Vikram Chandra (born in India, 1961) is an Indian writer. His
first novel,
Red Earth and Pouring Rain, won the 1996
Commonwealth Writers' Prize, Best Frist Book.
He is married to writer
Melanie Abrams, who, like Chandra, teaches creative writing at the
University of California, Berkeley. Chandra currently divides his time between
Mumbai (Bombay),
India and
Oakland, California. He is often confused with his namesake
Vikram A Chandra, journalist and author of
The Srinagar Conspiracy.
Family background
Chandra was born in
New Delhi in 1961. His father, Navin Chandra, is a retired executive. His mother, Kamna Chandra, has written several Hindi films and plays; her most notable works include the films
Prem Rog and
A Love Story & yash chopra's "
chandni". One of his sisters,
Tanuja Chandra, is a filmmaker and screenwriter who has directed several films, including
Sur and
Sangharsh. His other sister,
Anupama Chopra, is a film critic and consulting editor for India's NDTV.
Education
Chandra received his high school education at
Mayo College in
Ajmer,
Rajasthan, and attended St. Xavier’s College in
Mumbai. As an undergraduate student, he transferred to the
United States. He graduated from
Pomona College in
Claremont, California, with a B.A.
magna cum laude in English (concentration in Creative Writing). Chandra then attended film school at
Columbia University, leaving halfway through to begin work on...
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