Shobhaa De – Keynote Speaker

Shobha Rajadhyaksha, also known as Shobhaa De is one of India’s most popular writers. She is a bestselling novelist, a columnist, scriptwriter, socialite and former model. De is considered to be one of the most influential voices in India, she was on the 2010 Readers’ Digest List, “India’s Most Trusted People”, and the 2010 list of “50 Most Powerful Women in India” published by the DNA Newspaper. She was also featured on the 2010 list of “India’s 50 Most Beautiful”, in Hi Blitz.

De is one of India’s top best-selling authors. All her 17 books have topped the charts and created records. She is credited with having given birth to Hinglish, a heady, irreverent mix of Hindi and English, which speaks to readers in an entirely new way. Four of her titles, namely, ‘Socialite Evenings’, ‘Starry Nights’, ‘Sultry Days’, and ‘Second Thoughts’, are course material in the University of London. Her work features extensively in comparative literature courses at Universities abroad and within India. An academic examination of her books titled, ‘The Fiction of Shobhaa De’, compiled by Professor Dodiya, features 40 critical essays by academics, both Indian and foreign. Over a hundred dissertations on her work exist, in various libraries worldwide. Her latest book is titled ‘Small Betrayals’, and was published by Hay House in 2014.

Recipient of several awards for her journalistic contributions, De writes prolifically for Indian and International publications. She runs four weekly columns in mainstream newspapers, including the The Times of India and Asian Age. “Politically Incorrect”, De’s column in The Times of India, carries her sharp observations on politics, society, the economy and relationships.

After making her name as a model, she began a career in journalism in 1970, during the course of which she founded and edited three popular magazines – Stardust, Society, and Celebrity. In the 1980s, she contributed to the Sunday magazine section of The Times of India. In her columns, she used to explore the socialite life of Mumbai celebrities.

De was born in a Maharashtrian Goud Saraswat Brahmin family in Mumbai, India. She completed her schooling from Queen Mary School, Mumbai and graduated from St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai with a degree in psychology.