Author & Journalist
READERS' FAVOURITE WINNER
in the Singapore Literature Prize 2020
A memoir
Lost at 15, Found at 50
Ashwini has been a front row spectator to various political developments and upheavals over the years: Moscow at the height of the Cold War; America mired in the Vietnam War; Sikkim in the midst of a pro-democracy movement that would overthrow the monarchy; India during turbulent times; South Korea, where student demonstrations convulsed the country...
-
Winner in the Singapore Literature Prize 2020 Readers' Favourite for English
-
Shortlisted in the Singapore Literature Prize 2020 Creative Nonfiction Category
"The author-journalist's memoir focuses on the human elements of her nomadic life"
- The Hindu
- Times of India
"A life measured by moments in history"
"This book [is] special ... for its earnestness, sincerity and refined story telling"
- The Straits Times (Singapore)
"Journalist-author Ashwini Devare's memoir Lost at 15, Found at 50 revisits historic political events"
- New Indian Express
"It is like a mountain stream that navigates its way; it is effervescent, bubbly and finally it finds its steady course. The beauty is it is told with great simplicity, economy of words, clarity of thought … that is the kind of strength [Ashwini] brings to her book."
- Jawed Ashraf, former Indian High Commissioner to Singapore
"Part memoir, part travelogue and part international history primer … a welcome snapshot of a youthful, independent India learning to make its way in the world."
- Gayatri Rangachari Shah, The Book Review
BUY NOW
Short Stories
Batik Rain and Other Stories
Batik Rain is a collection of six short stories that explore the theme of cross-cultural conflict and displacement as characters search for their moorings. The stories highlight the state of rootlessness that individuals experience, of loss and abandonment, as they journey in search of self.
- Vikas Swarup, author of Slumdog Millionaire
"An engaging debut that brings to life the journeys of the Indian Diaspora"
"Captivating debut from a globetrotting journalist"
"Ashwini uses the power of imagination to cross cultural barriers and tap the common humanity beneath us all. She does this with ease because of her exposure to diverse cultures"
- Jakarta Post
- Cyrus Mistry, best-selling author, Chronicle of a Corpse Bearer
Events
Ashwini is a regular moderator and speaker at literary festivals. She has spoken on a variety of subjects from geopolitics and journalism to gender issues.
RECENT
Lost at 15, Found at 50 Book Tour | 2019
-
January 12, 2019 | SINGAPORE BOOK LAUNCH OF "LOST AT 15, FOUND AT 50"
-
January 18-20, 2019 | KOLKATA LITERARY FESTIVAL, INDIA
-
Featured in Panel discussions:
-
"The Song of the Road: On Travel Writing"
-
"First Draft of History: Responsible Journalism Today"
-
-
-
February 13, 2019 | "LOST AT 15, FOUND AT 50" BOOK LAUNCH @ India International Center, New Delhi, India
-
February 20, 2019 | BOOK READING OF "LOST AT 15, FOUND AT 50" @ Atta Galatta Bookstore, Bangalore, India
-
May 16, 2019 | AMERICAN CLUB LITERARY EVENING @ Singapore
Singapore Writers Festival- Panel discussions
India Unbound- Ravi Velloor, Amardeep Singh, Nisid Hajari. Moderated by Ashwini Devare
November, 2016
The Indian Condition- Moderator, Ashwini Devare
November, 2015
Book Launch of Batik Rain at Singapore Writers Festival
November, 2014
Imagining India- Amit Choudhuri, Githa Hariharan, Chris Raja, Melizarani Selva. Moderated by Ashwini Devare
How We Write- Moderator Ashwini Devare
October, 2016
On Who We Are- with Mohsin Hamid, Rosemary Seyer, Monica Cantieni, Antoine Cassar. Moderator Ashwini Devare
October, 2015
Influenced by Indonesia- Moderator Ashwini Devare
October, 2015
India's Daughters- speaker, Ashwini Devare
October, 2015
Rape: Weapon of Mass Terror- Moderated by Ashwini Devare
October, 2014
Book Launch of Batik Rain at Ubud Writers Festival
October, 2014
Women, Law & Relationships- with Mrunalini Deshmukh, Mona Verma, Sujata Parasher. Moderator Ashwini Devare
September, 2016
Speaker; Cross-Cultural Journeys
January, 2015
Book Reading of Batik Rain
2014
Oxford Bookstore, Kolkata
Book Reading of Batik Rain
March, 2014
International Center, New Delhi
Book Launch of Batik Rain
Feb, 2014
past
Ashwini is a former reporter with BBC’s Asia Business Report and CNBC India.
