite news |title='Children's literature is not just entertainment. It's a vital tool' |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/interviews/Childrens-literature-is-not-just-entertainment-Its-a-vital-tool/articleshow/7835451.cms |access-date=9 July 2021 |work=Times of India |date=April 1, 2011}}</ref> which was founded in 1981.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Jafa |first1=Manorama |title=The Association of Writers and Illustrators for Children |journal=The Book Review |date=1994 |volume=18-19 |page=23 |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Book_Review/aiDhAAAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=Manorama+Jafa&dq=Manorama+Jafa&printsec=frontcover |access-date=9 July 2021 |publisher=C. Chari for Perspective Publications}}</ref> By 2006, she was the head of the Khaas Kitaab Foundation, a publisher of children's books.<ref name="Tandon 2006"/><br />
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From 1999 through 2001, she served as a jury member for the [[UNESCO]] prize for Children's and Young People's Literature.<ref name="Tandon 2006"/> She was also involved with the Asian Cultural Centre for [[UNESCO]], as its children's book specialist.{{cn|date=February 2020}} She has served in the juries of the IIY-Asahi Reading Promotion Award (2000-2001) as its chairperson and the UNESCO Prize for Books on Tolerance (1999-2000) as a member.{{cn|date=July 2021}} <br />
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Around 2010, she founded Book Therapy, an initiative to support children who have experienced trauma, which has included the distribution of books to Afghanistan and areas of India impacted by tsunami.<ref name="No child's play"/> She has also served as a consultant for the [[Children's Book Trust]].<ref name="NIE 2014">{{cite news |title=A Politically Correct Padma List |url=https://www.newindianexpress.com/thesundaystandard/2014/jan/05/A-Politically-Correct-Padma-List-559681.html |access-date=9 July 2021 |work=The New Indian Express |date=January 5, 2014}}</ref><ref name="No child's play" /> She has also been associated with the [[National Book Trust]], New Delhi as its editorial consultant.{{cn|date=February 2020}}<br />
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Jafa is the General Secretary of the Indian National Section of the [[International Board on Books for Young People]] (IBBY).<ref name="IBBY">{{cite web | url=https://www.ibby.org/index.php?id=427 | title=IBBY | publisher=IBBY | date=2014 | access-date=July 9, 2021}}</ref> She presided over the 26th Congress of the IBBY, conducted in 1998, as its Chairperson.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Maissen |first1=Leena |title=1998 in New Delhi |url=https://www.ibby.org/subnavigation/archives/ibby-congresses/1998-in-new-delhi/ |access-date=9 July 2021 |work=International Board on Books for Young People}}</ref> In 1998, Jafa invited Empress Michiko of Japan to give the keynote speech at the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY) Congress in New Delhi and later visited Empress Michiko in Japan.<ref name="Japan Times">{{cite web | url=http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2013/12/04/national/emperor-empress-revisit-india-center-after-53-years/#.VA5608vlrIU | title=Emperor, Empress revisit India center after 53 years | publisher=Japan Times | date=2014 | access-date=9 September 2014}}</ref> In 2013, as Secretary-General of the IBBY India section, she met with the Empress and introduced her to members of the group, after previously meeting her in Japan in 2004.<ref name="Japan Times" /><br />
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The Manorama Jafa Collection on Children’s Literature was donated to [[Ashoka University]] by her husband, Shri Virendra Singh Jafa.<ref name="Ashoka">{{cite news |title=Recent Acquisitions |url=https://ashoka.edu.in/stories/welcome-612 |access-date=9 July 2021 |work=Ashoka Bulletin |publisher=Ashoka University}}</ref> The collection includes technical books on children's literature, some of her correspondence, her Hindi novels for adults, and other materials related to children's literature.<ref name="Ashoka"/><br />
