Archives: Authors

R. K. Narayan’s writing spans the greatest period of change in modern Indian history, from the days of the Raj with Swami and Friends (1935) to the years of political unrest with The Painter of Signs (1976). He has published numerous collections of short stories, including Malgudi Days (1982) and Under the Banyan Tree (1985), and several works of non-fiction. His final work was The Grandmother’s Tale: Three Novellas (1993). R. K. Narayan died in 2001.

Shama Futehally 1952- Futehally studied English at the universities of Bombay and Leeds. Her novels include Tara Lane (1993); Reaching Bombay Central (forthcoming) and a translation of Meera’s bhajans In the Dark of the Heart (1994). She has co-edited a book of short stories for children Sorry, Best Friend! (1997) which also includes a story by her.

Shashi Deshpande is the author of eleven novels, a number of short story collections, four books for children and a book of essays. Her best-known novel, That Long Silence, which won the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1990, is considered a landmark in Indian writing in English. Among her recent novels are Small Remedies, Moving On, In the Country of Deceit and Ships that Pass. She has also done translations from both Kannada and Marathi into English. Shashi Deshpande currently lives in Bangalore.

Margaret Bhatty was born in Berinag, then in the wilds of Kumaon. Her fascination with wildlife, and adventure and travel books began in her childhood. At home, she read at night by the light of burning pine cones in the fireplace. Though she did a degree in Journalism from Thoburn College, Lucknow, Margaret went on to teach at school and college. A prolific writer and freelance journalist, her published books for children include The Mystery of Zamorin’s Treasure (Ratna Sagar), The Adventures of Bhim the Bold (Orient Longman) and Little Old Woman (National Book Trust) among others. She has also written several short stories for adults. Margaret lives in Nagpur.