Anita Desai

Indian novelist, University professor (born 1937)
Person human Q268495
Press Enter · cited answer in seconds

Summary

Anita Desai was born on June 24, 1937[1], in Mussoorie[2]. She has worked as a writer[3], novelist[4], university teacher[5], short story writer[6], and professor[7]. She ranks in the top 0.7% of human entities by monthly Wikipedia readership (2,619 views/month, #6,953 of 1,000,298).[8]

Key Facts

  • Child: Kiran Desai[9]
  • Country of citizenship: British Raj[10], Dominion of India[11], India[12]
  • Occupation: author[13]
  • Employer: Massachusetts Institute of Technology[14], Mount Holyoke College[15], Smith College[16]
  • Educated at: University of Delhi[17], Miranda House[18]
  • Notable work: Fire on the Mountain[19]
  • Award received: Padma Bhushan in literature & education[20], Padma Shri in literature and education[21], Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature[22], Sahitya Akademi Award[23], Winifred Holtby Memorial Prize[24], Guardian Children's Fiction Prize[25], honorary degree of the University of Leeds[26]
  • Member of: Royal Society of Literature[27], American Academy of Arts and Letters[28]
  • Religion or worldview: Hinduism[29]
  • Sex or gender: female[30]
  • Commons category: Anita Desai[31]
  • Archives at: Harry Ransom Center[32]
  • Family name: Desai[33]
  • Given name: Anita[34]
  • Described by source: South Asian Novelists in English: An A-to-Z Guide[35], Metzler Autorinnen Lexikon (1 ed.)[36], Third World Women's Literatures[37]
  • Nominated for: Booker Prize[38]
  • Languages spoken, written or signed: German[39], English[40]
  • Name in native language: अनीता देसाई[41]
  • Start of work period: 1963[42]

Why It Matters

Anita Desai has Wikipedia articles in 19 language editions, a strong signal of global cultural recognition.[43] She is known by 17 alternative names across languages and contexts.[44]

Works attributed to her include The Village by the Sea[45], a literary work[46].

FAQs

Where was Anita Desai born?

Anita Desai's place of birth was Mussoorie[2].

What did Anita Desai do for work?

Anita Desai worked as a writer[3], novelist[4], university teacher[5], short story writer[6], and professor[7].

Where did Anita Desai go to school?

Anita Desai was educated at University of Delhi[17] and Miranda House[18].

What awards did Anita Desai receive?

Honors received include Padma Bhushan in literature & education[20], Padma Shri in literature and education[21], Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature[22], and Sahitya Akademi Award[23].

References

Programmatic citations — every numbered marker resolves to a verifiable graph row below.

Direct Wikidata claims

  1. [2] ↑ . The Feminist Companion to Literature in English. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  2. [30] ↑ . BnF authorities. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  3. [10] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  4. [11] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  5. [12] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  6. [9] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  7. [17] ↑ . The Feminist Companion to Literature in English. wikidata.org.
  8. [18] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  9. [3] ↑ . The Fine Art Archive. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  10. [4] ↑ . The Feminist Companion to Literature in English. wikidata.org.
  11. [5] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  12. [6] ↑ . The Feminist Companion to Literature in English. wikidata.org.
  13. [7] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  14. [13] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  15. [14] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  16. [15] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  17. [16] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  18. [29] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  19. [20] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  20. [21] ↑ . webcitation.org. webcitation.org. Provenance: wikidata.org.
  21. [22] ↑ . rsliterature.org. Retrieved . rsliterature.org. Provenance: wikidata.org.
  22. [23] ↑ . sahitya-akademi.gov.in. Retrieved . sahitya-akademi.gov.in. Provenance: wikidata.org.
  23. [24] ↑ . British Council. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  24. [25] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  25. [26] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  26. [31] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  27. [27] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  28. [28] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  29. [32] ↑ . norman.hrc.utexas.edu. Retrieved . norman.hrc.utexas.edu. Provenance: wikidata.org.
  30. [1] ↑ . IMDb. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  31. [33] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  32. [34] ↑ . Integrated Authority File. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  33. [19] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  34. [35] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  35. [36] ↑ . link.springer.com. Retrieved . link.springer.com. Provenance: wikidata.org.
  36. [37] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  37. [38] ↑ . British Council. Retrieved . thebookerprizes.com. Provenance: wikidata.org.
  38. [39] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  39. [40] ↑ . BnF authorities. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  40. [41] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  41. [42] ↑ . wikidata.org.

