Alka Saraogi

Alka Saraogi (born 17 November 1960, Kolkata) is an Indian novelist and short story writer in the Hindi language. She is a recipient of the 2001 Sahitya Akademie Award for Hindi for her novel Kahikatea: Via Bypass.

Alka Saraogi was born in a Marwari family of Rajasthani origin in Kolkata. She studied at Calcutta University, receiving a PhD for her thesis on the poetry of Raghuveer Sahay.

Following her marriage and the birth of two children, Saraogi began to write short stories. Her first published work was Up kid hams (Your laughter), a story taking its title from one of Raghuveer Sahay's poems.

Saraogi's mentor, Ashok Sensoria, sent it to Vardaman Sahitya, a Hindi literary journal, where it received favorable notice. She then published Kahan kid tales me in 1996, a collection of short stories.