3. Vikram Seth (born 20 June 1952) is an Indian novelist and poet.
He has written several novel and poetry books.
He has received several awards including Padma Shri, Pravasi Bharatiya
Samman, WH Smith Literary Award and Crossword Book Award.
Vikram Seth signing
autographs at Bangla
Academy, Dhaka on 17
November 2012
4. Seth was born on 20 June 1952 in a Punjabi family
to Leila and Prem Seth in Kolkata.
Seth spent part of his youth in London and returned
to his homeland in 1957. He received primary
education at Welham Boys' School and then moved
to The Doon School. While at Doon, Seth was the
editor-in-chief of The Doon School Weekly.
Prem Seth
5. After graduating from The Doon School in India, Seth went
to Tonbridge School, England to complete his A-levels,
where he developed an interest in poetry and learned
Chinese. After leaving Oxford, Seth moved to California to
work on a graduate degree in economics at Stanford
University
Having lived in London for many years, Seth now maintains
residences near Salisbury, England, where he is a
participant in local literary and cultural events, having
bought and renovated the house of the Anglican poet
George Herbert in 1996,
Stanford University Tonbridge School
6. His younger brother, Shantum, leads Buddhist
meditational tours. His younger sister, Aradhana, is a
filmmaker married to an Austrian diplomat and has
worked on Deepa Mehta's movies Earth and Fire.
Shantum Seth Aradhana Seth
8. • HE WAS ENROLLED IN POSTGRADUATE
ECONOMICS COURSES AT STANFORD
UNIVERSITY AND WAS ALSO ATTACHED TO
NANJING UNIVERSITY FOR HIS INTENDED
DOCTORAL DISSERTATION ON CHINESE
POPULATION PLANNING.
9. • AFTER LEAVING OXFORD, SETH MOVED TO
CALIFORNIA TO WORK ON A GRADUATE DEGREE IN
ECONOMICS AT STANFORD UNIVERSITY.
. ALONG WITH THIS, HE DID HIS POETIC STUDIES AS
WALLACE STEGNER FELLOW IN CREATIVE WRITING
(1977-1978).
10. • WHILE AT STANFORD, HE ALSO STUDIED
MANDARIN LANGUAGE.
• HE TRANSLATED HINDI AND CHINESE
POETRY INTO ENGLISH
• HE RETURNED TO DELHI VIA XINJIANG AND
TIBET WHICH LED TO A TRAVEL NARRATIVE
FROM HEAVEN LAKE: TRAVELS THROUGH
SINKIANG AND TIBET (1983) WHICH WON
THE THOMAS COOK TRAVEL BOOK AWARD.
11. • HE THEN STUDIED PHILOSOPHY, POLITICS, AND
ECONOMICS AT CORPUS CHRISTI COLLEGE, OXFORD,
WHERE HE DEVELOPED AN INTEREST IN POETRY AND
LEARNED CHINESE.
• THE PROSE NOVEL ’A SUITABLE BOY’ (1993), FOR
WHICH HE SPENT EIGHT YEARS IN NEW DELHI WRITING
AND RESEARCHING.
12. 1. The Golden Gate (1986)
2. A Suitable Boy (1993)
3. An Equal Music (1999)
4. A Suitable Girl (2013)
(upcoming novel)
13. 1. Mappings (1980)
2. The Humble Administrator's Garden (1985)
3. All You Who Sleep Tonight (1990)
4. Beastly Tales (1991)
5. Three Chinese Poets (1992)
6. The Frog and the Nightingale (1994)
14. Beastly Tales
Beastly Tales (poems) is a 1991 collection of ten fables in poetry written
by Vikram Seth. The Contents of Beastly Tales are:-
1. The Crocodile and the Monkey
2. The Louse and the Mosquito
3. The Mouse and the Snake
4. The Rat and the Ox
5. The Eagle and the Beetle
6. The Hare and the Tortoise
7. The Cat and the Cock
8. The Goat and the Ram
9. The Frog and the Nightingale
10. The Elephant and the Tragopan
15. AWARDS OF VIKRAM SETH
Vikram Seth (born 20 June 1952) is an Indian novelist and poet. He
has written several novel and poetry books. He has received
several awards including Padma Shri, Pravasi Bharatiya
Samman, WH Smith Literary Award and Crossword Book Award.
16. • 1994 – WH Smith Literary Award A Suitable Boy
• 1999 – Crossword Book Award An Equal Music
• 2001 – EMMA (BT Ethnic and Multicultural Media
Award) for Best Book/Novel An Equal Music
• 2005 – Pravasi Bharatiya Samman
• 2007 – Padma Shri in Literature & Education
17. •Vikram Seth's first novel, "The Golden Gate" (1986), describes the
experiences of a group of friends living in California. His other novel,
"A Suitable Boy" (1993) is an acclaimed epic of Indian life. The novel
won the WH Smith Literary Award and the Commonwealth Writers
Prize (Overall Winner, Best Book).
