Alice Ekka

Alice Ekka (Hindi: एलिस एक्का) (8 September 1917 – 5 July 1978) was an Indian Adivasi writer known to be the first female storyteller from a tribal background.[1][2][3]

Ekka was born in Ranchi on 8 September 1917, and was from the Munda community.[1] She was the first tribal woman in Jharkhand to graduate in English, in 1938 at the Scottish Church College in Calcutta.[2]

She wrote stories in Hindi, publishing in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s.[1] A collection of her stories, Alice Ekka Ki Kahaniyan, edited by Vandna Tete, (Radhakrishna Prakashan, ISBN 978-8183617918) was published posthumously in 2015.[3]

Her stories in the 1960s were published in the weekly magazine Adivasi Patrika.[4]

She is described as "India's first female tribal storyteller", and the centenary of her birth was celebrated with a two-day conference, the "All India Tribal Women Writer's Meet", held in her home town of Ranchi.[2]

  1. ^ a b c "Our Pioneers: Alice Ekka". Pyara Kerketta Foundation. Archived from the original on 21 November 2018. Retrieved 20 November 2018.
  2. ^ a b c "All India Tribal Women Writer's Meet begins in Ranchi". Jharkhand State News. 7 September 2017. Retrieved 20 November 2018.
  3. ^ a b "Alice Ekka story collection unveiled". The Pioneer. 21 November 2018. Retrieved 20 November 2018.
  4. ^ Poyam, Akash. "Ten voices from Adivasi literature". The Caravan. Retrieved 29 September 2021.