V. D. Trivadi

V. D. Trivadi (1927 - 1985) was a renowned Indian humorist, poet, and playwright in English. He was well known for his middles (columns) and satirical poems in "The Times of India", and was widely regarded as the Art Buchwald or Russell Baker of India.

Born in Madras, Trivadi started writing at a very early age, and was first published at 14. On his first visit to Bombay, the publisher of "The Illustrated Weekly" was quite surprised to find out that one of the significant contributors to his magazine was a 14-year old boy.

Trivadi later studied at the Madras Christian College.

His writing career spanned over 40 years and a range of genres. As a journalist and editor at "The Times of India", he wrote middles and editorials that garnered a worldwide fan base and cult following. His humor and larger-than-life persona led to invitations for him to attend conferences and universities in many countries. His poetry collection "Silver Box, Mail Box" was included as part of the curriculum at Oxford University in the UK.

Trivadi died suddenly at the age of 56 of a heart attack. On the way to the hospital, he is said to have remarked, "I can't die yet, I have to take my niece to the movies." His death occurred before a planned trip as a distinguished guest to an Austrian university.

Partial bibliography

In addition to his pieces for "The Times of India", Trivadi's work includes the following:
*"Silver Box, Mail Box" - poetry collection
*"My Forest" - award-winning play
*"Gandhi" - award-winning play
*"Smuggling" - novel
*"Vivekananda" - play on which he was working when he died