Category Famous Personalities

What is Vikram Seth famous for?

Vikram Seth is the author of “A Suitable Boy”, one of the longest books ever published in English. As the literary world celebrates 30 years of “A Suitable Boy”, let’s read up on the Indian author who seamlessly shifts between different genres.

Indian author Vikram Seth is noted for his magnum opus “A Suitable Boy”, one of the longest books ever published in English literature. And despite it running into more than a thousand pages, the book was widely celebrated and Seth made an indelible mark on the literary world.                 

Early life

Seth was born to Leila Seth (judge) and Prem Nath Seth (business executive), on June 20, 1952, in Kolkata, India. He was raised in London and India. After attending Indian schools, he graduated from Corpus Christi College, Oxford.

In 1978, he received a master’s degree in Economics from Stanford University and later studied classical Chinese poetry and languages at Nanjing University, China. He returned to India to live in New Delhi in 1987.

Writing career

Originally a poet, Seth is known for seamlessly shifting between different genres of writing and coming up with compelling works. Seth’s first volume of poetry “Mappings” was published in 1980.

It was after he published the humorous travelogue “From Heaven Lake” (1983) that he gained critical attention. The story centred around his hitchhiking journey from Nanking to New Delhi via Tibet. The first novel to be published was “The Golden Gate”. “All You Who Sleep Tonight.”, “Beastly Tales from Here and There” and the poetry collections “The Poems, 1981-1994” (1995) and “Summer Requiem” (2015) are some of his other works.

“An Equal Music’ (1999), a love story revolving around the world of professional musicians is yet another noted work of his. A lesser-known fact is Seth’s musical acumen must have helped him in writing this piece. He was even commissioned to write a libretto (text of an opera) for the English National Opera in 1994. It was published as “Arion and the Dolphin”. It is said that his work “Two Lives” is dear to his heart as it is part memoir, part family history. It revolves around the story of Seth’s great aunt “Henny”, a German Jew, and his Indian great uncle “Shanti”.

Through the book he is not only retelling their story but also trying to find answers to the unique alliance between a German Jew (who lost her family in the Holocaust) and his great uncle who served in the Second World War.

Having travelled widely and lived in Britain, California, India and China, Seth drew inspiration from his experiences for his writing. His first novel “The Golden Gate: A Novel in Verse” (1986) revolves around a group of friends living in California. The book won the WH Smith Literary Award and the Commonwealth Writers Prize (Overall Winner, Best Book). He has also authored a travel book “From Heaven Lake: Travels Through Sinkiang and Tibet (1983)”, which traces the journeys through Tibet, China and Nepal. It won the Thomas Cook Travel Book Award. “Beastly Tales from Here and There” (1992) is a children’s book that has ten stories about animals which are told in verse. He has also translated the works of Chinese, German and Hindi poets.

A Suitable Boy

Seth turned to prose in “A Suitable Boy”, exploring the relationships between four Indian families. The book is noted for its gripping narrative style. Despite the fact that “A Suitable Boy” ran to 1,349 pages, it didn’t deter readers and sold over one million copies worldwide.

The author took some eight years to write “A Suitable Boy”. Set in India around the time the country had gained independence, the book follows a mothers quest to find a suitable boy to marry her daughter Lata Mehra. It was critically acclaimed and was also made into a BBC mini-series by Mira Nair in 2020.

For the past few years, the literary world has been waiting with bated breath for a sequel to this book called “A Suitable Girl”. The story is believed to be set in contemporary India, as our former protagonist Lata, now a grandmother, tries matchmaking for her grandson. As the wait for his next book continues, why don’t you pick up “A Suitable Boy” and give it a read?

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Who was the Bram Stoker?

Bram Stoker, byname of Abraham Stoker, (born November 8, 1847, Clontarf, County Dublin, Ireland—died April 20, 1912, London, England), Irish writer. Bram Stoker who is best known for the Gothic horror novel “Dracula” was born in Dubin, Ireland, in November. His early years were rife with personal struggles for he was an invalid till the age of 7. He could not stand or walk. But even those difficult times had a profound creative effect on Stoker. “I was naturally thoughtful, and the leisure of long illness gave opportunity for many thoughts which were fruitful according to their kind in later  years.” Stoker would write later.

After making a full recovery. he became an athlete and football player in school. He also earned a degree in mathematics from Trinity College, Dubin.

A passion for theatre

Even as he was in civil service at Dublin Castle in 1876, he doubled as a drama critic for the Dublin Evening Mail. Though an unpaid job, it quenched his passion for theatre. Around this time that he acquainted himself with English actor Henry Irving. Stoker was Irving’s manager for about 27 years until the actor’s death.

Foray into the literary world

It was in 1879 that Stoker published his first book. Titled “The Duties of Clerks of Petty Sessions in Ireland,” it was a handbook in legal administration.

He later turned to writing fiction and published his first novel, “The Snake’s Pass,” a romantic thriller. In 1897 came his masterstroke – “Dracula.”

An epistolary novel – a novel written as a collection of diary entries, telegrams, and letters from the characters – “Dracula” was celebrated and led to a lot of subcultures. The book went through a multitude of incarnations, being adapted for movies, television series, theatre, books and so on.

“Dracula”

The Gothic novel starts off with a young lawyer Jonathan Harker on his journey to Transylvania. His destination – Castle Dracula where he is set to meet Count Dracula, a client of his firm, to finalise a property transaction.

