Jhumpa Lahiri, whose parents are both immigrants from India, was born Nilanjana Sudeshna on July 11, 1967 in London, England. Her family migrated to the United States of American when she was only three-years-old. Jhumpa Lahiri grew up in Kingston, Rhode Island. Her story, “The Third and Final Continent” is based on her father, who was a librarian at the University of Rhode Island. Her family frequently visited Calcutta, India, because her mother wanted her to grow up familiar with her Bengali heritage.

When she started kindergarten, her teacher began calling her Jhumpa because it was simpler to pronounce than her given name. The incongruity of her identity was the inspiration for the primary character in her novel The Namesake.

Jhumpa Lahiri is a graduate of South Kingstown High School and has a Bachelor’s degree in literature from Barnard College. Jhumpa Lahiri has also received several degrees from Boston University including a Master’s degree in English, a Master’s degree in Creative Writing, a Master’s degree in Comparative Literature as well as a Doctorate in Renaissance Studies. Jhumpa Lahiri also took up a two-year fellowship at the Provincetown’s Fine Arts Work Center. She also taught a creative writing class at Boston University and Rhode Island School of Design.

Anita Desai came into this world on Thursday, June 24, 1937 as Anita Mazumdar. Her mother, Toni Nime was German and her father, D. N. Mazumdar was a Bengali executive from Mussoorie, India. Growing up Anita Desai spoke German when she was at home; when she was away, she spoke Bengali, English, Hindi as well as Urdu. She learned at school how to read and write in English, which became her language of literature. Despite speaking German as a first language, she did not travel to Germany until she became an adult.

Anita Desai attended Queen Mary’s Higher Secondary School of Delhi. She received a Bachelor’s degree in English literature from the University of Delhi Miranda House in 1957. In 1958, she wed a businessman by the name of Ashvin Desai. Together they raised four children. The family traveled on the weekends to Thal located near Alibaug, this became the set of Anita Desai’s novel Village by the Sea.

Her first novel, Cry The Peacock was published in 1963. Her most autobiographical piece, Clear Light of Day, published in 1980 was set in the same time and neighborhood of her childhood. Her most recent work, The Zigzag Way was published in 2004.