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Time of India
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Time of India
10 Indian-origin authors in the US and the schools that shaped them
In the shifting sands of American literature, Indian-origin authors are not merely participants—they're cartographers, redrawing the boundaries of belonging, memory, and language. Their lives are stitched together with transcontinental schooling, family aspirations, and a relentless urge to tell stories that straddle two worlds. Here's a deep dive into 10 such authors currently living and working in the US—and the classrooms that helped shape their creative journeys. Salman Rushdie: From Bombay dreams to New York realities Lives in Manhattan, New York Before the fatwa and the fame, there was Bombay. Born to Anis Ahmed Rushdie, a businessman with a reverence for history, and Negin Bhatt, a teacher, Salman Rushdie grew up steeped in ideas. Schooled at Cathedral and John Connon in Mumbai and later Rugby School in England, he read history at King's College, Cambridge—setting the stage for fiction that would blend epic imagination with postcolonial intellect. Subjects Studied: History Institutions Attended: Cathedral and John Connon School Rugby School King's College, Cambridge Selected Works: Midnight's Children The Satanic Verses Haroun and the Sea of Stories Victory City Joseph Anton Abraham Verghese: Ethiopian childhood, southern roots, Stanford laurels Lives in Palo Alto, California Born in Addis Ababa to Malayali parents, Abraham Verghese is the son of Joseph Verghese, a respected school principal, and Mariam George Verghese, a teacher. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Kate Middleton Dared To Wear This Outfit And It Took Prince William's Breath Away Crowdy Fan Undo His early education was infused with discipline and compassion—traits that would shape both doctor and novelist. After graduating from Madras Medical College, he moved to the US for residencies in Tennessee and Boston. Later, he added an MFA from the Iowa Writers' Workshop, making him a rare breed: A physician-author whose prose carries the precision of a scalpel and the soul of a psalm. Now a professor at Stanford, Verghese brings migration, medicine, and memory to life. Subjects Studied: Medicine Internal Medicine (residency) Creative Writing Institutions Attended: Madras Medical College East Tennessee State University Boston University Iowa Writers' Workshop Selected Works: Cutting for Stone The Covenant of Water My Own Country The Tennis Partner Pico Iyer: Between continents and minds Divides time between Big Sur, California and Nara, Japan Son of the philosopher Raghavan N. Iyer and academic Nandini Iyer, Pico Iyer's biography is practically a philosophical riddle. Born in England, raised in California, educated at Eton, Oxford, and Harvard—his life resembles a literary map in constant motion. Though a British citizen, Iyer writes from California and Japan, his prose echoing with themes of stillness, solitude, and the spiritual cost of modernity. His work is less about passport and more about perspective. Subjects Studied: English Literature Institutions Attended: Eton College University of Oxford Harvard University Selected Works: The Half Known Life The Art of Stillness Video Night in Kathmandu The Open Road Siddhartha Mukherjee: Medicine in the blood, storytelling in the soul Lives in New York City Born in Delhi to Dr Subir Mukherjee, a physician, and Chandana Mukherjee, Siddhartha grew up with dinner table conversations that veered between biology and Bengali literature. He attended St. Columba's School in Delhi before heading to Stanford. A Rhodes Scholar at Oxford and a Harvard Medical School graduate, Mukherjee has made medical science profoundly human through narrative. Now based in New York, he bridges the lab and the library with unusual ease. Subjects Studied: Biology Immunology Medicine Institutions Attended: St. Columba's School (Delhi) Stanford University University of Oxford Harvard Medical School Selected Works: The Emperor of All Maladies The Gene: An Intimate History The Song of the Cell The Laws of Medicine Jhumpa Lahiri: Rhythms from Bengal to Rhode Island to Princeton Lives in Princeton, New Jersey Born in London, raised in the US, Jhumpa Lahiri is the daughter of Amar Lahiri, a librarian at the University of Rhode Island, and Tapati Lahiri, a schoolteacher. The immigrant melancholy of her childhood—half in West Bengal, half in New England—haunts her prose. She studied at Barnard College and earned multiple graduate degrees at Boston University, including a PhD. Today, as a professor at Princeton, she continues to write across two languages, exploring themes of identity and translation—often, quite literally. Subjects Studied: English Literature Comparative Literature Renaissance Studies Institutions Attended: Barnard College Boston University Princeton University Selected Works: Interpreter of Maladies The Namesake Unaccustomed Earth Translating Myself and Others Tania James: Science, Art, and the hyphenated life Lives in Washington, D.C. Born in Chicago and raised in Louisville, Kentucky, Tania James is the daughter of Cecil James, an engineer, and Saroja James, a pharmacist. While science paid the bills at home, art stirred her soul. She studied Visual and Environmental Studies at Harvard and later pursued an MFA in creative writing at Columbia. Her stories move between continents with fluid grace—much like her own upbringing. Subjects Studied: Visual and Environmental Studies Creative Writing Institutions Attended: Harvard University Columbia University Selected Works: Loot The Tusk That Did the Damage Atlas of Unknowns Aerogrammes Vauhini Vara: Journeys North and West Lives in Fort Collins, Colorado Born in Canada and raised in the US, Vara has been shaped more by parental values than publicity—her parents choose