Anosh Irani

Who is Anosh Irani?

Anosh Irani is an Indian-Canadian novelist and playwright. An Irani, he was born and raised in Mumbai, although he has indicated that he personally prefers the city's traditional English name, Bombay. After working in advertising in India, he moved to Vancouver in 1998 to study and pursue writing.

His first full-length play, The Matka King, premiered in October 2003 at the Arts Club Theatre Company in Vancouver. His play, Bombay Black, won four Dora Awards, including Outstanding New Play. Irani was also featured in Quill & Quire as one of a handful of young Canadian “writers to watch.”

He published his debut novel, The Cripple and His Talismans, in 2004. This dark fable won critical acclaim for its magic realist depiction of the seedy beggars' underworld of India.

Irani's second novel, The Song of Kahunsha, was chosen as a CBC Book Club One pick, and was selected for the 2007 edition of Canada Reads, where it was championed by Donna Morrissey. Kahunsha is a story about the abandoned children of Bombay, struggling for survival and to hold onto hope amidst the violence of the 1993 racial riots.

His third novel, Dahanu Road, was published in 2010.