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David Davidar Age, Wife, Family, Biography & More

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Hometown: Nagercoil, Tamil Nadu
Profession: Novelist
Age: 64 Years

David Davidar

Bio/Wiki
Profession(s)• Novelist
• Publisher
Physical Stats & More
Height (approx.)in centimeters- 175 cm
in meters- 1.75 m
in feet & inches- 5’ 9”
Weight (approx.)in kilograms- 80 kg
in pounds- 176 lbs
Eye ColourDark Brown
Hair ColourNatural Black
Career
First Novel‘The House of Blue Mangoes’ (2002)
‘The House of Blue Mangoes’ (2002)
Personal Life
Date of Birth27 September 1958 (Saturday)
Age (as of 2023) 64 Years
BirthplaceNagercoil, Kanyakumari district, Tamil Nadu, India
Zodiac signLibra
SignatureDavid Davidar's signature
NationalityIndian
HometownNagercoil, Tamil Nadu, India
SchoolSainik School in Amaravathinagar, Tiruppur district, Tamil Nadu
College/University• Madras Christian College, Chennai, India (1979)
• Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, Harvard University, United States (1985)
Educational Qualification(s)• BSc degree in Botany [1]David Davidar - LinkedIn
• Diploma in Publishing [2]David Davidar - LinkedIn
ControversyIn 2010, David Davidar was accused by an ex-employee of Penguin, Lisa Rundle, of sexual harassment. Lisa initially filed a lawsuit worth $423,000 against the company for her dismissal, which she claimed to be unjustified. Later, she filed another lawsuit of $100,000 against David, and she testified that the sexual harrasment went on for 3 years, followed by an assault at the Frankfurt Book Fair in October 2010. However, the lawsuit was settled, and David's lawyer was quote saying in an interview that -

"David Davidar has not sexually harassed anyone and has not assaulted anyone." [3]NDTV
Relationships & More
Marital StatusMarried
Affairs/GirlfriendsIn 2005, David Davidar was in an alleged relationship with Lisa Rundle, who was an ex-employee in Penguin Publishing House, where David used to work; however, she then started working in a company adjacent to David's. In 2010, Lisa accused David Davidar of sexual assault and ended their relationship. [4]Outlook India
Marriage DateYear, 1997
Family
Wife/SpouseRachna Singh (bookseller)
ChildrenThe couple has no children.
ParentsFather- Name not known (Tea planter)
Mother- Name not known (Teacher)
SiblingsSister- Ruth Swamy (Dietician and nutritionist)

David Davidar

Some Lesser Known Facts About David Davidar

  • David Davidar is an Indian novelist and publisher who is famous for his novels like ‘The House of Blue Mangoes’ (2002), ‘The Solitude of Emperors’ (2007), ‘Ithaca’ (2011), and ‘A Clutch of Indian Masterpieces’ (2015).
  • When David Davidar was 7 years old, his school principal told his grandfather about David’s poor academic performance. Hearing that, his grandfather went to a library and bought a dozen books like ‘Treasure Island’ written by Robert Louis Stevenson, and ‘The Wind in the Willows’ written by Kenneth Grahame, for David to read, and that’s how he developed his habit of reading, which eventually led him into the writing field. [5]Scroll.in
  • Apart from reading and writing, David was also interested in the field of Journalism since his childhood. Therefore, after graduating from college in 1979, he moved to Bombay to pursue journalism as his career. In the same year, he got his first job at Bombay’s (now Mumbai) weekly publishing magazine titled ‘Himmat,’ founded by Rajmohan Gandhi. [6]David Davidar – LinkedIn
  • From 1980 to 1985, David worked in the editorial departments of magazines such as Keynote and Gentleman. He also freelanced for famous news publication houses like The Hindu, The Indian Express, and Mid-Day. [7]David Davidar – LinkedIn
  • In 1985, he joined the British publishing house ‘Penguin Books Limited’ and trained for six months at their London headquarters. David then moved to Delhi, India, to join Penguin India as he was part of the founding team in India. He was in charge of the company’s publishing programme and was transferred to the Canada branch in the same year. During his time in India, he published works of famous Indian writers like Ruskin Bond, Arundhati Roy, and Khushwant Singh. [8]David Davidar – LinkedIn
  • In 1985, David was appointed as the president and publisher of Penguin Canada. He was also the head of the publishing team.
  • From 2000 to 2003, David was the managing director of the multinational publishing company Dorling Kindersley’s branch in India.
  • In 2002, David Davidar published his first novel titled ‘The House of Blue Mangoes.’ It took him 10 years to finish writing this book, and it was later translated into 16 languages. [9]India Today

