Anita Desai born as Anita Mazumdar on June 24, 1937, Anita Desai is a celebrated Indian novelist and holds the prestigious title of Emerita John E. Burchard Professor of Humanities at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Her literary talent has been recognized with three Booker Prize nominations. Notably, she was awarded the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1978 for her remarkable novel Fire on the Mountain. Desai's literary contributions also earned her the British Guardian Prize for The Village by the Sea in 1983. She serves as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, London, and sits on the advisory board of the Lalit Kala Akademi.

Early Years

Born in 1937 in Mussoorie, India, Anita Desai was the daughter of a German immigrant mother, Toni Nime, and a Bengali businessman, D. N. Mazumdar.
Desai's upbringing in New Delhi, alongside her two elder sisters and brother, exposed her to a multilingual environment where she spoke Hindi, German, Bengali, Urdu, and English.
She developed a deep affinity for the English language during her schooling at Queen Mary's Higher Secondary School in Delhi, where she excelled in English literature and penned her first story at the tender age of nine.
In 1957, Desai obtained her B.A. in English literature from the University of Delhi, and the following year, she married Ashvin Desai, an accomplished author and director of a computer software company.
Her experiences as a mother, particularly weekends spent in Thul with her children, served as inspiration for her acclaimed work The Village by the Sea, which earned her the prestigious 1983 Guardian Children's Fiction Prize.

Career Highlights

Desai embarked on her literary journey with the publication of her debut novel Cry The Peacock in 1963. She co-founded the publishing firm Writers Workshop in 1958 alongside P. Lal.
Her novel Clear Light of Day (1980) is often hailed as her most autobiographical work, drawing from her personal experiences and upbringing.
In Custody (1984), a poignant portrayal of an Urdu poet in his twilight years, earned her a Booker Prize nomination. In 1993, she ventured into academia, teaching creative writing at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Her novel Fasting, Feasting (1999), a finalist for the Booker Prize, further solidified her reputation as a literary luminary. Subsequent works such as The Zigzag Way (2004) and The Artist of Disappearance (2011) showcased her versatility as a writer.

Film Adaptation

In 1993, Desai's novel In Custody was adapted into a critically acclaimed film of the same name by Merchant Ivory Productions. Directed by Ismail Merchant, the film garnered widespread acclaim and numerous awards.

Awards and Accolades

Desai's literary achievements have been widely lauded, with accolades including the Sahitya Akademi Award, Booker Prize nominations, and the esteemed Padma Bhushan in 2014.

Selected Works

Cry, The Peacock (1963)
Voices in the City (1965)
Bye-bye Blackbird (1971)
The Peacock Garden (1974)
Where Shall We Go This Summer? (1975)
Cat on a Houseboat (1976)
Fire on the Mountain (1977)
Games at Twilight (1978)
Clear Light of Day (1980)
The Village by the Sea (1982)
And many more...