At the age of 72, Prema Shah has died in the USA on December 20, 2017. She was not only the mother well known actress Jal Shah, she is a well known literary figure herself.

Born on Ashad 16, 2002 BS at Shreepur of Birgunj, Prema lived in Kathmandu at her maternal uncle’s home in an early age. He grew up in the care of a nanny in Kathmandu, Tuasidevi Upadhaya Koirala. She completed her schooling from Adarsha Kanya Niketan at Mangalbazar, Patan in 2016 BS after completion of her SLC. After that she went to Patan College where she completed her Bahelors degree. She did her Masters’ degree from TU, Kirtipur.

Prema had started writing in an early age. She had published a story titled ‘Pratikriya’ on the year she did her SLC in well known literary magazines of that time, ‘Sharada’. In 2028 BS, Prema married JP Shah of Patan. But the marriage lasted less than a year. After the divorce, her life went through various ups and downs. She taught in various places like Sarlahi, Birgunj and Nepalgunj while she tended her only daughter, Jal Shah.

Prema is one of the best story writer in sex psychology. In 2023, Prema Shah published a story collection book, ‘Pahelo Gulaf’. The stories in the book were criticized and appreciated by various critics. Some critics believe, Prema has followed the sex-psychology trend brought in the Nepali literature by BP Koirala. In 2028 BS, Prema published another collection titled ‘Bishayantar’. The story collection continued her journey she started in her first book. She also co-authored a novel titled ‘Aakash Bibhajit Chha’ in 2032 BS. ‘Mummy’ was another novel Prema wrote and published in 2040 BS. In addition to other stories, Prema has also published 6 collections of stories for children. She has also written three children novels.

Prema had been living with her daughter Jal Shah in the USA for the last few years. Shah died on Wednesday while being treated at Inter Mountain Hospital in Salt Lake City, USA.

I wish the soul of Prema Shah rests in peace. (Text in the image credit – Deshsanchar, photo Credit – Jal Shah)

(Coming soon – more photos of Jal Shah and Prema Shah)