Legendary Dogri poet and Sahitya Akademi awardee, Padma Sachdev died aged 81 at her home in Mumbai Wednesday. She authored many books in Dogri and Hindi, and her poetry collections, including Meri Kavita Mere Geet, won her the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1971. She received the Padma Shri, the country's fourth-highest civilian award, in 2001 and was awarded the Kabir Samman for poetry for 2007-08 by the Madhya Pradesh government. Sachdev also wrote the lyrics for the song Mera Chhota Sa Ghar Baar'from the 1973 Hindi film Prem Parbat.
She also penned the lyrics for two songs for the 1978 Hindi film Aankhin Dekhi, including the famous duet Sona re, tujhe kaise milun sung by Mohd Rafi and Sulakshana Pandit.She worked with All India Radio, Jammu and Mumbai and shifted base to New Delhi and Mumbai after marrying singer Surinder Singh. Additional secretary of J&K Academy of Art, Culture and Languages Arvinder Singh Aman chaired a condolence meeting here for Sachdev at which rich tributes were paid to the "doyen of Dogri literature"." Sachdev's contribution to Dogri language is exemplary. She was a living example of Dogri culture," Aman said, adding that she would be remembered for giving her mother tongue global recognition as her lyrics sung by famous Bollywood singers made Dogri popular not only in India but around the world.He said Sachdev's passing away is an irreparable loss for Jammu