About Anita

Anita Vachharajani grew up in Mumbai, and, despite having a childhood devoted almost entirely to books and sweets, she loves trees, long walks and art. 

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She has two Masters Degrees, one in English Literature and another in Linguistics. She has just published a pictorial biography for Young Adults called Amrita Sher-Gil: Rebel with a Paintbrush with HarperCollins India Pvt Ltd. 

Apart from books, Anita has written newspaper columns and book reviews. Her stories have appeared in The Puffin Book of Bedtime Stories, The Puffin Book of Spooky Ghost Stories, and in various picture books, like Nonie's Magic Quilt and Nayana and the Not-so-scary Owl. Her translations of traditional rhymes feature in The Tenth Rasa: the Penguin Book of Indian Nonsense Verse. She has collaborated with her husband Amit Vachharajani on Amazing India: A State by State Guide. 

Anita loves writing non-fiction, because the research helps her catch up with all the knowledge she carefully avoided acquiring when she was in school. Her last book Amrita Sher-Gil: Rebel with a Paintbrush (Harper Collins India, 2018), won the Sahitya Akademi’s Bal Sahitya Puraskar, English, 2020. The book also represented India in the writing category at the IBBY (International Board for Books for Young People) Biennial Honor List, 2020. Through IBBY, it is in the permanent collections of seven international libraries.