Anita Desai was born in 1937. Her published works include adult novels, childrens books and short stories. Sh e is a member of the Advisory Board for English of the National Academy of Letters in Delhi and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in London. Anita Mazumdar Desai is an Indian novelist and Emeritus John E. Burchard Professor of Humanities at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She has been shortlisted for the Booker prize three times. Her daughter, the author , is the winner of the 2006 Booker prize.Read Less