Vikram Seth – Biography, Books, Novels And Poems

Vikram Seth is an Indian poet, novelist, travel writer, children’s author, music composer, and history writer. He is known for his four novels The Golden Gate, Suitable Boy, An Equal Music. He has been honored with Sahitya Akademi Award, Padma Shri, Pravasi Bharatiya Samman, WH Smith Literature and Crossword Book Award. In 2001, Vikram Seth was awarded the Order of British Umpire Award. Like many litterateurs on the issue of freedom of expression, Vikram Seth wanted to return the Sahitya Akademi Award.

Birth

Vikram Seth was born on 20 June 1952 in Calcutta. His father’s name is Prem Seth and his mother’s name is Leela Seth. After buying and renovating the Anglican poet George Herbert’s house in 1996, Seth lives in Delhi with his parents and maintains a large library. His mother Leela Seth was the first woman Chief Justice of the High Court. His uncle’s name is Shanti Bihari Seth and his aunt’s name is Hennerley Garda Karo. On his life too, Vikram Seth has written a book based on a true incident.

Vikram Seth Education

Vikram Seth did his early education at Doon School and Tanbridge School. He studied Philosophy, Politics and Economics at Oxford University, later he also studied classical Chinese poetry at Nanjing University. Vikram Seth exclusively studied the Chinese language.

Vikram Seth Career

• While he was at Stunford University in the US, he was a Wallace Stegner Fellow in the field of creative writing. At the same time, he started writing poetry which became famous in his mappings in 1980. The book did not get good reviews from critics.
• From 1980 to 1982, he moved to China to research his field. He traveled extensively in China to collect literature of doctoral dissertations that he had never written. He studied classical Chinese poetry and language at Nanjing University while he was in China.
• 1983 His second book from Heaven Lake became famous. In this, he has told about his visit from China to India. The book was praised by critics and his work came to the fore. In 1985, he published another book of poetry called ‘The Amble Administrators Garden’.
• One of his novels, ‘The Golden Gate’, which came out in 1986 was Kyu Ki’s entire book in the form of poetry and it tells about the lives of the people of Silicon Valley. The novel is inspired by Alexander Pushkin’s work ‘Eugene Oenegin’. This book was very successful and received a lot of praise from the literary press.
• In 1990, he wrote a book of poetry called ‘All You Who Sleep Tonight’. And has written a book of poetry called ‘Three Chinese Poets’ in 1992.
• In 1992, Seth wrote a book for children titled ‘Beastly Tales from Hera and There’. It contains ten stories about beings.
• His most famous book was ‘A Suitable Boy’ in 1993. It is based on a family after independence. The book has 1349 pages and is one of the longest English language books.
• In 1994, he had another book, The Frog and Nightingale.
• In 1999, his book Equal Music became famous. The story of this book is based on the love of violinist Michael and pianist Julia. The book was well received by music fans. People also praised the music that Vikram Seth has described in this book.
• In 2005, he had another book called ‘Two Live’. This book is based on a true incident. The story is based on his great-uncle Shanti Bihari Seth and his German Jewish aunt Hennerley Garda Karo.
• Currently Vikram Seth is working on the next part of ‘A Suitable Boy’. Her name is ‘A Suitable Girl’ which came in 2016.
• The book ‘A Suitable Boy’ is considered to be the most important book of his career. It is one of the longest books in the English language. It gives information about elections up to 1952 and political issues.

Vikram Seth Major books

1. The Golden Gate (1986)
2. A Suitable Boy (1993)
3. An Equal Music (1999)
4. A Suitable Girl (2016)
5. Children’s books

Books Based On Truth Story

• 1983 – From Heaven Lake: Travels through Sinkiang and Tibet
• 2005 – Two Live
• 2005 – The Revered Earth

Vikram Seth Poems

• The Ambal Administrators Garden – 1985
• Mappings-1986
• All You Who Sleep Tonight – 1990
• Beastly Tales – 1991
• Three Chinese Poets – 1992
• Summer Requiem: A Book of Poems-2012
• The Frog and the Nightingale – 1994

Vikram Seth Award

1. Sahitya Akademi Award for Golden Gate in 1988
2. Commonwealth Writer Prize in 1994
3. WH Smith Literary Award for A Suitable Boy in 1994
4. Crossword Book Award for On Equal Music in 1999
5. Pravasi Bharatiya Samman in 2005
6. In 2007, he was awarded the Padma Shri, India’s fourth largest civilian honor by the Government of India.
7. In 2013, he was included in the list of the 25 greatest global legends in India.