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In November 2020, she donated her books for thousands of children in the name of her life companion Mr. Virendra Singh Jafa at various NGOs like Deepalaya, Community Project Library, and various other schools including the Aaganvadaddi schools in Haryana under the Ministry of Child and Women Development.{{cn|date=July 2021}}<br />
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==Honours and Awards==<br />
In 2014, she was awarded the [[Padma Shri]] from the [[Government of India]].<ref name="Nath 2014" /><ref name="Padma">{{cite web|url=http://www.pib.nic.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=102735 |title=Padma Awards Announced |publisher=Press Information Bureau, Government of India |work=Circular |date=25 January 2014 |access-date=23 August 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140222101141/http://www.pib.nic.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=102735 |archive-date=22 February 2014 }}</ref> In 2016, she was awarded the [[Order of the Rising Sun]], the highest civilian award in Japan.<ref name="UNI 2016">{{cite news |title=Manorama Jafa gets Japan's highest civilian honor |url=http://www.uniindia.com/manorama-jafa-gets-japan-s-highest-civilian-honour/india/news/677530.html |access-date=9 July 2021 |work=United News of India |date=November 6, 2016}}</ref> Her Hindi novel ''Devika'' won Sahitya Kriti Samman from Hindi Academy, Delhi (2008).{{cn|date=July 2021}}<br />
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==Selected works==<br />
* {{cite book | title=Sadako of Hiroshima | publisher=Ratna Sagar | author=Manorama Jafa | date=15 October 2013 | pages=16 | isbn=978-9350360842}}<br />
* {{cite book | title=The Parrot and the Mynah | publisher=Ratna Sagar | author=Manorama Jafa | date=15 October 2013 | pages=16 | isbn=978-9350360804}}<br />
* {{cite book | title=The Circle | publisher=Ratna Sagar | author=Manorama Jafa | date=1 January 2008 | pages=16 | isbn=978-8170700692}}<br />
* {{cite book | title=Tree Growers | publisher=Ratna Sagar | author=Manorama Jafa | date=1 January 2011 | pages=16 | isbn=978-8170700425}}<br />
* {{cite book | title=Great Tales from India | publisher=Khaas Kitab Foundation | author=Manorama Jafa | date=1 January 2009 | pages=16 | isbn=978-8188236428}}<br />
* {{cite book | title=Hira | publisher=Ratna Sagar | author=Manorama Jafa | date=1 January 2009 | pages=12 | isbn=978-8170700487}}<br />
* {{cite book | title=Kapil, El Amante De Los Libros | publisher=Shinsekai Kenkyusho | author=Manorama Jafa | date=1 November 2003 | pages=22| isbn=978-4880126630| edition=Spanish }}<br />
* Manorama Jafa In Kireet Joshi (ed.), [https://philpapers.org/rec/JAFVEC Philosophy of Value-Oriented Education: Theory and Practice: Proceedings of the National Seminar], 18-20 January, 2002. Indian Council of Philosophical Research. pp. 473 (2002)<br />
* {{cite book |last1=Jafa |first1=Manorama |title=Writing for Children |date=1994 |publisher=EPB Publishers |isbn=9789971004736 |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Writing_for_Children/JRQLNAAACAAJ?hl=en}}<br />
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==See also==<br />
{{portal|India}}<br />
* [[International Board on Books for Young People]]<br />
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==References==<br />
{{reflist}}<br />
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==External links==<br />
* {{cite web | url=http://www.bookdepository.com/author/Manorama-Jafa | title=Book Depository | publisher=Book Depository.com | date=2014 | access-date=9 September 2014}}<br />
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{{Padma Shri Award Recipients in Literature & Education}}<br />
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Jafa, Manorama}}<br />
[[Category: Living people]]<br />
[[Category: Recipients of the Padma Shri in literature & education]]<br />
[[Category:1932 births]]<br />
[[Category: Indian children's writers]]<br />
[[Category:21st-century Indian novelists]]<br />
[[Category:Indian women children's writers]]<br />
[[Category:21st-century Indian women writers]]<br />
[[Category:20th-century Indian novelists]]<br />
[[Category:20th-century Indian women writers]]<br />
[[Category:Novelists from Uttar Pradesh]]<br />
[[Category: Women writers from Uttar Pradesh]]<br />
[[Category: University of Allahabad alumni]]</div>UpdateBot