to remain out of the spotlight. But their quiet resilience shines through her work. After earning a degree in international relations from Stanford, she pursued creative writing at the Iowa Writers' Workshop. Now based in Colorado, Vara fuses speculative tech with sharp realism. Subjects Studied: International Relations Creative Writing Institutions Attended: Stanford University Iowa Writers' Workshop Selected Works: The Immortal King Rao This Is Salvaged Parini Shroff: Law, letters, and laughter Lives in the Bay Area, California Not much is known about Parini Shroff's family history, but her voice is unmistakably shaped by cultural duality. She studied law at Loyola Law School before turning to fiction through an MFA at the University of Texas, Austin. Her breakout novel is a riotous take on crime, caste, and female resistance—India seen through a diasporic telescope, tinted with satire. Subjects Studied: Law Fiction Writing Institutions Attended: Loyola Law School University of Texas at Austin Selected Work: The Bandit Queens Zara Chowdhary: The Search for Home Lives in Madison, Wisconsin Zara's life has been one of movement—India, the UK, and finally the American Midwest. She earned degrees at the University of Leeds and Iowa State University. Her fiction is layered with longing, memory, and the spaces in between. The personal is not just political—it's geographical. Subjects Studied: Media and Performance Studies Creative Writing Institutions Attended: University of Leeds Iowa State University Selected Work: The Lucky Ones Asha Thanki: New Stories from the Midwest Lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota Asha Thanki was raised in the US in a family that chooses privacy over profile. But her work speaks volumes about inheritance, invisibility, and grief. She graduated from Georgetown's School of Foreign Service and is currently pursuing an MFA at the University of Minnesota. Her debut novel marks her as a sharp observer of displacement and girlhood in middle America. Subjects Studied: Culture and Politics Creative Writing Institutions Attended: Georgetown University University of Minnesota Selected Work: A Thousand Times Before TOI Education is on WhatsApp now. Follow us here . Ready to navigate global policies? 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The Independent
21-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Independent
Nick Cave fans find secret souvenirs in charity shop haul
Musician Nick Cave has donated 2,000 books from his personal collection to an Oxfam charity shop in Hove, East Sussex. The donated books were previously part of an art installation by Cave, which had toured Canada and Denmark. The collection is described as "interesting" and "varied", encompassing philosophy, art, religion, and fiction, with works by authors such as Salman Rushdie and Ian McEwan. Fans have flocked to the shop, discovering personal items – such as plane tickets used by Cave and an old envelope that once held Cave's son's tooth – inside some of the books. Cave's publicist said that the musician would not comment on the donation, expressing a wish for the discoveries to remain "intriguing mysteries". Nick Cave sparks fan frenzy after donating thousands of books to charity shop
The Guardian
21-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Nick Cave fans swarm charity bookshop in UK after musician donates thousands of books
Nick Cave fans have descended on a charity bookshop in Hove, in southern England, after the musician donated 2,000 books from his personal collection. The Australian singer made the donation to Hove's Oxfam Bookshop on Blatchington Road. The books were once part of his personal library, which was recreated for an art installation that went to Denmark and Canada. A bookshop worker named only as Richard told the Argus: 'It's a very interesting donation. The types of books are very wide ranging – there's philosophy, art, religion, even old fiction paperbacks. It's an incredibly varied donation. He clearly held on to his books, some of them are quite old.' Books from Cave's collection on sale included books by Salman Rushdie, Christopher Hitchens and Ian McEwan, a first edition of Johnny Cash's novel Man In White, and 'a recipe book about aphrodisiacs', the Times reported. This article includes content provided by Instagram. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. To view this content, click 'Allow and continue'. The Times reported that 'a crowd of people' were going through Cave's books in the shop by Friday, with treasures including Cave's boarding pass for a flight to Amsterdam, a map of the US, an empty packet of cigarettes and an 'old envelope with the words 'Lukes tooth' written in Cave's distinctive handwriting.' His son Luke is 34 years old. On Saturday, a queue formed at the shop as word spread. Cave and his family moved to Brighton in the 2000s. One of his sons, Arthur, died in 2015 after falling from a cliff in Ovingdean Gap in Brighton. The family left for Los Angeles, then London; in 2023, they sold the Brighton home for £2.9m. Cave wrote: 'Brighton had just become too sad … we did, however, return once we realised that, regardless of where we lived, we just took our sadness with us.' Richard told the Argus that many of Cave's books will just look like regular books on the shelves, unless fans go searching: 'A couple have plane tickets used as bookmarks but apart from that. It's not like he was one of these people who had a book plate or wrote his name in.' However, some customers reported finding books with sentences underlined or passages noted in Cave's handwriting. Some were also once gifts, including a copy of The Lieutenant of Inishmore inscribed by Irish playwright Martin McDonagh. A spokesperson for Cave said he wouldn't comment on the donation, saying: 'He thinks the discoveries will remain intriguing mysteries for those who find them.'
