Alka Saraogi

CITATION

Born in 1960 Alka Saraogi did her post-graduation (with First-Class-First) and Ph. D in Hindi from Calcutta University. She knows English and Bengali besides. She is a full-time writer and is interested in history, nature-study and music as well. Her first story "Aapki Hansi" was published in 1990 in Vartman Sahitya. Has authored four books, Kahani ki Talash mein, Kali-Katha:Via Bypass, Doosari Kahani and Shesh Kadambari. Kali-Katha : Via Bypass has been translated into Italian and French, and is being translated into English, Bengali and Tamil. Shesh Kadambari has also been translated into Italian and is being translated into English and Bengali. She won Srikant Verma Award, 1998.

The award-winning work, Kali-Katha : Via Bypass is a novel that spans four genera­tions. The greatest strength of this work is that it takes the readers along with it, making them experience events that take place during a period from the latter half of the nine­teenth-century to the end of the twentieth century, introducing them to locales that vary from the Rajasthan desert to the lush green Bengal countryside, and the sprawling me­tropolis of Kolkata. The keyword of the novel, 'Bypass', is a symbol which is a meaningful comment on the 'short-cutting' culture prevalent in modern society. For these reasons this novel is considered an important addition to Indian fiction in Hindi.