Archives: Authors

Dalpat Chauhan is a veteran Gujarati Dalit writer waiting to be discovered by the non-Gujarati readership, academia and world literary cultures. Chauhan’s work unfolds at the intersection of social and literary movements that the Dalits of Gujarat waged in 1970s and 80s. While his activism led him to actively associate with the Gujarat Dalit Panthers (1974) and Dalit Sangharsh Sangh (1982), the radical little magazines like Kalo Suraj (The Black Sun), Akrosh (Outrage) and Sarvanam (Pronoun) that he edited served to pioneer the Dalit Literary Movement in Gujarati. Between 1982 and 1985 when Gujarat burned with anti-reservation riots, Chauhan brought out anthologies of Dalit Poetry, little magazines and investigative booklets that condemned atrocities on Dalits and questioned Government reports on them. Due to his untiring literary activism, Gujarati Dalit literature could chalk out a radical literary manifesto in 1987, sealing the boundaries of its definition and functions for future generations of Dalit writers.

R. NARAYANASWAMI (1919-1992) is better known by his pen name Karichan Kunju. He considered himself a protégé of the Tamil writer K. P. Rajagopalan, who wrote under the pseudonym Karichan-Tamil for the bird drongo. To honour his literary mentor, Narayanaswami wrote under the pen name Karichan Kunju, or the drongo’s chick.

From eight to fifteen years of age Kunju studied Hindi and the Vedas in Bengaluru. He pursued higher studies in Hindi and Tamil at Rameshwara Vedasthana Patashala in Madurai and then worked as a Tamil teacher in Chennai, Mannargudi and Kumbakonam for a few years.

Kunju has an oeuvre of over hundred short stories. He also released ten short-story volumes, two novellas and dramas each, and essays titled Bharati’s Search and Discovery (1982) and Ku Pa Ra (1990). Pasitha Manidam (1978) was his only novel. He translated important works from English, Sanskrit and Hindi into Tamil, besides translating works of Tamil into other languages. He has contributed richly to Tamil literature and culture by exposing the vicious hierarchies of ancient temple towns.

Karichan Kunju was the second son of Ramamrutha Sastri and Janaki Ammal. He is survived by four daughters-Lakshmi Baby, Prabhavati, Vijayal and Santha

Prosanta Chakrabarty is an evolutionary biologist at Louisiana State University where he is a professor and curator. He is a Senior Fellow at TED, a Fulbright Distinguished Chair, and a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He grew up in New York City; his undergraduate degree is from McGill University in Montreal (the city where he was born) and his PhD is from the University of Michigan.

Shobha Tharoor Srinivasan is the author of numerous award-winning children’s books, including Indi-Alphabet, How Many Lines in a Limerick?, Prince with a Paintbrush: The Story of Raja Ravi Varma, It’s Time to Rhyme and the upcoming Parvati the Elephant’s Very Important Day. Shobha is also a translator, poet, editor, voice-over talent and former non-profit development professional who spent over two decades as an advocate for persons with disabilities.

MANISHA KOIRALA is one of India’s leading film actors. Born into the prominent Koirala family in Nepal, she made her Bollywood debut with Saudagar in 1991, before going on to establish herself as one of the leading actresses with films such as 1942: A Love Story, Akele Hum Akele Tum, Bombay, Khamoshi: The Musical, Dil Se, Mann, Lajja and Company. She took a break from acting in 2012 and returned five years later with the coming-of-age drama Dear Maya, Netflix’s Lust Stories and Sanju.
She was appointed the Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations Population Fund in 1999 and 2015, and was involved in the relief work following the Nepal earthquake in 2015. She promotes causes such as women’s rights, prevention of violence against women, prevention of human trafficking, and cancer awareness.
She was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2012 and has been cancer-free since 2013.

Marcus Aurelius (121-180 AD). He was a Roman emperor who ruled from 161 AD to 180 AD and is known for his Stoic philosophy and his book Meditations which is a collection of his personal reflections on life and his philosophy. He was educated in philosophy, rhetoric, and literature by some of the best teachers of his time including the famous Fronto. The writings of Epictetus, a famous Stoic philosopher greatly influenced him. His main ideology of life was to live a virtuous life and he emphasized the importance of reason, self-discipline, and moral responsibility.

Madhurima Vidyarthi always has a pen in her hand, to write books and prescriptions. As an endocrinologist, she trained in London for many years before coming home to Calcutta to work and write.
The School for Bad Girls is her third book, but she is planning to write many more.
Madhurima likes to travel, eat good food and delve into history. She lives in an untidy house full of unruly family members and desperately wants a dog.
Find out more about her at www.madhurimavidyarthi.com

Shreya Ramachandran grew up in Chennai and studied South Asian literature and history. She writes about mental health on her blog, and her work has also appeared in The Hindu, the Swaddle and Spark magazine. She currently lives in Mumbai with an indie dog who behaves part cat. This is her first novel.

Rachna Thakurdas Singh has published several books. Her debut novel Dating, Diapers and Denial remained on the bestsellers stand for over a year. The New Indian Express hailed her as a ‘part of the new wave of genuinely funny, smart and self-aware women writers in the country’.