Kiran Desai was, until the late 1990s, known only as the prominent Indian writer Anita Desai's daughter. The success of Hullabaloo in the Guava Orchard, however, brought her recognition as a writer in her own right. Kiran Desai was born in 1971 in India. She received her education in India, England, and the United States. Desai was a student in Columbia University's creative writing program when her novel got published. In fact, she took a year off from that program to put things in perspective and write the novel.

Kiran Desai claims that she feels completely alive and happy only when she is writing. The whole process of writing brings her pleasure and incredible satisfaction.

Writing feels to her like total engagement.

As a writer or a reader, she believes that she is influenced by everything. Desai grew up under the influence of Indian writers...