In the shifting sands of American literature, Indian-origin authors are not merely participants—they’re cartographers, redrawing the boundaries of belonging, memory, and language. Their lives are stitched together with transcontinental schooling, family aspirations, and a relentless urge to tell stories that straddle two worlds. Here’s a deep dive into 10 such authors currently living and working in the US—and the classrooms that helped shape their creative journeys.
Salman Rushdie: From Bombay dreams to New York realities
Lives in Manhattan, New YorkBefore the fatwa and the fame, there was Bombay. Born to Anis Ahmed Rushdie, a businessman with a reverence for history, and Negin Bhatt, a teacher, Salman Rushdie grew up steeped in ideas. Schooled at Cathedral and John Connon in Mumbai and later Rugby School in England, he read history at King’s College, Cambridge—setting the stage for fiction that would blend epic imagination with postcolonial intellect.Subjects Studied:Institutions Attended:
- Cathedral and John Connon School
- Rugby School
- King’s College, Cambridge
Selected Works:
- Midnight’s Children
- The Satanic Verses
- Haroun and the Sea of Stories
- Victory City
- Joseph Anton
Abraham Verghese: Ethiopian childhood, southern roots, Stanford laurels
Lives in Palo Alto, CaliforniaBorn in Addis Ababa to Malayali parents, Abraham Verghese is the son of Joseph Verghese, a respected school principal, and Mariam George Verghese, a teacher. His early education was infused with discipline and compassion—traits that would shape both doctor and novelist. After graduating from Madras Medical College, he moved to the US for residencies in Tennessee and Boston. Later, he added an MFA from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, making him a rare breed: A physician-author whose prose carries the precision of a scalpel and the soul of a psalm.Now a professor at Stanford, Verghese brings migration, medicine, and memory to life.Subjects Studied:
- Medicine
- Internal Medicine (residency)
- Creative Writing
Institutions Attended:
- Madras Medical College
- East Tennessee State University
- Boston University
- Iowa Writers’ Workshop
Selected Works:
- Cutting for Stone
- The Covenant of Water
- My Own Country
- The Tennis Partner
Pico Iyer: Between continents and minds
Divides time between Big Sur, California and Nara, JapanSon of the philosopher Raghavan N. Iyer and academic Nandini Iyer, Pico Iyer’s biography is practically a philosophical riddle. Born in England, raised in California, educated at Eton, Oxford, and Harvard—his life resembles a literary map in constant motion. Though a British citizen, Iyer writes from California and Japan, his prose echoing with themes of stillness, solitude, and the spiritual cost of modernity.His work is less about passport and more about perspective.Subjects Studied:Institutions Attended:
- Eton College
- University of Oxford
- Harvard University
Selected Works:
- The Half Known Life
- The Art of Stillness
- Video Night in Kathmandu
- The Open Road
Siddhartha Mukherjee: Medicine in the blood, storytelling in the soul
Lives in New York CityBorn in Delhi to Dr Subir Mukherjee, a physician, and Chandana Mukherjee, Siddhartha grew up with dinner table conversations that veered between biology and Bengali literature. He attended St. Columba’s School in Delhi before heading to Stanford. A Rhodes Scholar at Oxford and a Harvard Medical School graduate, Mukherjee has made medical science profoundly human through narrative. Now based in New York, he bridges the lab and the library with unusual ease.Subjects Studied:
- Biology
- Immunology
- Medicine
Institutions Attended:
- St. Columba’s School (Delhi)
- Stanford University
- University of Oxford
- Harvard Medical School
Selected Works:
- The Emperor of All Maladies
- The Gene: An Intimate History
- The Song of the Cell
- The Laws of Medicine
Jhumpa Lahiri: Rhythms from Bengal to Rhode Island to Princeton
Lives in Princeton, New JerseyBorn in London, raised in the US, Jhumpa Lahiri is the daughter of Amar Lahiri, a librarian at the University of Rhode Island, and Tapati Lahiri, a schoolteacher. The immigrant melancholy of her childhood—half in West Bengal, half in New England—haunts her prose. She studied at Barnard College and earned multiple graduate degrees at Boston University, including a PhD.Today, as a professor at Princeton, she continues to write across two languages, exploring themes of identity and translation—often, quite literally.Subjects Studied:
- English Literature
- Comparative Literature
- Renaissance Studies
Institutions Attended:
- Barnard College
- Boston University
- Princeton University
Selected Works:
- Interpreter of Maladies
- The Namesake
- Unaccustomed Earth
- Translating Myself and Others
Tania James: Science, Art, and the hyphenated life
Lives in Washington, D.C.Born in Chicago and raised in Louisville, Kentucky, Tania James is the daughter of Cecil James, an engineer, and Saroja James, a pharmacist. While science paid the bills at home, art stirred her soul. She studied Visual and Environmental Studies at Harvard and later pursued an MFA in creative writing at Columbia. Her stories move between continents with fluid grace—much like her own upbringing.Subjects Studied:
- Visual and Environmental Studies
- Creative Writing
Institutions Attended:
- Harvard University
- Columbia University
Selected Works:
- Loot
- The Tusk That Did the Damage
- Atlas of Unknowns
- Aerogrammes
Vauhini Vara: Journeys North and West
Lives in Fort Collins, ColoradoBorn in Canada and raised in the US, Vara has been shaped more by parental values than publicity—her parents choose to remain out of the spotlight. But their quiet resilience shines through her work. After earning a degree in international relations from Stanford, she pursued creative writing at the Iowa Writers’ Workshop. Now based in Colorado, Vara fuses speculative tech with sharp realism.Subjects Studied:
- International Relations
- Creative Writing
Institutions Attended:
- Stanford University
- Iowa Writers’ Workshop
Selected Works:
- The Immortal King Rao
- This Is Salvaged
Parini Shroff: Law, letters, and laughter
Lives in the Bay Area, CaliforniaNot much is known about Parini Shroff’s family history, but her voice is unmistakably shaped by cultural duality. She studied law at Loyola Law School before turning to fiction through an MFA at the University of Texas, Austin. Her breakout novel is a riotous take on crime, caste, and female resistance—India seen through a diasporic telescope, tinted with satire.Subjects Studied:Institutions Attended:
- Loyola Law School
- University of Texas at Austin
Selected Work:
Zara Chowdhary: The Search for Home
Lives in Madison, WisconsinZara’s life has been one of movement—India, the UK, and finally the American Midwest. She earned degrees at the University of Leeds and Iowa State University. Her fiction is layered with longing, memory, and the spaces in between. The personal is not just political—it’s geographical.Subjects Studied:
- Media and Performance Studies
- Creative Writing
Institutions Attended:
- University of Leeds
- Iowa State University
Selected Work:
Asha Thanki: New Stories from the Midwest
Lives in Minneapolis, MinnesotaAsha Thanki was raised in the US in a family that chooses privacy over profile. But her work speaks volumes about inheritance, invisibility, and grief. She graduated from Georgetown’s School of Foreign Service and is currently pursuing an MFA at the University of Minnesota. Her debut novel marks her as a sharp observer of displacement and girlhood in middle America.Subjects Studied:
- Culture and Politics
- Creative Writing
Institutions Attended:
- Georgetown University
- University of Minnesota
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