New Delhi, Aug 4 (PTI) Former Jammu and Kashmir governor Karan Singh on Wednesday condoled the demise of noted author Padma Sachdev and said the Dogra-speaking community has suffered a grievous loss with her passing away.

Sachdev, the first modern woman poet of Dogri language, passed away at a Mumbai hospital on Wednesday, an official of the Jammu and Kashmir Academy of Art, Culture and Languages said.

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In a statement, senior Congress leader Singh said in the passing of Padma Sachdev, the nation has lost a leading literary figure and the Dogra-speaking community has suffered a grievous loss.

"Padma ji's contribution to Dogri literature over many decades was unparalleled and her poems will be long remembered by lakhs of Dogri speakers. Despite battling ill health all her life, Padma ji remained a positive and creative figure," said Singh, a former Union minister.

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"Personally I had known her for seven decades and we had numerous occasions to meet and interact. I have in fact translated several of her poems into English," said the former Sadr-i-Riyasat of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir.

Sachdev (81), who was born in Purmandal area of Jammu in 1940 in the house of Sanskrit Scholar Professor Jai Dev Badu, was hospitalised after she developed some complications on Tuesday evening, the official told PTI.

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 "Aankhon Dekhi", including the famous duet "Sona re, tujhe kaise milun" sung by Mohd Rafi and Sulakshana Pandit.

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