Upamanyu Chatterjee

Upamanyu Chatterjee is an Indian civil servant. He is a 1983 batch IAS officer of Maharashtra cadre. He is currently serving as Secretary of Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board to Government of India. He has also served as Director of the Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India.

He is best identified by his first book launch in English August: An Indian Story which was published in 1988.He was born in 1959 in Patna, Bihar. He did his schooling from St.Xavier's. He completed his graduation from St. Stephens College. He is married to Anne. The couple has two daughters Sara and Pia.

He is a well-known author. The novel is based on a young westernized civil servant, Agastya Sen whose imagination is obsessed by women, literature, and drugs. His debut novel has been reprinted several times and it has been subsequently adapted into a feature film in which Rahul Bose played the lead role. The novel was acclaimed and praised by critics as a marvelously intelligent and entertaining especially for everyone curious about Modern India.

In 1990 at the University of Kent in United Kingdom Upamanyu lived as a writer in residence. His second novel The Last Burden was published in 1993.It portrayed the Indian middle class in a fascinating manner. Another novel The Mammaries of Welfare State was published in 2000 as a sequel to his bestselling novel English August.

In 2010 his novel Way To Go was published as a sequel to his second novel The Last Burden. Upamanyu's recent literary work is Fairy Tales At Fifty, which is a dark comedy and it was published in 2014.He is also working on another sequel to his debut novel, depicting the life of an IAS officer after retirement. The characteristic of his novels has a unique sense of humor, satiny language and an eye which helps to portray the life of middle-class India.

He was among the first of the present young generation authors who got immense success outside India. He has also written several short stories including 'The Assassination of Indira Gandhi' and 'Watching them' are worth noting. He always believed that if people have strong willpower and dedication then they can pursue their passion.

In 2004 he was awarded the prestigious Sahitya Akademi Award for his novel Mammaries Of Welfare State. For his outstanding contribution to contemporary literature in 2009, he was honored with French award 'Officier de l'ordre des Arts et des Lettres'. In 2010 his novel Way To Go was shortlisted for The Hindu Best Fiction Award.