Sara Banerji

Sara Banerji
Born	Sara Mostyn June 6, 1932 (1932-06-06) (age 79) Stoke Poges, Buckinghamshire, England
Nationality	British
Other names	Sara Mostyn
Occupation	Author, Artist, Sculptress
Known for	Writing
Spouse	Ranjit Banerji (1956-present)
Children	Bijoya Chisholm Sabita Banerji Juthika Slaughter
Parents	Anita Mostyn Sir Basil Mostyn
Relatives	Henry Fielding

Sara Banerji (née Mostyn) (born 6 June 1932) is a British author, artist and sculptress. She was born in England, but lived in what was then Southern Rhodesia and then in India for many years. She now lives in Oxford with her family.

Biography

Banerji was born in 1932, one of the children of Anita Mostyn, a novelist who wrote in the 1950s under the pen name Anne Mary Fielding, and Sir Basil Mostyn, the 13th Baronet of Mostyn, in Stoke Poges, Buckinghamshire, in England. One of her ancestors is Henry Fielding, the 18th century author who wrote The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling.

In 1939, when Banerji was 7, World War II began, and she was evacuated to various large and old country mansions. Her father, Basil Mostyn, fought in the war.

After the war was over, Banerji emigrated with her family to Southern Rhodesia. The family lived in a single mud rondavel with no electricity or running water.

Banerji later travelled all around Europe, visiting various places. She worked as an au pair and also attended art school in Austria. She has also worked as an artist, and has held exhibitions of her oil paintings in India. She also taught riding whilst in India, and has been a jockey. She is also a sculptress, and has previously been a waitress.

Banerji worked in a coffee bar in Oxford, where she met her future husband, Ranjit Banerji, who was an undergraduate from India. He was a customer in the coffee bar. They married and moved to India, where they lived for seventeen years. Banerji attempted to run a dairy farm, which was defeated by monsoons and heavy seasons of rain.

The Banerji family returned to England in 1973. Ranjit and Sara had £5 each, giving the family a total of £10. Banerji borrowed some money, bought some ponies at auctions and gave riding lessons. A while later, she started a gardening business in Sussex.

Banerji and her husband now live in Oxford, where she teaches writing in the Oxford University Department for Continuing Education. They practice meditation and yogic flying every day. They have three daughters and five grandchildren. She holds regular exhibitions of her work.

Bibliography

• Cobwebwalking (1986)
• The Wedding of Jayanthi Mandel (1987)
• The Tea Planter's Daughter (1988)
• Shining Agnes (1991)
• Absolute Hush (1991)
• Writing on Skin (1993)
• Shining Hero (2002)
• The Waiting Time (2006)
• Blood Precious (2007)

External links

• Profile at FantasticFiction
• Profile at Transita

Persondata
Name	Banerji, Sara
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	6 June 1932
Place of birth	Stoke Poges, Buckinghamshire, England
Date of death
Place of death