Kamleshwar Prasad Saxena

Kamleshwar Prasad Saxena was an Indian writer born on 6-January, 1932 in the Manipur district of Uttar Pradesh. He also wrote scripts for the television and film industry. Kamleshwar completed his graduation in Hindi literature from Allahabad University, followed by a master's degree. His first story, Comrade, got published in 1948, and his first novel, Badnam Gali, was published while he was still a student. Following this, he decided to start his literacy career in Allahabad only. He began his career as a proofreader and soon became the editor of literary magazine "Vihan" in the late 1950s. He continued to be the editor of many Hindi magazines, like Nayi Kahaniyan, Sarika, Katha Yatra, Ganga and the Hindi dalies Dainik Jagran and Dainik Bhaskar, and the weeklies, Ingit and Shree Varsha. When his story 'Raja Nirbansiya' was published, he got his place as one of the leading writers of his time.

He wrote over three hundred stories in his whole career. His career turned when he moved to Bombay(now Mumbai) and began writing scripts for Hindi films. He worked on 75 feature films like Gulzar's Aandhi, based on his novel Kaali Aandhi, Mausam, Chhoti Si Baat, and Ravi Chopra's thriller, The Burning Train. By the late 1970s, he made his first short television film, Jamuna Bazar, near river Yamuna in Delhi. He shifted to television script writing and eventually became the Additional Director General of Doordarshan, India's national television channel. He wrote stories for ten television serials which included Chandrakanta, Akash Ganga, Yug, and Betal Pachisi. He also wrote stories for popular shows based on literary works such as Darpan and Ek Kahani Ek Kahani is a unique show by Doordarshan that sou >> Read More... . In the following years, he hosted a popular talk show on Doordarshan named Parikrama and started a weekly literary show, Patrika.

He also produced and directed numerous TV programs and investigative documentaries on social and political issues for Doordarshan. He won the 1979 "Filmfare Award for Best Screenplay" for Pati Patni Aur Woh, directed by B.R Chopra. In 2003 he was awarded the "Sahitya Akademi Award" for his novel based on the Partition in 1947, Kitne Pakistan. He also received the prestigious "Padma Bhusan" in 2005. On 27 January 2007, he suffered a heart attack and was soon declared dead. The same year, a collection of his short stories in English translation, Not Flowers Of Henna, was released.