Aatish Taseer

Aatish Taseer was born in London, United Kingdom, in 1980. He grew up in New Delhi and then went for his schooling in Kodaikanal. He graduated from Amherst College in Political Science and French. His father, Salmaan Taseer, is a politician in Pakistan, and his mother, Tavleen Singh, is an Indian journalist. His work in Time Magazine, Prospect Magazine, Sunday Telegraph, The Sunday Times, TAR Magazine, Esquire and the Financial Times helped him to blossom as a journalist. He even worked as a freelancer. He is a writer and a journalist. In 2008, Aatish wrote a translation of Saadat Hasan Manto’s short tales from Urdu under the title, “Manto: Selected Stories”.

The book was greatly approved by the audience. In 2009, he wrote his first book, “Stranger to History: A Son’s Journey Through Islamic Lands”. His book was part-biography and part travelogue. The book showed the journey made by a son to meet his political Pakistani father who left him in his childhood. It was marked as ‘a must read’ for everyone who wants to understand the Muslim world. It became such a success that it was translated into more than 14 languages. Even his first novel, The Temple Goers, achieved a great response and was shortlisted for Costa First Novel Award in 2010. A year later, he published his second novel, “Noon”, with the publishers, Faber & Faber and Picador.

In 2014, he wrote a third novel named The Way Things Were, and is scheduled to be published by Pan Macmillan. He met Lady Gabriella Windsor, the daughter of Prince and Princess Michael of Kent, when she was an undergraduate at Brown University, and he, at Amherst College. They were in a relationship then. Now, he lives in between Delhi and London.