Anita Rau Badami

Anita was born in India in 1961. She grew up in a household, where English was the primary language spoken, and she attended Catholic schools. At age 18, she borrowed money from her father to buy novels, and to pay him back. She took her first writing assignment, an article in a local newspaper, which earned her 75 rupees. She worked as a copywriter for advertising agencies and she wrote stories for children magazines. Anita married in 1984 and she had a son in 1987. Anita moved to Calgary in 1991. In 1995, she graduated from the university of Calgary, with MA degree in English. Anita Rau Badami submitted her first work to Penguin books. Penguin published her work, and soon she was touring North America, reading from her best-selling debut novel "Tamarind Mem".