Namita Gokhale

Namita Gokhale has authored twenty five works and is co-founder and co-director of the Jaipur Literature Festival. Her debut novel, Paro: Dreams of Passion is an audacious satire of Delhi’s elite, and has been issued as a Penguin Modern Classic. Her eclectic body of work includes a collection of marvellous Himalayan folktales for young readers Whispering Mountains, the novella Never Never Land, collections Life on Mars and Mystics and Sceptics- Searching Himalayan Masters, and the anthology Treasures of Lakshmi. Gokhale’s work spans different genres, including novels, short fiction, Himalayan studies, mythology, travel, books for young readers, and a play. She is the recipient of various prizes and awards, including the prestigious Sahitya Akademi (National Academy of Literature) Award in 2021 for her novel Things to Leave Behind.

Her commitment to cross cultural dialoging seeps into her contributions as festival co-director of the Jaipur Literature Festival where she has helped create a global center for ideas and literary exchange, while showcasing the rich diversity of the multilingual Indian identity. Gokhale’s endeavors as cultural interlocutor and catalyst are varied and extensive. In the 2010s she created and hosted Kitaabnama, a multilingual television show on Doordarshan which brought writers, translators, scholars, and artists from across India and the world in conversations about books and culture.

Gokhale is deeply influenced by a love for the Himalayas, carrying the mountains in her voice and imagination. Her work revives myth and oral traditions, nurtures new voices, and brings literary dialogue into public discourse.

Namita Gokhale

Namita Gokhale is one of India’s best known and most loved authors. A prominent writer, festival director, and literary activist, she is the author of twenty three works of fiction and non-fiction. Her pioneering work has earned her great acclaim over the last few decades.
The cult classic Paro: Dreams of Passion, first published in 1984, is a satire on the elite of Bombay and Delhi which created a furore due to its frank sexual humour. It has remained in print and been read and appreciated by successive generations over the last four decades. The new double edition Double Bill: Priya and Paro brings together Paro and Priya: Take Two in one classic volume.
Gokhale later battled illness and personal loss to write memorable works including the Himalayan trilogy, which began with The Book of Shadows, includes A Himalayan Love Story, and continues with Things to Leave Behind, which brings to life the mixed legacy of the British Indian past and chronicles Nainital’s reluctant entry into modern India.
Things to Leave Behind was awarded the Sahitya Akademi award for 2021 . It also won the the Best Fiction(English) Jury Award at the Valley of Words International Literature Festival 2017, the Sushila Devi Literary Award 2018 and was on the long list for the 2018 Dublin Literary Award.
Gokhale is has also worked extensively with Indian myth through The Book of Shiva, an introduction to Shaivite philosophy. The Puffin Mahabharata is an illustrated retelling of the Indian epic for young readers. Lost in Time: Ghatotkacha and the Game of Illusions, also for young readers, examines a rare friendship, as well as the abiding puzzles of the past.

The Goddess Trilogy includes the pathbreaking anthologies In Search of Sita – Revisiting Mythology, Finding Radha , The Quest for Love , and The Treasures of Lakshmi – The Goddess Who Gives (co-edited with Dr. Malashri Lal. )
Gokhale’s recent fiction includes the evocative Jaipur Journals , set against the backdrop of the vibrant Jaipur Literature Festival, and The Blind Matriarch which follows an extended Indian joint family through the travails of the pandemic.
Gokhale has a passionate commitment to showcasing Indian writing . She is co-founder and co-director of the internationally renowned Jaipur Literature Festival and also helps curate its diverse international editions. She has conceived and curated Kitaabnama, India’s only multi-lingual book show for the national broadcaster Doordarshan. She has twice chaired the Dylan Thomas Prize . She is passionately committed to cross cultural dialogue and to showcasing writing across the spectrum of South Asian languages.
Namita Gokhale was conferred the Centenary National Award for Literature by the Asam Sahitya Sabha in Guwahati in 2017 “for her literary contributions as well as her service to the nation in supporting and showcasing literary talents and creating a literary environment in the country”.