Vikram Seth — Story of an Indian Novelist and a Poet

Vikram Seth was born on 20 June 1952 in Calcutta(Kolkata), India. His Father Premnath Seth is an executive in Bata Shoe Company. His Mother Leila Seth is a barrister and became the first female judge of Delhi High Court and Chief Justice of the State High Court of India. He did his primary education from St.Xaviers High School and St.Michaels High School, Patna, and The Doon School, Dehradun. During his schooling at The Doon School, He edited a weekly called The Doon School Weekly — which is a student newspaper published every Saturday for the students of The Doon School.

After graduating from Doon, Seth went to Tonbridge School, England, to complete his A-levels. Later he read Philosophy, Politics, and Economics at Corpus Christi College, Oxford. He then pursued a Ph.D. in Economics at Stanford University though never completed it. Seth has traveled widely and has lived in India, China, Britain, and California.

Seth has published eight books of poetry and three novels. In 1980, he wrote Mappings, his first book of poetry. The publication of A Suitable Boy, a 1,349-page novel, propelled Seth into the public limelight. His second novel is An Equal Music deal with the troubled love life of a violinist. Seth’s work Two Lives published in 2005 is a memoir of the marriage of his great uncle and aunt.

In addition to The Golden Gate, Seth has written other works of poetry including Mappings (1980), The Humble Administrator’s Garden (1985), All You Who Sleep Tonight (1990), and Three Chinese Poets (1992). His children’s book, Beastly Tales from Here and There (1992) consists of ten stories about animals. He has authored a travel book, From Heaven Lake: Travels through Sinkiang and Tibet (1983), an account of a journey through Tibet, China, and Nepal. He was also commissioned by the English National Opera to write a libretto based on the Greek legend of Arion and the Dolphin. The opera was performed for the first time in June 1994.

A sequel to A Suitable Boy, A Suitable Girl, was announced in 2009 but has yet to be published.

1983 — Thomas Cook Travel Book Award for From Heaven Lake: Travels Through Sinkiang and Tibet

1985 — Commonwealth Poetry Prize (Asia) for The Humble Administrator’s Garden

1988 — Sahitya Akademi Award for The Golden Gate

1993 — Irish Times International Fiction Prize (shortlist) for A Suitable Boy

1994 — Commonwealth Writers Prize (Overall Winner, Best Book) for A Suitable Boy

1994 — WH Smith Literary Award for A Suitable Boy

1999 — Crossword Book Award for An Equal Music

2001 — Order of the British Empire, Officer

2001 — EMMA (BT Ethnic and Multicultural Media Award) for Best Book/Novel for An Equal Music

2005 — Pravasi Bharatiya Samman

2007 — Padma Shri in Literature & Education

2013 — NDTV’s 25 Greatest Global Living Legends In India