    David Davidar’s first novel, ‘The House of Blue Mangoes’ (2002)

    David Davidar’s first novel, ‘The House of Blue Mangoes’ (2002)

  • In 2003, David was appointed as the CEO of the Indian publishing and learning company ‘Pearson India.’ [10]David Davidar – LinkedIn
  • In 2007, he published his second novel titled ‘The Solitude of Emperors.’ The book was nominated for the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize. David Davidar considers the South African-Australian novelist J. M. Coetzee and English novelist George Orwell his biggest inspiration behind writing ‘The Solitude of Emperors.’

    David Davidar's second novel 'The Solitude of Emperors' (2007)

    David Davidar’s second novel ‘The Solitude of Emperors’ (2007)

  • In 2010, David was appointed as the CEO of Penguin International, which was a division of Penguin Books based in Toronto that comprised Penguin Canada, Penguin India, Penguin South Africa, and Penguin Arabia. However, in the same year, he stepped down from his position due to the lawsuit filed against him by his alleged girlfriend who was also an ex-employee of the company. [11]Penguin Random House [12]The Times of India [13]Quill & Quire
  • In 2011, David Davidar and the owners of Rupa Publications India, R. K. Mehra and Kapish Mehra, founded a publishing firm ‘Aleph Book Company,’ in New Delhi. [14]Aleph Book Company

    Kapish Mehra (left) and David Davidara at their publishing house 'Aleph Book Company's' launch

    Kapish Mehra (left) and David Davidara at their publishing house ‘Aleph Book Company’s’ launch

  • In 2011, David published his third novel titled ‘Ithaca.’

    David Davidar's third novel 'Ithaca' (2011)

    David Davidar’s third novel ‘Ithaca’ (2011)

  • In 2015, he published ‘A Clutch of Indian Masterpieces,’ which is a collection of thirty-nine short stories by renowned writers like Rabindranath Tagore, Anita Desai, U. R. Ananthamurthy, Amrita Pritam, and Upamanyu Chatterjee.

    David Davidar's novel 'A Clutch of Indian Masterpieces', published in 2015

    David Davidar’s novel ‘A Clutch of Indian Masterpieces’, published in 2015

  • In 2022, David Davidar published his edited novel titled ‘A Case of Indian Marvels: Dazzling Stories from the Country’s Finest New Writers,’ which is an anthology of short stories written by Indian authors belonging to the millennial generation (born between 1981 and 1996) and Generation Z (born between the late 1990s and early 2010s). Some of the writers include Kanishk Tharoor, Madhuri Vijay, Hansda Sowvendra Shekhar, Meena Kandasamy, and Prayaag Akbar.  The book was published by David’s publishing company ‘Aleph Book Company.’ [15]Goodreads The novel covers subjects like sex, sexuality, and LGBTQ concerns. [16]Hindustan Times

    David Davidar's edited novel 'A Case of Indian Marvels- Dazzling Stories from the Country's Finest New Writers' (2022)

    David Davidar’s edited novel ‘A Case of Indian Marvels- Dazzling Stories from the Country’s Finest New Writers’ (2022)

  • In Pondicherry, there is a homestay named after David Davidar’s first novel ‘The House of Blue Mangoes.’ [17]Airbnb

    Pondicherry homestay named after David Davidar's first novel 'The House of Blue Mangoes'

    Pondicherry homestay named after David Davidar’s first novel ‘The House of Blue Mangoes’

  • In 2022, David’s publishing house ‘Aleph Book Company’ won the Publisher of the Year award at the Publishing Next Industry Award 2022. [18]NewsClick

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