Biography.guide
Home › People › Writer › Rupa Bajwa
Portrait of Rupa Bajwa

Rupa Bajwa

b. 1979

Indian writer

Don't just read it — keep itBiographies to ownE-book · Audio · Video From $7 →

About Rupa Bajwa

Born 1979. Rupa Bajwa is an Indian writer.

Rupa Bajwa is an Indian writer who lives and works in Amritsar, Punjab as well as spending time in various other Indian cities and towns. She is a recipient of the Grinzane Cavour Prize, the Commonwealth Award, and India's Sahitya Akademi Award.

Novels In 2004, she published her first novel, The Sari Shop, which explores her hometown and the class dynamics of India. The novel won the writer flattering reviews, with reviewers calling her India's new literary find. The Sari Shop was long listed for the Orange Prize for Fiction in 2004. The novel won the XXIV Grinzane Cavour Prize for best first novel in June 2005, the Commonwealth Award in 2005 and India's Sahitya Akademi Award English 2006. The Sari Shop has been translated in several languages, among them: French ( Le vendeur de saris), Dutch (De Sariwinkel) and Serbian (Prodavnica sarija) and Italian.

Rupa Bajwa's second novel, Tell Me a Story, was released in April 2012. It was met with extreme reactions. It received critical appreciation from some quarters, at the same time creating controversy among the literary circles in New Delhi, since a part of this novel lampooned these very people.

Currently, Rupa Bajwa is working on her third novel.

Columns Though she is from a Sikh family, Bajwa wrote a controversial piece called "Dark Things Do Happen in Gurdwaras Sometimes", in The Telegraph, an Indian newspaper.

Works 2004 The Sari Shop 2012 Tell Me a Story

Biography shop

Don’t just read it —
keep it.

Full-length biographies made to live with: read them, listen on the way to work, watch them tonight.

  • E-book
  • Audio
  • Video
Browse the shop — from $7

Instant download · yours to keep · every purchase keeps this site free

Important facts

Born
1979, Amritsar
Birth century
Occupation
Nationality
Awards
Sahitya Akademi Award; Grinzane Cavour Prize; Orange Prize for Fiction

Contemporaries

People whose lives overlapped Rupa Bajwa's

Frequently asked questions

Who is Rupa Bajwa?

Indian writer

When was Rupa Bajwa born?

Rupa Bajwa was born in 1979 in Amritsar.

What is Rupa Bajwa's occupation?

Rupa Bajwa is a writer.

What nationality is Rupa Bajwa?

Rupa Bajwa is Indian.

Sources & further reading

· Wikipedia: Rupa Bajwa

· Wikidata: Q7380187

· DBpedia: Rupa Bajwa

Cite this page

APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Rupa Bajwa. https://biography.guide/rupa-bajwa/

MLA: "Rupa Bajwa." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/rupa-bajwa/.

Chicago: "Rupa Bajwa." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/rupa-bajwa/.

Data last updated: 2026-09-21 · Spot an error? Report a correction.

Portrait: Wikimedia Commons · author & licence

Page generated 2026-09-27 04:58 UTC