At the age of sixteen Anees dropped out of school and left home to become a writer. He travelled across India and worked as a bellboy waiter shop assistant and ghost writer before joining advertising. He currently works as a Creative Director with FCB India. His published works include Vanity Bagh (winner of The Hindu Literary Prize for Best Fiction 2013) The Blind Lady's Descendants (winner of the Raymond Crossword Book Award for Best Fiction 2014 and the Kendra Sahitya Akademi Award 2018) The