Anita Desai (nee Mazumbar) is a critically lauded 20th-century writer, and her novels on the experiences and inner lives of Indian men and women are known for their compassion, eloquence, and lucid prose. Having come of age when India achieved independence in 1947, Desai weaves politics and gender issues into her works.
Desai was born in Mussoorie, India, and spent her childhood in Delhi. Her parents had met in Germany when her father was studying there, and they moved back to his home of India in the 1920s. Desai grew up speaking German, Bengali, Hindu, and Urdu; she only learned English when she went to a mission school. She then attended school at Queen Mary’s School in Delhi and...
