Archives: Authors

Aditi De is a Bangalore-based author, dreamer, traveller, editor (though not necessarily in that order). She loves children and the world of the word. In 1989, she launched Junior Quest, the popular magazine from the Chandamama group, and later edited the Open Sesame children’s supplement at the Deccan Herald. Her books include A Twist in the Tale: More Indian Folktales (Puffin India). She has written children’s columns for Chatterbox magazine, Deccan Chronicle and Young World.

Husain Haqqani was Pakistan’s ambassador to the USA from 2008 to 2011. A trusted advisor of the late
Pakistani prime minister Benazir Bhutto, Haqqani is a professor of the Practice of International Relations at Boston University and a Hudson Institute Senior Fellow and Director for South and Central Asia. He is the author of Magnificent Delusions: Pakistan, the United States, and an Epic History of Misunderstanding.

Namita Gokhale is one of India’s best known and most loved authors. A prominent writer, festival director, and literary activist, she is the author of twenty three works of fiction and non-fiction. Her pioneering work has earned her great acclaim over the last few decades.
The cult classic Paro: Dreams of Passion, first published in 1984, is a satire on the elite of Bombay and Delhi which created a furore due to its frank sexual humour. It has remained in print and been read and appreciated by successive generations over the last four decades. The new double edition Double Bill: Priya and Paro brings together Paro and Priya: Take Two in one classic volume.
Gokhale later battled illness and personal loss to write memorable works including the Himalayan trilogy, which began with The Book of Shadows, includes A Himalayan Love Story, and continues with Things to Leave Behind, which brings to life the mixed legacy of the British Indian past and chronicles Nainital’s reluctant entry into modern India.
Things to Leave Behind was awarded the Sahitya Akademi award for 2021 . It also won the the Best Fiction(English) Jury Award at the Valley of Words International Literature Festival 2017, the Sushila Devi Literary Award 2018 and was on the long list for the 2018 Dublin Literary Award.
Gokhale is has also worked extensively with Indian myth through The Book of Shiva, an introduction to Shaivite philosophy. The Puffin Mahabharata is an illustrated retelling of the Indian epic for young readers. Lost in Time: Ghatotkacha and the Game of Illusions, also for young readers, examines a rare friendship, as well as the abiding puzzles of the past.

The Goddess Trilogy includes the pathbreaking anthologies In Search of Sita – Revisiting Mythology, Finding Radha , The Quest for Love , and The Treasures of Lakshmi – The Goddess Who Gives (co-edited with Dr. Malashri Lal. )
Gokhale’s recent fiction includes the evocative Jaipur Journals , set against the backdrop of the vibrant Jaipur Literature Festival, and The Blind Matriarch which follows an extended Indian joint family through the travails of the pandemic.
Gokhale has a passionate commitment to showcasing Indian writing . She is co-founder and co-director of the internationally renowned Jaipur Literature Festival and also helps curate its diverse international editions. She has conceived and curated Kitaabnama, India’s only multi-lingual book show for the national broadcaster Doordarshan. She has twice chaired the Dylan Thomas Prize . She is passionately committed to cross cultural dialogue and to showcasing writing across the spectrum of South Asian languages.
Namita Gokhale was conferred the Centenary National Award for Literature by the Asam Sahitya Sabha in Guwahati in 2017 “for her literary contributions as well as her service to the nation in supporting and showcasing literary talents and creating a literary environment in the country”.

A former parliamentarian in India, Rajmohan Gandhi currently teaches in the USA at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Apart from several biographies, his works include Understanding the Muslim Mind and Revenge and Reconciliation: Understanding South Asian History, both published by Penguin India .

David Shulman is Professor Emeritus at the Hebrew University, Jerusalem. He is a specialist in the languages, literatures, and cultures of southern India, and a highly respected cultural critic.

Velcheru Narayana Rao is a renowned scholar and translator. Along with coauthor David Shulman, he was the 2004 recipient of the A.K. Ramanujan Prize for Translation from the Association for Asian Studies for Classical Telugu Poetry: An Anthology.

Sankar (Mani Sankar Mukherji) is one of Bengal’s most widely read
novelists. He also has several non-fiction bestsellers, including a
biography of Swami Vivekananda, to his credit. Two of his novels,
Seemabaddha (Company Limited) and Jana Aranya (The Middleman),
were turned into films by Satyajit Ray. In 2007, the English translation
of his novel Chowringhee was published by Penguin to huge critical
and commercial success. He lives and works in Kolkata.

SANKAR (Mani Sankar Mukherji) is one of Bengal’s most widely read
novelists in recent times. He also has several non-fiction best-sellers,
including a biography of Swami Vivekananda, to his credit. Two of
his novels, Seemabaddha (Company Limited) and Jana Aranya (The
Middleman), were turned into films by Satyajit Ray. He lives and
works in Kolkata.