Nathan Bailey
British lexicographer and philologist
Anita Desai is an acclaimed Indian novelist who has been shortlisted for the Booker Prize three times. She is a recipient of the Sahitya Akademi Award and the Guardian Prize, and has written numerous celebrated works of fiction, including The Peacock, Voices in the City, and Fire on the Mountain.
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About the Anita Desai
Anita Desai (born Anita Mazumdar; 24 June 1937), is an Indian novelist and Emerita John E. Burchard Professor of Humanities at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She has been shortlisted for the Booker Prize three times. She received the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1978 for her novel Fire on the Mountain, from the Sahitya Akademi, India’s National Academy of Literature. She won the Guardian Prize for The Village by the Sea (1983). Her other works include The Peacock, Voices in the City, Fire on the Mountain and an anthology of short stories, Games at Twilight. She is on the advisory board of the Lalit Kala Akademi and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, London. Since 2020 she has been a Companion of Literature.
Frequently Asked Questions
Anita Desai is an Indian novelist and Emerita John E. Burchard Professor of Humanities at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She is known for her literary works and has been shortlisted for the Booker Prize three times.
Anita Desai has received the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1978 for her novel Fire on the Mountain, and the Guardian Prize for The Village by the Sea in 1983.
Anita Desai’s notable works include The Peacock, Voices in the City, Fire on the Mountain, and an anthology of short stories called Games at Twilight.
Anita Desai was born as Anita Mazumdar on June 24, 1937, in India. She is an Emerita John E. Burchard Professor of Humanities at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, London.
Anita Desai is on the advisory board of the Lalit Kala Akademi, India’s National Academy of Art, and has been a Companion of Literature since 2020.
11 Quotes by Anita Desai
- 1.
I aim to tell the truth about any subject, not a romance or fantasy, not avoid the truth.
Anita DesaiIndian novelist, University professor
- 2.
When I was very young, I used to share much of what I wrote with my family, but as I got older and more self-conscious, it became a much more private process.
Anita DesaiIndian novelist, University professor
- 3.
Usually a feeling of disappointment follows the book, because what I hoped to write is not what I actually accomplished. However, it becomes a motivation to write the next book.
Anita DesaiIndian novelist, University professor
- 4.
India is a curious place that still preserves the past, religions, and its history. No matter how modern India becomes, it is still very much an old country.
Anita DesaiIndian novelist, University professor
- 5.
Someone who wants to write should make an effort to write a little something every day. Writing in this sense is the same as athletes who practice a sport every day to keep their skills honed.
Anita DesaiIndian novelist, University professor
- 6.
Ever since I could first write I have been doing so. When I was taught how to write and read at school, I made up my mind that this was what I love to do best and this was the world I was going to occupy.
Anita DesaiIndian novelist, University professor
- 7.
Many characters in the novel are representative of types that exist in India. He represents the caste system in India with an air of superiority, the caste system in India and the people thinking that western things are better.
Anita DesaiIndian novelist, University professor
- 8.
My style of writing is to allow the story to unfold on its own. I try not to structure my work too rigidly.
Anita DesaiIndian novelist, University professor
- 9.
People think that because I write about India I must be trying to portray India in a way.
Anita DesaiIndian novelist, University professor
- 10.
The book begins and ends with the visits to give the impression of a tunnel into their ancestors and family history. I believe in going backwards into the past – I felt I was digging a tunnel back to the past.
Anita DesaiIndian novelist, University professor
- 11.
I try to trace the connection between the characters and that way a story or plot emerges.
Anita DesaiIndian novelist, University professor