The story features a Transylvanian vampire who survives by feeding on the blood of innocent people. Eventually, after many exploits, Dracula is destroyed.

During the course of his literary career, Stoker wrote a number of short stories and 12 novels, including “The Mystery of the Sea” (1902), “The Jewel of Seven Stars” (1903), and ‘The Lady of the Shroud” (1909).

Personal life

Stoker married actress Florence Balcombe and the couple had their only son Noel in 1879. The final years were difficult, for Stoker had to grapple with financial struggles and deteriorating health. He suffered a number of strokes and renal impairment. Stoker passed away in April 1912.

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Which are the books written by Dr. Kalam?

Dr. Kalam authored many books. Prominent among them are:

  1. Wings of Fire: It is the autobiography of the Missile Man of India. It provides deep insight into various notable events of his life. The idea behind the book is to emphasise that we all are born with a fire inside us.
  2. India 2020: It is Dr. Kalam’s vision of India, and does justice to most of the problems and challenges our country faces in its quest for developed-nation status.
  3. Ignited Minds: The book is dedicated to children and was in great demand all over the world after the death of Dr. Kalam.
  4. Mission India: This book stimulates the youth of India to bring about rapid changes inside the country and make the country proud. The book focuses on the strengths of India and her unseen potential.
  5. Inspiring Thoughts: This is the accumulation of the inspiring thoughts and quotations by APJ Abdul Kalam.
  6. You Are Born to Blossom: This book focuses on many aspects of life such as freedom, knowledge, spirituality, education and many more. In this book Dr. Kalam shows concerns over the present education system of India and how it suppresses the essence and individuality of students.
  7. The Scientific Indian: This book is a combination of all the problems faced by India and how a scientific Indian should work to overcome them.
  8. Failure to Success: This book takes us through the experience of Dr. Kalam when he and his team failed to launch SLV III, on the given date, but later made sure that it was a success.
  9. Target 3 Billion: This book is the vision of Dr. Kalam on how he wants to see rural areas. This book outlines sustainable life-styles, community life, improvements in agriculture, etc.
  10. Turning Points: It is like a sequel to the Wings of Fire.
  11. You are Unique: The book inspires everyone to scale new heights by thoughts and actions.

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How did people pay respect to Dr. Kalam in his home state Tamil Nadu?

On the morning of 29 July, Dr. Kalam’s body, wrapped in the Indian flag, was taken to Palam Air Base and flown to Madurai in an air force C-130J aircraft, arriving at Madurai Airport that afternoon. His body was received at the airport by the three service chiefs and national and state dignitaries, including many cabinet ministers and the governors of Tamil Nadu and Meghalaya.

After a short ceremony, Dr. Kalam’s body was carried by an Air Force helicopter to the town of Mandapam, from where it was taken to his hometown of Rameswaram on an army truck. After arriving at Rameswaram, his body was displayed in an open area near the local bus station to allow the public to pay their homage until 8 p.m. that evening.

On 30 July 2015, the former president was laid to rest at Rameswaram’s Pei Karumbu Ground accompanied by full state honours. Over 350,000 people attended the last rites. Dignitaries like the prime minister, the governor of Tamil Nadu and the chief ministers of Karnataka, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh attended his funeral.

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How did Dr. Kalam die?

On 27 July 2015, Dr. Kalam travelled to Shillong to give a talk on “Creating a Liveable Planet Earth” at the Indian Institute of Management, Shillong. While he was climbing a flight of stairs, he experienced some discomfort, but he was able to enter the auditorium after a brief rest. At around 6:35 p.m. IST, only five minutes into his lecture, he collapsed. He was rushed to the Bethany Hospital which was nearby, in a critical condition; he lacked a pulse or any other signs of life upon arrival. Despite being placed in the intensive care unit, Kalam was confirmed dead of a sudden cardiac arrest at 7:45 p.m. His last words, to his aide Srijan Pal Singh, were reportedly: “Funny guy! Are you doing well?”

After his death, Kalam’s body was airlifted in an Indian Air Force helicopter from Shillong to Guwahati, from where it was flown to New Delhi on the morning of 28 July in an Air Force C-130J Hercules aircraft. The flight landed at Palam Air Base in the afternoon and was received by the president, the vice-president, the prime minister, chief minister of Delhi, and the three service chiefs of the Indian Armed Forces, who laid wreaths on Kalam’s body. His body was then placed on a gun carriage covered with the Indian flag and was taken to his Delhi residence at 10 Rajaji Marg. The public and numerous dignitaries then paid homage to the legend.

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How was Dr. Kalam’s life post presidency? Why did the civil groups criticise him on his stand on the Koodankulam Nuclear Power Plant?

After his tenure as the president of India, Dr. Kalam became a visiting professor at the Indian Institute of Management Shillong, the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad, and the Indian Institute of Management Indore. He also worked as a honorary fellow of the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, the chancellor of the Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology Thiruvananthapuram, professor of Aerospace Engineering at Anna University, and at many other academic and research institutions across India. He also taught information technology at the International Institute of Information Technology, Hyderabad, and technology at Banaras Hindu University and Anna University.

In 2011, Kalam was criticised by civil groups over his stand on the Koodankulam Nuclear Power Plant. He supported the establishment of the nuclear power plant and was accused of not speaking for the local people. The protesters were against his visit as they perceived him as a pro-nuclear scientist and were not impressed by the assurances he provided about the safety of the plant.

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