Her first book, Batik Rain (2014) is a collection of short stories that received critical acclaim.
Ashwini is a regular moderator and speaker at leading literary festivals in Asia.
Ashwini began her broadcasting career in Maryland, USA, where she worked as a reporter/presenter for CTV News for five years.
Ashwini graduated from American University in Washington DC with a Master’s degree in Broadcast Journalism.
Her articles have featured in regional publications including Jakarta Post, Straits Times and Deccan Chronicle (India).
She finds inspiration for her writing through music and nature, both of which she says unfailingly fire up the imagination.
Books
Coming
Soon
Lost at 15, Found at 50
a memoir
Batik Rain and Other Stories
ARTICLES
Deccan Herald: What rogue flyers can learn from S Korea
The ‘chappal’ assault by Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad brings to mind an interesting parallel to an airline incident that embroiled South Korea two years ago.
June 19, 2017
Straits Times: Educating Its Girls Must Be India’s Top Task
Empowering young women to take charge of their lives and not be forced into early marriages will benefit all, including the economy
September 3, 2015
Business Standard: Singapore’s Accidental Diplomat
A young boy stood under a large Tembusu tree in the botanical gardens. He dreamt that one day his country would be free, just like the heritage tree, with its branches reaching for the sky.
July 30, 2014
Jakarta Post: India Indonesia Relations
Today, a resource hungry India, eager to boost its presence in Southeast Asia, is wooing resource-rich Indonesia. The unquenchable thirst for energy has Indian companies flocking to Indonesia, infusing a new vigor into a centuries-old friendship that was fairly forgotten and neglected until the start of this decade. Housed in the same continent and separated […]
November 18, 2011
Jakarta Post: Japan-Standing Tall on Shaky Ground
One month ago, the destiny of thousands of Japanese was altered when nature unleashed its unbridled fury on the world’s third largest economy. Today, the story may have slipped from the front pages of global newspapers, but in Japan, the roar of the tsunami continues to haunt. Standing taller than the monster tsunami that pummeled […]
April 13, 2011
Jakarta Post: India’s Killing Fields
Indian activists from the Social Unity Center of India (SUCI) shout slogans against the state government in protest against the gang-rape and murder of two girls in the district of Badaun in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh and recent rapes in the eastern state of West Bengal, in Kolkata on June 7, 2014.
June 15, 2014
CNN-IBN: Isles Dispute in Asia
Singapore: The solitary islands in the East China Sea used to be the fancy of poets and fishermen. But today, these rocky outposts, once shrouded in anonymity, are at the heart of a tug of war churning the waters between Asia’s two biggest economies. The cluster of islands, which Japan calls Senkaku and China, Diaoyu, […]
February 1, 2013
Straits Times: India’s Population Time Bomb
Fatigue and Anxiety line Rajeshwari’s face as she waits in the scorching heat, clutching her two-year-old son’s hand…
October 22, 2009
We were lured by the gorgeous sarees in silk and gold…
October 1, 2010
Deccan Chronicle: The Year of the Snake
Festivities are in full swing across Asia. The Year of the Snake is sliding in amidst fireworks and lively lantern displays. Even while the Chinese follow the Gregorian, Western calendar, it is the lunar one, which determines the Spring Festival, and remains one of the biggest annual celebrations amongst Chinese communities world over. It begins […]
February 17, 2013