Nirmala Govindarajan

Nirmala Govindarajan is an author, social sector documentarian, journalist, literary editor, curator, yoga teacher, travel writer, and pioneer of the Writer’s Yatra, Reader’s Yatra and Rhythm Yoga experiences in offbeat locations. Bloody Marie (with publishers), her newest work of literary fiction is inspired by witch-hunting across geographies. Nirmala’s novel Taboo (Picador, Pan Macmillan) is inspired by under-age trafficked girls, and received critical acclaim via literary awards nominations including the Rabindranath Tagore Literary Prize, Atta Galatta Bangalore Literature Festival Awards, and JK Paper Women AutHER Awards. Her novel Hunger’s Daughters (Om Books International, 2019) draws focus to young breadwinners in the hinterlands. Translations of Taboo and Hunger’s Daughters are being published in the Tamil (Kalachuvadu Publications) and in the Sinhala (Subhavi Publishers). Inspired by the life experiences of a civil servant, Nirmala’s novel The Community Catalyst (Sapna Book House, 2016), is among the research reads at the prestigious New York Public Library as with leading university and public libraries in India. Conceptualising Mind Blogs 1.0 (Write Wing Media, 2005), an anecdotal book of prose, poetry and musings, Nirmala invited two fellow writers to co-author the book. In 2024, Nirmala, contributed as Curatorial Lead to two literature festivals in the USA hosted by the Art Lovers of America. In 2014, Nirmala co-curated the debut Times Literary Carnival in Bangalore, and in 2016, she conceptualised and curated the Literary Lounge and Know Your Classics experiences for the British Council, Bangalore. Nirmala dabbles in theatre and art and plays the piano and violin.