David Davidar is a renowned Indian novelist and publisher, best known for The Blue Mango House (2002), The Emperor’s Solitude (2007) and Ithaca (2011) and other famous works.
Wiki/Biography
David Davidar was born on Friday, 27 September 1958 in Nagercoil, Kanyakumari District, Tamil Nadu (age 64; as of 2023). His zodiac sign is Libra. He completed his schooling from Sainik School, Amaravati Nagar, Tirupur district. In 1979, David received his BA in Botany from Madras Christian College. Five years later, in 1985, he completed a Diploma in Publishing at Harvard University’s Radcliffe Publishing Program. Young David had no background in publishing or writing. His interest in reading was cultivated by his grandfather, and reading eventually led him to a career in writing.
family
Parents and siblings
David Davidar’s father is a tea farmer and his mother is a teacher. David Davidar has only one sibling, sister Ruth Swamy, who is a nutritionist and nutritionist.
wife and children
Davidar married bookseller Rachna Singh in 1997. Rachna Singh worked at her family’s bookstore, The Bookshop, in New Delhi. In addition, she has worked in various bookstores in Canada, such as Nicholas Hoare, McNally Robinson and Ben McNally Books. They have no children together.
Relationships/Affairs
In 2005, David Davidar became romantically involved with co-worker Lisa Rundle. Their friendship developed when David Dahl worked in adjoining offices at Penguin. David and Lisa used to spend considerable time together, playing tennis, attending tournaments, going out to eat and exchanging gifts. All was going well between the two until 2010, when their romance began to go downhill.
Profession
reporter
When David was in his mid-twenties, right out of college, he moved to Bombay to pursue a career in journalism. David Davidar got his first job in journalism in 1979, when he joined the Mumbai-based activist magazine Himmat, founded by Rajmohan Gandhi, grandson of Mahatma Gandhi . David later joined the feature magazine Keynote, known for its presentations, events and feature editorials. In the 1990s, David Davidar also served as a columnist for the Indian daily newspaper The Hindu. His last job in journalism before becoming a full-time writer was as executive editor of the English-language literary magazine Esquire. David Davidar is very knowledgeable about editing and rewriting. David Davidar has several articles and book reviews published to his name in magazines and newspapers in India, the United States and the United Kingdom.
author
David Dahl’s first published novel was The House with Blue Mangoes (2002), which focused on David’s own family. The book is set against the backdrop of India in the late 19th century, when caste divisions and discrimination were active alongside the struggles during the War of Independence. This novel carries the pain of generations and awakens readers’ patriarchal consciousness. David spent 12 years writing the book, covering 50 years of South India’s history. The Blue Mango House is an international bestseller and has been translated into 16 languages. The New York Times, the Sunday Times of London, the San Francisco Chronicle and other internationally renowned newspapers have given positive reviews and appreciation around the world.
David Davidar’s first book, The Blue Mango House, was published in 2002
David David Dahl publishes his second novel, The Loneliness of the Emperor (2007), an insightful text about David’s experiences as a journalist in modern India, his beliefs, and his engagement with the modern social struggle. The moving nature of this book is about the aspirations of people during the hard times of colonialism. For David, communal violence is a subject that requires no gimmicks. The Emperor’s Loneliness received critical acclaim and was nominated for a Commonwealth Writers’ Award.
David’s second novel, The Emperor’s Solitude, was published in 2007
David Davidar publishes his third novel, Ithaca (2011), which provides a deeper understanding of journalism and the mind of a journalist. The book received positive reviews from renowned newspaper The Hindu for its realistic depiction of the publishing industry. David Davidar published his short story anthology Indian Masterpieces: Extraordinary Short Stories from the 19th Century to the Present in 2015. The book contains a total of 39 short stories by different writers, which are widely read. Received worldwide acclaim. The text is filled with different themes such as humor, horror, fantasy, romance and more. It is also considered one of the best works of Indian literature. David Davidar publishes his fifth book from Aleph Book Company in 2022, the anthology Miracle Cases of India: From the Country’s Best New Writers A Dazzling Story”. This book contains nearly 40 short stories written by well-known Millennial and Generation Z writers. Different topics in the book include sexuality, LGBTQ, sexual issues, and more. David was excited about the future of Indian fiction, which encouraged him to take up this project.
David’s fifth book, to be published by his own publishing company in 2022
publishing house
David Davidar was appointed as one of the founding members of Penguin India in 1985. At the age of 26, he became the first editor of Penguin India. David later edited and published some famous Indian writers, such as Ruskin Bond, Arundhati Roy, Kiran Desai, Khushwant Singh, etc. When David moved to Canada, he was appointed CEO of Penguin International, a company with operations in India, Africa, the Middle East and Canada. In 2011, David Davidar founded the Indian publishing company Aleph Book Company in partnership with the owners of Rupa Publications (RK Mehra and Kapish Mehra). The publishing house is located in New Delhi and publishes fiction and non-fiction. David has published the works of famous personalities like Vikram Seth, Shashi Tharoor, Upamanyu Chatterjee, Shobhaa De, Kiran Desai and others under the name of the company.
David Davidar (right) and Kapish Mehra, founders of Aleph Books
dispute
accused of sexual assault
In 2010, fired Penguin employee Lisa Rundle, who also had an affair with David Davidar, filed a $423,000 lawsuit against the company for unjustly firing her. Lisa Rundle filed a “sexual harassment” and “sexual assault” lawsuit against David Davidar, seeking $100,000. The lawsuit was later settled out of court, with Davidal claiming everything was consensual. Although the case was settled, David had to voluntarily resign as CEO of Penguin Canada and return to India with his wife to focus on his writing career.
Favorites
- Sports: Tennis and swimming
Facts/Trivia
- David Davidar published short stories and poetry in magazines and newspapers before writing and publishing his first novel, The Blue Mango House, in 2002.
- There is a homestay in Pondicherry named after David Davida’s first novel, The Blue Mango House.
A homestay in Pondicherry, India, is named after David’s first novel, The Blue Mango House
- David Davidar loves Bengali literature and enjoys reading works by Bengali writers.
- When David Davidal was writing his second novel, The Emperor’s Solitude, he was inspired by the South African-Australian novelist JM Coetzee and George Orwell.
- David Davidar will also serve as CEO of Pearson India for a one-year term in 2023.
- David Davidar’s publishing company has twice won Publisher of the Year at the 2022 Publishing New Industry Awards.
Categories: Biography
Source: HIS Education