Mint
16-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Mint
Three Indian galleries expand their presence in London with a unique showcase
In a significant showcase last month, three major Indian art galleries—Jhaveri Contemporary, Vadehra Art Gallery and Chemould Prescott Road—came together to spotlight South Asian resident and diaspora artists in London. Their joint presentation was displayed at No. 9 Cork Street, Frieze's exhibition space in the city. It also ended up being a part of the London Gallery Weekend, which drew participation from over 130 galleries. No. 9 Cork Street provided the Indian galleries a platform to be represented at this event despite not having a permanent physical space in the city. The Gallery Weekend is an important cog in London's art calendar and with Cork Street celebrating its centenary this year, the 2025 edition became all the more significant. The event was attended by the likes of Salman Rushdie, Ghanaian-British artist and filmmaker John Akomfrah, and curator Hans Ulrich Obrist, as well as by representatives of key museums such as the Tate, Barbican and the Royal Academy. In a city where institutional interest for contemporary artists from the subcontinent has been growing steadily, this presentation by three Indian galleries could be a catalyst for greater interest in the long run. 'In London, collectors have a broader outlook. In the context of South Asian art, they are not necessarily collecting geographically but thematically or generationally. The works have to speak to issues that concern collectors independent of where they come from,' shares Amrita Jhaveri of Jhaveri Contemporary. 'Having said that, many international collectors are attracted to the India story. When they travel to our country for work, they also explore our art.' Jhaveri Contemporary presented Horizons, a group exhibition featuring works by Muhanned Cader, Seher Shah and Lubna Chowdhary. It also created a dedicated section of Permindar Kaur's works—intended to serve as a curtain raiser for her upcoming exhibition at the Pitzhanger Manor in London. Gieve Patel, 'Mourners III', acrylic on canvas, 2005. Courtesy: Vadehra Art Gallery Cader's series of small-sized oil paintings, Nightscapes (1999), which had been created during the most intense part of the Sri Lankan civil war, stood out. Painted in oil on plywood, they revealed evocative scenes where dusk grudgingly gave way to darkness. The irregular shapes of his canvases spoke of the lives distorted by the conflict, and echoed the marginalised voices from that period. Delhi-based Vadehra Art Gallery presented new work by contemporary artist Biraaj Dodiya, which was in dialogue with a selection of paintings by the late artist-poet Gieve Patel. 'We have been expanding our presence in London due to growing interest from institutions and prominent collectors,' shares gallerist Roshini Vadehra. The gallery had previously showcased at No. 9 Cork Street in 2022 with a solo of Anju Dodiya's works followed by a significant exhibition of Sudhir Patwardhan's paintings last year. In the recent presentation, one of the most compelling paintings on showcase was Patel's Crushed Head (1984), which showed the shattered remains of a person who had suffered great trauma. In response, Dodiya created funerary head rests inspired by ancient cultures as part of the larger series. 'Finding joy in Gieve's application of paint also means knocking one's head against his Crushed Head and the Mourners. Paint mimics the residue of the body. The violence of the encounter marks our spaces with grief and a quiet introspection,' she reflected in the curatorial essay. Chemould Prescott Road showed a solo exhibition of works by Rashid Rana. The highlight was Fractured Moment (2025), a frame-by-frame breakdown of a CCTV capture of the night sky in Gaza, which showed it being intermittently lit up by the Israeli air strikes. The large wallpaper work engulfed the whole room figuratively putting the visitor in the centre of a war zone. What made the work striking was that the subject of the images, which seemed innocuous from afar, became clear only upon closer observation. 'There is a need for artists to speak up with a sense of urgency, especially in the context of Gaza. When I saw Rashid's work, I immediately felt that having a room dedicated to it would be important at this point in time,' reveals Shireen Gandhy of Chemould Prescott Road. Whether it was Rana's array of images from Gaza, Cader's haunting reflections from the Sri Lankan conflict, or Patel's poignant rendition of the common man's trauma—the works stood out for their impact on the human psyche, and also allowed the three exhibitions to connect with each other. Anindo Sen is an independent art writer.
