01/10Some beautiful quotes by Anita Desai

Indian-English novelist Anita Desai, born Anita Mazumdar, has been called as "one of the preeminent contemporary Indian novelists". Her picturesque depictions of modern Indian life, juxtaposed with a graceful language that often becomes poetry, have secured her a place of honour among the luminaries of Indian literature.

(Image: British Council)

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02/10On travel

On travel

“Wherever you go becomes a part of you somehow.”

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03/10On journeys

On journeys
Born to a German mother and Bengali father, Desai grew up speaking German, Hindi, and English. She received a B.A. in English from the University of Delhi in 1957.readmore

04/10On looks of love

On looks of love
The subjugation and oppression of Indian women were the subjects of her first novel, “Cry, the Peacock”, and a novel she wrote later, “Where Shall We Go This Summer?”.readmore

05/10On progression

On progression
Her popular novel “Fire on the Mountain” was criticized much for relying too heavily on imagery at the expense of plot and characterization, but it was also acclaimed for its poetic symbolism and use of sounds.readmore

06/10On the palpable nature

On the palpable nature
The novel “Clear Light of Day”, considered Desai’s magnum opus, is praised for its portrayal of two sisters caught in the vicissitudes of the Indian life. The characters are revealed not only through imagery but through gesture, dialogue, and reflection.readmore

07/10On India

On India
The novel “Baumgartner’s Bombay” explores German and Jewish identity in the context of a chaotic contemporary India.readmore

08/10On the pursuit of truth

On the pursuit of truth
Anita Desai is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, the American Academy of Arts and Letters, Girton College, Cambridge and Clare Hall, Cambridge.readmore

09/10On connections

On connections
Anita Desai lives in the United States, where she is the John E. Burchard Professor of Writing at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA. Her most recent book is The Artist of Disappearance (2011), a trio of linked novellas about the art world, each featuring a different kind of disappearance.readmore

10/10On the art of writing

On the art of writing
Anita Desai is a two-time Booker Prize winner, and has won a lot of prestigious awards including the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize, Winifred Holtby Memorial Prize, Alberto Moravia Prize for Literature, etc.readmore