Noted Punjabi novelist Dalip Kaur Tiwana, 84, breathed her last on Friday afternoon.
She was undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Mohali for acute congestion in the lungs.
The Padma Shri recipient and Sahitya Akademi awardee was admitted at the intensive care unit (ICU) of the hospital for past three weeks after she fell ill due to the extreme cold weather.
She was first admitted at a private hospital in Patiala and was shifted to Mohali when her health deteriorated.
In 2015, Tiwana had returned the Padma Shri bestowed on her to express solidarity with writers protesting against “suppression of freedom of expression and growing communalism”.
On January 16, a delegation led by rural development and panchayats minister Tript Rajinder Singh Bajwa met Tiwana’s family and assured them that the state government will provide financial aid for Tiwana’s treatment.
CREMATION IN PATIALA ON SATURDAY
The body will be brought to her residence at Punjabi University, Patiala, from Mohali at 8.30am on Saturday to enable people to pay their last respects. The university public relations officer said the body will be kept there on the campus before it is taken to the Bir Ji cremation ground at noon.
Tiwana was residing on the campus along with her husband Dr Bhupinder Singh and son Simranjot Singh, a faculty member in the university college of engineering.
{{/usCountry}}Tiwana was residing on the campus along with her husband Dr Bhupinder Singh and son Simranjot Singh, a faculty member in the university college of engineering.
{{/usCountry}}In view of her contribution to Punjabi, the university had bestowed the life fellowship on her besides giving her residence even after retirement as a ‘writer in residence’.