Mithra Venkatraj

Mithra Venkatraj grew up in Kundapura, a town by the sea in coastal Karnataka. After her marriage (to Venkatraja Rao), she moved to Mumbai where she now lives. Mithra began to write short stories while she was still in college in her native town, but it is in Mumbai that she has done most of her writing.Mithra Venkatraj is an important short story writer in Kannada, and with this maiden novel she has received instant recognition as a significant novelist as well. She has published 3 short story collections and a novel so far, which have won her several major literary awards, including the ‘Shantaram Award for Best Book of the Year’ and ‘Infosys Foundation award for Best Novel of the Year’ for this novel. Her short stories have been included in definitive anthologies and some have been translated into English and one of them won her the ‘Katha’ award in 1993.Mithra writes subtly and movingly about human relations in all its diversity, exploring its frailties and triumphs with great empathy and understanding. Finely etched characters, a touch of humour, a sharp eye for details and evocative capture of the milieu -- make her writings stand out.