CNN
15-07-2025
- Entertainment
- CNN
Salman Rushdie Fast Facts
Here's a look at the life of Booker Prize-winning author Salman Rushdie. Birth date: June 19, 1947 Birth place: Bombay (now Mumbai), India Birth name: Ahmed Salman Rushdie Father: Anis Ahmed Rushdie, businessman Mother: Negin Rushdie, teacher Marriages: Rachel Eliza Griffiths (2021-Present); Padma Lakshmi (2004-2007, divorced); Elizabeth West (1997-2004, divorced); Marianne Wiggins (1988-1993, divorced); Clarissa Luard (1976-1987, divorced) Children: with Elizabeth West: Milan; with Clarissa Luard: Zafar Education: King's College, University of Cambridge, graduated in 1968 Rushdie moved to England to attend Rugby School, where he experienced racist taunts and bullying from his classmates. Before becoming a full-time writer, Rushdie worked intermittently as an advertising copywriter in London. The 1988 release of Rushdie's book, 'The Satanic Verses,' was met with demonstrations, riots and bans in Muslim-majority countries for perceived blasphemy. Iran's Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini issued a fatwa, or religious edict, in 1989 calling for the author and everybody who worked on the book to be killed. Ettore Capriolo, an Italian translator of the novel, was stabbed; Hitoshi Igarashi, a Japanese translator of 'The Satanic Verses,' was murdered; and William Nygaard, a Norwegian publisher, was shot and wounded. Following the 1989 fatwa, Rushdie went into hiding with the assistance of British police and was forced to limit public appearances and restrict his movements for over a decade. Rushdie created an alias for himself, 'Joseph Anton,' an amalgamation composed of two other writer's names: Joseph Conrad and Anton Checkov. In The Sunday Telegraph, Rushdie has stated that if he had not become a writer, his dream was to be an actor. 1975 - Rushdie's first novel, 'Grimus,' is published. 1981 - Wins the Booker Prize for 'Midnight's Children.' 1983 - 'Shame' is published. 1988 - 'The Satanic Verses' is published. February 14, 1989 - Ayatollah Khomeini issues a fatwa against Rushdie, calling for his murder. Rushdie goes into hiding with the assistance of British police. 1990 - 'Haroun and the Sea of Stories' is published. 1998 - The Iranian government pledges not to seek to carry out the fatwa on Rushdie. 2001 - Rushdie appears as himself in the film 'Bridget Jones's Diary.' 2006 - Joins Emory University's English Department as Distinguished Writer in Residence and begins teaching in 2007. June 16, 2007 - Knighted by Queen Elizabeth II for his services to literature. Rushdie collects his knighthood on June 25, 2008. 2011-2015 - Serves as University Distinguished Professor of the College of Arts and Sciences at Emory University. 2012 - The film adaptation of 'Midnight's Children' premieres. 2016 - Becomes a US citizen but retains British citizenship. August 12, 2022 - Rushdie is stabbed multiple times onstage before his scheduled lecture at the Chautauqua Institution in western New York. According to Chautauqua County District Attorney Jason Schmidt, Rushdie suffers three stab wounds to his neck, four stab wounds to his stomach, puncture wounds to his right eye and chest, and a laceration on his right thigh. August 13, 2022 - Hadi Matar, 24, accused of stabbing Rushdie, pleads not guilty to attempted murder in the second degree and other charges. October 22, 2022 - According to Rushdie's literary agent Andrew Wylie, in an interview given to Spanish newspaper El País, Rushdie has lost sight in one eye and one of his hands is 'incapacitated' following the August 2022 attack. October 28, 2022 - US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announces new sanctions on the '15 Khordad Foundation' over the attack of Rushdie. February 6, 2023 - Rushdie gives an interview to The New Yorker, his first interview since he was severely injured in the 2022 stabbing attack. February 7, 2023 - Rushdie's 'Victory City' is published, his first book published since the attack. According to his publisher, Rushdie is not participating in a press tour. May 15, 2023 - In a rare public video message at The British Book Awards, Rushdie warns that freedom of expression is at risk. April 14, 2024 - Giving his first television interview since he was stabbed, Rushdie tells CBS' '60 Minutes' that he had a 'premonition' of the event just days beforehand. April 16, 2024 - 'Knife: Meditations After an Attempted Murder,' Rushdie's memoir about the 2022 attack and his recovery, is published. February 11, 2025 - Rushdie testifies in court against Matar, showing a jury his blinded right eye. On May 16, Matar is found guilty of attempted murder and assault and is sentenced to 25 years in prison.
