Delhi-based author wins C’wealth prize

British-Indian author Rana Dasgupta (38) won the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize for ‘Best Book’ on Monday for his second book Solo.

British-Indian author Rana Dasgupta (38) won the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize for ‘Best Book’ on Monday for his second book Solo.

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Rana won a prize of £10,000 (Rs 8.5 lakh), beating three other finalists — from South Africa, Canada and Samoa. The award was given by MoS for External Affairs, Shashi Tharoor.

Solo is a story told by a 100-year-old Bulgarian, and includes a cast of riveting characters, among them talking parrots.

Though Dasgupta was born in Britain and holds a British passport, he has been based in Delhi for over eight years now. His first novel Tokyo Cancelled had also drawn enormous praise.

Australian author Glenda Guest’s Siddon Rock won for Best First Book.