Writer, poet, freedom fighter and educationist, Mahadevi Varma (1907–1987) was regarded as the Modern Meera. She was a towering figure of modern Hindi literature and one of the four foundational pillars of the Chhayavad movement. Her poetry, such as the masterpiece collection Yama (which earned her the Jnanpith Award in 1982), is ethereal and filled with imagery of lamps, clouds, and eternal waiting, while her prose was strikingly grounded and revolutionary. In works like Path Ke Saathi and Mera Parivar, she wrote with immense empathy about the marginalized—servants, subaltern women, and even animals. Her collection of essays, Shrinkhala Ki Kariyan, remains a seminal feminist text in India, offering a sharp sociological critique of the systemic oppression of women in Indian society. She was awarded the Padma Bhushan (1956) and the Padma Vibhushan (1988).