NEW DELHI: The daughter of late Odia political stalwart Biju Patnaik, and the elder sister of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, Gita Mehta belonged to the ‘first family’ of Odisha but carved her own identity as a writer, hitting the spotlight first with Karma Kola and Snakes and Ladders in the ’70s, then with her short story collection, a River Sutra, in 1993, one of the first Indo-Anglian literary works to be internationally considered a cult work before the genre came to be known as such. She passed away at her residence in Delhi on Saturday. She was 80 years old.
The tug of war between purity and passion was at the core of Sutra but Mehta, dealt with it in her characteristic tragic-comic way and the book, as suits a sutra, is filled with wise sayings. The book is considered representational of Indian culture and also has a dual vision, factoring in how the West sees it. It maps a wide terrain through its portrayal of music, religion, and major cultural landmarks with the story set in mid-to-late 20th century India and around the river Narmada in central India.
In 2019, she was conferred India's fourth-highest civilian honour, the Padma Shri, by the BJP government for her contribution in the field of literature and education, an honour she "politely declined" as its timing could be “misconstrued” in an election year. In interviews to the media, she said she was prompted
to do so “thinking of my brother, not wishing to cause him any embarrassment at a sensitive time - or even face accusations that nepotism might have been brought to bear to get me the award”.
Mehta was known for her detachment to institutional honours. When questioned about what she thought of awards in general she said the process was subjective making a comparison: “For example, why Ravi Shankar, but not Vilayat Khan for the Bharat Ratna?”
Mehta has produced and/or directed television documentaries for UK, European and US networks. During the years 1970–1971 she was a television war correspondent for the US television network NBC, Dateline Bangladesh, her work on Bangladesh, is well regarded.
She was married to publishing professional, Sonny Mehta, a former head of the Alfred A. Knopf publishing house.