Inverse relationships (entities pointing at this one)

  1. [45] ↑ . wikidata.org. → on this site

Inline context (facts about related entities)

  1. [46] ↑ . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site

Aggregate / graph-position facts

  1. [8] ↑ . Wikimedia Foundation. dumps.wikimedia.org.
  2. [43] ↑ . Wikidata sitelinks. wikidata.org.
  3. [44] ↑ . Wikidata aliases. wikidata.org.

📑 Cite this page

Use these citations when quoting this entity in research, articles, AI prompts, or wherever provenance matters. We aggregate Wikidata + Wikipedia + authoritative open-data sources; the stitched, scored, cross-referenced view is what 4ort.xyz contributes.

APA 4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph. (2026). Anita Desai. Retrieved October 16, 2026, from https://4ort.xyz/entity/anita-desai
MLA “Anita Desai.” 4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph, 4ort.xyz, 16 Oct. 2026, https://4ort.xyz/entity/anita-desai.
BibTeX @misc{4ortxyz_anita-desai_2026, author = {{4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph}}, title = {{Anita Desai}}, year = {2026}, url = {https://4ort.xyz/entity/anita-desai}, note = {Accessed: 2026-10-16}}
LLM prompt According to 4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph (aggregator of Wikidata, Wikipedia, and authoritative open-data sources): Anita Desai — https://4ort.xyz/entity/anita-desai (retrieved 2026-10-16)

Canonical URL: https://4ort.xyz/entity/anita-desai · Last refreshed:

Edit History

Rolling log of changes to this entity's Wikidata record. Values shown reflect the current state of each edited property — follow the history link to see the precise diff for any edit.

  1. 6h ago · OKA bot bot · 2026-10-16 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    Wikipedia languages → ['ar', 'arz', 'as', 'bjn', 'bn', 'commons', 'cy', 'da', 'de', 'en', 'eo', 'es',
    Sitelink count → 49
    Claims rich → —
    "/* wbeditentity-update-languages-and-other-short:0||nb */ other names, source for place of birth, source for date of birth from Store norske leksikon ([[Wikidata:Requests for permissions/Bot/OKA bot 2"
  2. 6w ago · Wiki6518 · 2026-09-04 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    Occupation → writer, novelist, university teacher +3
    "/* wbcreateclaim-create:1| */ Occupation: author, Added from LC Name Authority File n50001608"
  3. 6w ago · Wiki6518 · 2026-09-04 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    Occupation → writer, novelist, university teacher +3
    "/* wbcreateclaim-create:1| */ Occupation: professor, Added from LC Name Authority File n50001608 (LCNAF2WikiExtension, human-reviewed)"
  4. 9w ago · Yirba · 2026-08-11 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    P14750 → 8D19-5C6B-DDC2-1AA7-6A8D
    "/* wbeditentity-update:0| */ QuickStatements 3.0 [[:toollabs:qs-dev/batch/46458|batch #46458]]: HAND ID (5)"
  5. 10w ago · WikiLucas00 · 2026-08-01 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    Pronunciation audio → LL-Q9610 (ben)-Titodutta-অনিতা দেশাই.wav, LL-Q33810 (ori)-Psubhashish-ଅନିତା ଦେଶାଇ.wav, LL-Q33810 (ori)-Chirashree Chinmayee-ଅନିତା ଦେଶାଇ.wav
    "/* wbcreateclaim-create:1| */ Pronunciation audio: LL-Q33810 (ori)-Chirashree Chinmayee-ଅନିତା ଦେଶାଇ.wav"
  6. 18w ago · Jindřich Rubeš · 2026-06-12 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    Svkkl authority id → p0071413-Desai-Anita-1937
    "/* wbcreateclaim-create:1| */ Svkkl authority id: p0071413-Desai-Anita-1937, [[:toollabs:quickstatements/#/batch/259494|batch #259494]]"
Live feed via Wikidata EventStreams. New edits appear within minutes of being made on Wikidata.