V.S. Naipaul, the Trinidad-born Nobel laureate, passed away in London on August 11, 2018, aged 85. Here’s a tribute to his achievements and public appearances over the years.
Naipaul’s work reflected his personal journey from Trinidad to London and various stops in developing countries. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2001 “for having united perceptive narrative and incorruptible scrutiny in works that compel us to see the presence of suppressed histories.” Read more
Vidiadhar Surajprasad Naipaul was born on August 17, 1932 in the town of Chaguanas in Trinidad. His father was a journalist for the Trinidad Guardian. Naipaul won a government scholarship to study English literature at University College, Oxford. He married Patricia Hale in 1955. Two years later, he released his first novel, "The Mystic Masseur", based on life in Trinidad.
Naipaul joined BBC World Service, where he discussed West Indian literature. Here, during a programme called Nations Observed, he is seen with writer and broadcaster Malcolm Muggeridge.
Naipaul won the Booker Prize in 1971 for "In a Free State". The book consists of three short stories. Naipaul was at the 50th anniversary of the Man Booker Prize at Buckingham Palace, London, on July 5, 2018, with other winners.
In December 2001, Naipaul was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature “for having united perceptive narrative and incorruptible scrutiny in works that compel us to see the presence of suppressed histories.” In its Nobel citation, the Swedish Academy called him “a literary circumnavigator, only ever really at home in himself.”
In February 2002, Naipaul was at the inauguration of the International Festival for Indian Literature, "At Home and In the World," the first-ever international festival for Indian literature. He is seen with India’s then Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee.
Following the death of his first wife in 1996, Naipaul married Pakistani newspaper columnist Nadira Khannum Alvi. The couple were at the inauguration of the Tehelka lecture series organised by Tehelka and the Crossword bookstore in Bangalore, on February 2004.
Naipaul released his book "Magic Seeds" at British Council in New Delhi on October 14, 2004. The fiction is set in India and Europe.
Naipaul delivered his keynote address on "India: Between Identity and Ideals" at the India Today Conclave on "Perception versus Reality" in New Delhi on February 2005.
In 2008, British biographer Patrick French released the biography of Naipaul, titled "The World is What It Is".
At the Mumbai Literature Festival in 2012, Naipaul was conferred the Lifetime Achievement Award, by columnist Anil Dharkar. During an interaction, Naipaul recalled arguably his most celebrated novel "A House for Mr. Biswas".
Naipaul was at the 2015 Jaipur Literary Festival, for the session "The Writer and The World", moderated by British writer Farrukh Dhondy at Diggi Palace.
Naipaul and Nadira and minister Arun Jaitley at an interactive session with BJP leaders and workers, at the BJP headquarters in New Delhi in February 2004.
Naipaul at his Salisbury home in London in 2001. Naipaul was hailed as one of the finest writers of the 20th century, his writings focusing on colonialism, oppression, drawing from his personal journey from rural Trinidad to England. He was also known for his outspoken views on politics, religion and world cultures. He published over 30 books.
