Occupation Social worker
Writer Awards Padma Shri | Spouse I. H. Latif | |
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Books Essential Andhra Cookbook, Forgotten Parents Ali Yavar Jung, Alys Iffrig | ||
Bilkees Idrees Latif is an Indian social worker and writer from Andhra Pradesh, known for her work in the slums of India. She is the author of several articles and five books, including Essential Andhra Cookbook, Fragrance of Forgotten Years and The Ladder of His Life : Biography of Air Chief Marshal Idris Latif. The Government of India awarded her the fourth highest civilian honour of the Padma Shri, in 2009, for her contributions to society.
Biography
Bilkees Latif was born in an affluent family in Hyderabad to Alys Iffrig, a French woman and Ali Yavar Jung, a diplomat and educationist; he was the vice chancellor of Osmania University and Aligarh Muslim University, the Indian ambassador to Argentina, Egypt, Yugoslavia, Greece, France, and the United States, and the Governor of Maharashtra. Her husband, I. H. Latif was the Air Chief Marshal of India, the Governor of Maharashtra and the Indian ambassador to France. She is known to have worked for the upliftment of the poor in Dharavi, the largest slum in the world and her experiences there have been documented in one of her books, O Dharavi. Her first book, Essential Andhra Cookbook, is a study of the cuisine of Andhra Pradesh, which was followed by Fragrance of Forgotten Years, an autobiographical account of her early years, published in 2010. The same year, she published another book, Forgotten, which narrates the lives of a six notable women from Indian history. The latest of her publications, The Ladder of His Life, is the biography of her husband, I. H. Latif, through his Air Force, diplomatic and gubernatorial days. She was awarded the Padma Shri in 2009 for her services in the Mumbai slums.