Vladimir Nabokov was born in St. Petersburg into a wealthy, aristocratic family. His father, Vladimir Dimitrievich Nabokov, was a liberal politician, lawyer, and journalist. The household was Anglophile—Nabokov spoke Russian and English, and at the age of five he learned French. Nabokov received his education at the Tenishev, St. Petersburg’s most innovative school. At 16 […]
Vikram Seth is a famous Indian poet, novelist, travel writer, librettist, children’s writer, biographer and memoirist.Vikram Seth was born on June 20, 1952 at Kolkata. His father, Prem, was an employee of the Bata India Limited shoe company who migrated to post-Partition India from West Punjab in Pakistan.Vikram Seth’s childhood was spent in the town
Vidyaniwas Mishra (1926-2005) was a scholar, a noted Hindi-Sanskrit litterateur, and a journalist.Born at Pakardiha in Gorakhpur district of Uttar Pradesh in January, 1926, he had his education at Allahabad University and Gorakhpur University. After his M.A. in Sanskrit he involved himself in the work of compiling the Hindi dictionary under the direction of the
Victor-Marie Hugo was born in Besançon as the son of Joseph-Leopold-Sigisbert Hugo and Sophie Trebuchet. Hugo’s father was an officer in Napoleon’s army, an enthusiastic republican and ruthless professional soldier, who loved dangers and adventures. After the marriage of his parents had collapsed, he was raised by his mother. In 1807 Sophie took her family
Vidiadhar Surajprasad Naipaul was born in a small town in Trinidad into a family of Indian Brahmin origin. His father, Seepersad Naipaul, was a correspondent for the Trinidad Guardian. He also published short stories. When Naipaul was six the family moved to Port of Spain, the capital. Seepersad Naipaul died of a heart attack in
Upamanyu Chatterjee, born in 1959 at Patna, Bihar, is one of the new talented Indian writers of the contemporary generation. After studying English literature at Delhi University, he joined the Indian Administrative Service in 1983. In 1990, he lived as Writer in Residence, at the University of Kent, U.K. In 1998, he was appointed Director
Tulsidas (1532-1623) was a legendary Indian poet and philosopher Tulsidas is the author of the ‘Ramcharitmanas’, one of the greatest epics ever written. His full name was Goswami Tulsidas and he was born in 1532 A.D in Rajpur, in the Banda district of Uttar Pradesh, India, during the reign of Mughal Emperor, Akbar. Tulsidas was
Thomas Hardy’s own life wasn’t similar to his stories. He was born on the Egdon Heath, in Dorset, near Dorchester. His father was a master mason and building contractor. Hardy’s mother, whose tastes included Latin poets and French romances, provided for his education. After schooling in Dorchester Hardy was apprenticed to an architect. He worked
Taslima Nasreen was born in August 1962 in a Muslim family in Mymensingh, East Pakistan. Because the area became independent in 1971, her city of birth is now in the country called Bangladesh.Growing up in a highly restrictive and conservative environment, Taslima was fond of literature while she also excelled in science. She started writing when she
Thomas Stearns Eliot was born in St. Louis, Missouri, the seventh and youngest child of a distinguished family of New England origin. His forebears included the Reverend William Greenleaf Eliot, founder of Washington University in St. Louis, and on his mother’s side, Isaac Stearns, one of the original settlers of Massachusetts Bay Colony. Eliot’s father
Suryakant Tripathi ‘Nirala’, one of the greatest Hindi poets of all times, was born on February 16, 1896. His father, Ram Sahai Tripathi, held double charge under the then king of Mahishadal in Bengal as a Police Officer and keeper of the State Treasury. His mother died when he was hardly 3 years old. ‘Nirala’
Subramania Bharathi was born to Chinnaswaamy Aiyyar and Lakshmi Ammaal in 1882 at Ettayapuram. He lost his mother at the age of 5.He learnt music from very young age and at 11 and was invited to a conference of Ettayapuram court poets and musicians for composing poems and songs. He accepted a challenge and composed
Sigmund Freud was born of Jewish parentage in Freiburg, Moravia, Austria-Hungary (now the Czech Republic), the first of seven children. His mother Amalia Nathansohn was twenty years younger than his father, the wool merchant Jakob Freud; Amalia was his third wife. The family moved in 1860 to Vienna, where discriminating laws against the Jews had
Shobha De is an eminent Indian novelist, who is often known as India’s Jackie Collins. She was born as Shobha Rajadhyaksha to the Saraswat Brahmin family of Maharashtra on the January 7, 1947. She completed her graduation from St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai and obtained degree in Psychology.In the beginning of her career, she worked as
Sharat Chandra Chatterji, one of thee greatest writers India has produced, was born on September 15, 1876 at Debanandapur in Hooghly district. He spent his boyhood and youth at Bhagalpur. Sharat Chandra passed the Entrance Examination in 1894 but could not appear at the next higher examination as he could not pay the examination fees.