Shiv K. Kumar has donned many hats and lived many lives: poet, novelist, short-story writer, playwright, translator and critic. He was born in Lahore, where he received his school and college education. He obtained his doctorate in English Literature from the University of Cambridge. He was Professor of English at Osmania University and the Central University of Hyderabad. He was also Visiting Professor of English in various British, American, European, and Australian Universities.
Shiv K. Kumar has published thirteen volumes of poetry, five novels, two collections of short stories, a play, and a translation of Faiz Ahmed Faiz’s poetry into English. His own poems have appeared in several renowned newspapers and magazines like the New York Times, Poetry Review (London), Western Humanities Review, among others-and been broadcast on BBC. In 1978, he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature (London). He received the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1987 for his collection of poems Trapfalls in the Sky. In 2001, he was awarded the Padma Bhushan for his contribution to literature.
Sunila Gupte is the author of three children’s books, From Pumpkins to Pickles, Quest for the Quetzal Feather and The Adventure of the Missing Dancing Girl. Her short stories for young readers have frequently featured in The Hindu, Deccan Herald and other newspapers.
Anu Kumar lives in Singapore and has written historical fiction for both older and younger readers. She studied at Lady Shri Ram College, Delhi University and at the XLRI School of Business, Jamshedpur. Her books for children include the Atisa and the Seven Wonders (2008), Atisa and his Time Machine: Adventures with Hiuen Tsang (2010), and In the Country of Gold-digging Ants (2009) all published by Puffin. She was awarded the Commonwealth Prize for her stories in 2004 and 2010. She loves writing stories set back in time and through them wants to make children believe that history can be interesting, have loads of possibilities and be fun too.
Sunila Gupte is the author of two children’s books, From Pumpkins to Pickles and Quest for the Quetzal Feather. Her short stories for children have frequently featured in The Hindu and Deccan Herald, and she has written for The Indian Express, Sanctuary Cub and Children’s World. Sunila has taught English and French for many years, and has worked for The Times of India’s Newspaper in Education (NIE). Currently, she lives in Bangalore.
Dr Sunil Vaid specializes in Paediatrics. He belongs to a family of vaids, traditional ayurvedic healers. He is also a motivational speaker and the author of six published books.
Sangamithra Amudha is the founder and trustee of Sanmarga Foundations, a non-profit organization promoting yoga and the importance of kriya meditation in everyday life. Sangamithra has conceived and developed these kriyas with the help of her gurus. Each of these kriya practices have been tried, researched, and refined by her. Apart from teaching Kriyas that help one to lead a stress-free life, she teaches Kriyas for spiritual enlightenment as well. She lives in Chennai, India. This is her first book.
Kamala Markandaya (1924-2004) was born in Mysore. She studied history
at Madras University and later worked for a small progressive magazine
before moving to London in 1948 in pursuit of a career in journalism.
There she began writing her novels; Nectar in a Sieve was the first of ten
to be published in her lifetime. Nectar in a Sieve and A Handful of Rice
continue to be taught in universities in India and abroad.
Michaela Clarke lives and works in London as a yoga teacher. She has written two books about yoga. Tiger Thief is her first work of fiction. It was inspired by her love for India and a desire to change the fate of the world’s forests.
