Novelist Kiran Nagarkar passes away at 77 in Mumbai

Born in Mumbai in 1942, Nagarkar used his books as a means to engage with politics of his times.

Noted novelist and playwright Kiran Nagarkar passed away in Mumbai on Thursday. He was 77. The author had a brain hemorrhage. He collapsed at a friend’s place where he had gone for Ganpati festivities. He was rushed to Bombay hospital where he was declared dead.

One of the leading lights of modern Indian literature, Nagarkar wrote eight novels in English and Marathi. His seven novels in English – the latest, The Arsonist, was published in 2019 – and one in Marathi (subsequently translated into English).

He also wrote plays, screenplays and works for children. The author worked as an academic, a journalist, a screenplay writer, and in the advertising industry.

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His works include ‘God’s Little Soldier’ (2006), ‘The Extras’ (2012), ‘Rest in Peace’ (2015), and ‘Bedtime Stories’.

Born in Mumbai in 1942, Nagarkar used his books as a means to engage with politics of his times. He published his first novel, ‘Saat Sakkam Trechalis’ (Seven Sixes Are Forty Three), in Marathi in 1974.