Vikram Chandra is an Indian writer. His first novel, Red Earth and Pouring Rain, won the 1996 Commonwealth Writers' Prize, Best First Book. He is married to writer Melanie Abrams, who, like Chandra, teaches creative writing at the University of California, Berkeley. Chandra currently divides his time between Mumbai , Maharashtra, India and Oakland, California, United States. He is often confused with his namesake Vikram A Chandra, journalist and author of The Srinagar Conspiracy. Chandra was born in New Delhi in 1961. His father, Navin Chandra, is a retired executive. His mother, Kamna... Chandra, has written several Hindi films and plays; her most notable works include the films Prem Rog and 1942: A Love Story & Yash Chopra's Chandni. One of his sisters, Tanuja Chandra, is a filmmaker and screenwriter who has directed several films, including Sur and Sangharsh. His other sister, Anupama Chopra, is a film critic and consulting editor for India's NDTV. Chandra received his high school education at Mayo College in Ajmer, Rajasthan, and attended St. Xavier’s College in Mumbai. As an undergraduate student, he transferred to the United States.
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