Career
Born in Delhi to a diplomat family in 1953, she went to boarding school in her teenage years. After college, her determination to make her own way in life led to works in publishing and media-related fields. An award-winning film Deham was made by Govind Nihalani based on the play.
She has written one more powerful play, Lights Out! (1984), Hidden Fires is a series of monologues.
The Artist"s Model (1995) and Sextet are her other works.(1996). She has also authored a collection of short stories, called Kleptomania.
Her most recent book, published in 2008, is Escape. Apart from writing newspaper columns she created comic strips.
She created Suki, an Indian comic character, which was serialized as a strip in the Sunday Observer.
Before 1997 (the year her play Harvest was staged) she was better known as cartoonist and had a daily cartoon strip in The Pioneer newspaper. As playwright
1984 - "Lights Out"
2003. Harvest. London: Aurora Metro Press.
As Author and Illustrator
2013.
Three Virgins and Other Stories New Delhi, India: Zubaan Books. 2011. I am different! Can you find me? Watertown, Mass: Charlesbridge Public.
2005. Unprincess! New Delhi: Puffin Books.
1986. A Visit to the City Market New Delhi: National Book Trust
As Illustrator
Baig, Tara Ali, and Manjula Padmanabhan. 1979. Indrani and the enchanted jungle.
New Delhi: Thomson Press (India) Limited.
Maithily Jagannathan and Manjula Padmanabhan. 1984. Droopy dragon. New Delhi: Thomson Press.
Comic Strips
2005. Double talk.
New Delhi: Penguin Books.
