Who is Vikram Seth? Everything You Need to Know

Quick Facts

Indian Celebrities Born In June

Age: 71 Years, 71 Year Old Males

Family:

father: Prem Seth

mother: Leila Seth

siblings: Aradhana Seth, Shantum

Gays Poets

Height: 5'3" (160 cm), 5'3" Males

City: Kolkata, India

More Facts

education: Tonbridge School, Stanford University, Nanjing University, The Doon School, Stanford University, Corpus Christi College, Oxford, St. Xavier's High School, Patna

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Childhood & Early Life

Vikram Seth was born to Prem Seth and his wife Leila Seth, on 20 June 1952, in Calcutta (now renamed Kolkata) located in the state of West Bengal in India. His father was an executive with Bata shoe company, while his mother was a judge. He was the eldest among his parents’ three children.

He studied at the St. Michael’s School, Patna, St. Xavier’s School, Patna and subsequently at The Doon School, Dehra Dun. Thereafter, he moved to England and completed his A-Levels from the Tonbridge School.

After graduating from high school, he studied Philosophy, Politics and Economics at Corpus Christi College, Oxford and graduated with a B. A. Degree in 1975. From 1975 to 1986, he pursued his Ph.D. at Stanford University, California, U.S.A.

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Career

During his time at Stanford University in the United States, he had been a Wallace Stegner Fellow in the field of creative writing and it was at this point that he penned the poems that were published in his first published work, ‘Mappings’, in 1980. The book did not get kind reviews from critics.

From 1980 to 1982, he was in China to his field research. He traveled extensively across China gathering material for a doctoral dissertation that he never wrote.. While in China, he studied classical Chinese poetry and language at Nanjing University.In 1983, his second book, 'From Heaven Lake', was published. It gave an account of his hitchhiking journey from China to India. The book was critically acclaimed and his work got noticed.In 1985, he came out with another collection of his poems, titled, ‘The Humble Administrator’s Garden’.

In 1986, his novel ‘The Golden Gate’ was published which was unique since the entire novel was written in verse and dealt with the lives of people in Silicon Valley. The novel was inspired by Aleksandr Pushkin’s work Eugene Onegin. The novel was successful and brought him plenty of accolades from the literary press.

In 1990, he published another book of poetry titled ‘All You Who Sleep Tonight’ and, in 1992, he came out with another collection of poems ‘Three Chinese Poets’.

In 1992, Seth wrote a children’s book titled ‘Beastly Tales from Hera and There’ in which he penned ten stories, all of which were about animals.

In 1993, he produced his most famous work in the form of the epic novel ‘A Suitable Boy’; the story deals with the complex familial structures in post-independence India. The book contains 1349 pages and is one of the longest novels ever published in a single volume in the English language.

He continued to write poems and came up with another collection ‘The Frog and the Nightingale’ in 1994.

In 1999, his novel ‘Equal Music’ was published. The story revolves around Michael, a professional violinist, and his love, Julia, a pianist. The novel was well received by musical fans, and was appreciated for the accuracy of Vikram Seth's descriptions of music.

In 2005, he came out with his second non-fiction work, 'Two Lives'. It is the story of his great uncle, Shanti Behari Seth, and of his German Jewish great aunt, Hennerle Gerda Caro.

He is currently working on the sequel to ‘A Suitable Boy’ titled ‘A Suitable Girl’ which could be released in 2016.

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Major Works

His novel ‘A Suitable Boy’ is without doubt his most important work in his career as a writer. It is one of the longest novels ever written in the English language and deals with the national political issues in the period leading up to the first post-Independence national election of India in 1952.

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Awards & Achievements

In 1985, he won the Sahitya Akademi Award, an Indian literary honour, for his book ‘The Golden Gate’.

In 2001, he was made an Order of the British Empire.

In 2007, he was bestowed with ‘Padma Shri’—India’s fourth highest civilian honour.

Personal Life & Legacy

Vikram Seth is openly gay and was in a long term relationship with French musician/violinist Philippe Honore.

Vikram Seth Biography