Sara Banerji (née Mostyn) (born 6 June 1932) is a British author, artist and sculptor. She was born in England, but lived in

Southern Rhodesia Southern Rhodesia was a self-governing British Crown colony in Southern Africa, established in 1923 and consisting of British South Africa Company (BSAC) territories lying south of the Zambezi River. The region was informally known as South ...

and then in India for many years. She now lives in

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

with her family.

Biography

Banerji was born in 1932, one of the children of Anita Mostyn, a novelist who wrote in the 1950s under the pen name Anne Mary Fielding, and Sir Basil Mostyn, the 13th Baronet of Mostyn, in

Stoke Poges Stoke Poges () is a village and civil parish in south-east Buckinghamshire, England. It is centred north-north-east of Slough, its post town, and is southeast of Farnham Common. In 2021, it had a population of 5,067. Geography Hamlets withi ...

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (, abbreviated ''Bucks'') is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-east, Hertfordshir ...

, in England. One of her ancestors is

Henry Fielding Henry Fielding (22 April 1707 – 8 October 1754) was an English writer and magistrate known for the use of humour and satire in his works. His 1749 comic novel ''The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling'' was a seminal work in the genre. Along wi ...

. In 1939, when Banerji was seven,

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

began, and she was evacuated to various large and old country mansions. Her father, Basil Mostyn, fought in the war. After the war was over, Banerji emigrated with her family to

, where her father grew tobacco. The family lived in a single mud

rondavel Rondavel is a style of African hut known in literature as ''cone on cylinder'' or ''cone on drum.'' The word comes from the Afrikaans ''rondawel''. Description The rondavel is usually round or oval in shape and is traditionally made with materi ...

with no electricity or running water. Banerji later travelled around

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

. She worked as an

au pair An au pair (; : au pairs) is a person working for, and living as part of, a homestay, host family. Typically, au pairs take on a share of the family’s responsibility for child care as well as some homemaking, housework, and receive a monetary ...

and also attended art school in

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

. She has worked as an artist, and held exhibitions of her oil paintings in India. She taught riding whilst in India, and has been a jockey. She is a sculptor, and has been a waitress. Banerji worked in a coffee house in Oxford, where she met her future husband, Ranjit Banerji, who was an undergraduate from India. He was a customer in the coffee house. They married and moved to India, where they lived for 17 years. Banerji attempted to run a dairy farm, but was defeated by seasons of heavy rain. The Banerji family returned to England in 1973. Ranjit and Sara had £5 each, giving the family a total of £10. Banerji borrowed money, bought some ponies at

auction An auction is usually a process of Trade, buying and selling Good (economics), goods or Service (economics), services by offering them up for Bidding, bids, taking bids, and then selling the item to the highest bidder or buying the item from th ...

and gave riding lessons. A while later, she started a gardening business in

Sussex Sussex (Help:IPA/English, /ˈsʌsɪks/; from the Old English ''Sūþseaxe''; lit. 'South Saxons'; 'Sussex') is an area within South East England that was historically a kingdom of Sussex, kingdom and, later, a Historic counties of England, ...

. Banerji now lives in

, where she has taught writing in the

Oxford University Department for Continuing Education The University of Oxford Department for Continuing Education is a department within the University of Oxford that provides continuing education mainly for part-time and mature students. It is located at Rewley House, Wellington Square, and at ...

. She and her husband, who died in 2022, practised

meditation Meditation is a practice in which an individual uses a technique to train attention and awareness and detach from reflexive, "discursive thinking", achieving a mentally clear and emotionally calm and stable state, while not judging the meditat ...

and

yogic flying The Transcendental Meditation (TM) technique is that associated with Transcendental Meditation, developed by the Indian spiritual figure Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. It uses a private mantra and is practised for 20 minutes twice per day while sitti ...

every day. They have three daughters and five grandchildren. Banerji has frequently held exhibitions of her work.

Bibliography

*''Cobwebwalking'' (1986) *''The Wedding of Jayanthi Mandel'' (1987) *''The Tea Planter's Daughter'' (1988) *''Shining Agnes'' (1991) *''Absolute Hush'' (1991) *''Writing on Skin'' (1993) *''Shining Hero'' (2002) *''The Waiting Time'' (2006) *''Blood Precious'' (2007)

References

Sources

WorldCat author page"Sara Banerji." Contemporary Authors Online. Detroit: Gale, 2001. Biography in Context. Web. 17 Jan. 2014. Gale Document Number: GALE, H1000004907

Profile at FantasticFiction

* ttp://www.erasingclouds.com/wk2305banerji.html anna battista Book Review: Sara Banerji's The Waiting Time 18 January 2014br>Indian exotica. Madhu Jain. India Today. 18 January 2014
{{DEFAULTSORT:Banerji, Sara 1932 births Living people 20th-century Indian women sculptors 21st-century Indian women sculptors 20th-century English women sculptors 21st-century English women sculptors British expatriates in Zimbabwe British expatriates in India 20th-century British writers 21st-century British writers Women writers from West Bengal