Everything about Vikram Seth.

1. Vikram Seth : Early Life
Vikram Seth was born on 20th June 1952. He is an Indian novelist
and poet. He has written several novels and poetry books. He spent
his childhood in Patna since his parents were posted there. He went
to St. Xavier's, a very well known school.
He spent a part of his life in London and returned to India in 1987,
and continued his primary education at Welham Boy's school and
then moved to The Doon School. He was the editor in chief of the
school's weekly magazine as well. After graduation he went to
Tonbridge School , England to complete his A-levels. There he
developed an interest in poetry and also learned Chinese. After
getting his degree from Corpus Christi College , Oxford, Seth
moved to California to work on a graduate degree in economics at
Stanford University. He then went to study creative writing at
Stanford and Classical Chinese poetry at Nanjing University in
China.
In 2006, he became a leader of the campaign against Section 377 of
the Indian Penal Code, a law against homosexuality.

2. Achievements
• 1983 – Thomas Cook Travel Book Award for From Heaven Lake:
Travels Through Sinkiang and Tibet
• 1985 – Commonwealth Poetry Prize (Asia) for The Humble
Administrator's Garden
• 1988 – Sahitya Akademi Award for The Golden Gate
• 1993 – Irish Times International Fiction Prize (shortlist) for A Suitable
Boy
• 1994 – Commonwealth Writers Prize (Overall Winner, Best Book) for
A Suitable Boy
• 1994 – WH Smith Literary Award for A Suitable Boy
• 1999 – Crossword Book Award for An Equal Music
• 2001 – EMMA (BT Ethnic and Multicultural Media Award) for Best
Book/Novel for An Equal Music
• 2005 – Pravasi Bharatiya Samman
• 2007 – Padma Shri in Literature & Education
• 2013 - The 25 Greatest Global Living Legends In India

3. Value of The Frog and the
Nightingale
In the poem ‘Frog and the Nightingale', the
nightingale had unmatched singing talent. She had a
soft, pleasant and melodious voice. Her popularity in
the Bingle Bog left its creatures enrafted and made
her discover her as a singer. It was the frog who
exploited her talent and made money. Driven by a
desire to be a Singer, she sang for long hours and lost
her sleep and thus was exhausted. The nightingale
was herself to blame for her tragic end. It was more
of nightingale’s gullibility than the frog’s scheming
that led to her downfall and death. We should be
aware of such type of greedy, money-minded,
hypocritical, inconsiderate and selfish people.

4. Poetry Similar to The Frog and
the Nightingale
• A poem that is somewhat similar to Vikram Seth’s poetry is ‘The Ant and The
Cricket’ by an Anonymous poet. Because both these poem’s are fables that
includes animals with a moral. Here are a few lines from the poem:
“A silly young cricket, accustomed to sing
Through the warm, sunny months of gay summer and spring,
Began to complain when he found that, at home,
His cupboard was empty, and winter was come.
Not a crumb to be found
On the snow-covered ground;
Not a flower could he see,
Not a leaf on a tree.”

5. Comparison Between the Two
PoetsVIKRAM SETH V.S. ANONYMOUS
Here both poem’s are fables , like most fables it has got a moral.
‘The Frog and the Nightingale’ by Vikram Seth uses
mutiple poetic devices , including ; alliteration ,
onomatopoeia , imagery , metaphor and personification.
Readers can also view the poem as exploitation of
someone's talent for personal gain or as a poem about a
jealous person who does not let real talent flourish. There
is another subject the poet touched upon: a lack of
confidence that leads to disaster and the poet comments
that one must recognize his own capabilities and should
not try to emulate others.
‘The Ant and the Cricket’ by Anonymous uses poetic
devices such as rhymes and metaphors all over the poem.
The poet also points out that by just sitting around and
by doing nothing , nothing can be accomplished. This
poem tells the readers that ‘Hardwork is the stepping
stone towards success’.

6. Anthology of Such Poetry’s
• A Night With A Wolf by James Bayard Taylor
• The Fly by William Blake
• The Moose by Elizabeth Bishop
• Skunk Hour by Robert Lowell
• Ode To A Nightingale by John Keats
• A Dog Has Died by Pablo Neruda
• The Snail by William Cowper
• Snake by Theodore Roethke
• The Bear by Galway Kinell
• Deer by John Drinkwater
• The Donkey by Gilbert Keith Chesterton
• The Caterpillar by Robert Graves
• The Maldive Shark by Herman Melville
• Why Nobody Pets The Lion At The Zoo by John Ciardi

7. Short Quiz
1. When was Vikram Seth born?
A. 20th June 1952 B. 19th June 1969
2. Where did Vikram Seth spend his childhood?
A. West Bengal B. Patna
3. In which weather does the nightingale not prefer to sing?
A. Sunny weather B. Rainy weather
4. What did the frog claim to be?
A. A great teacher B. The owner of the Sumac tree
5. Why were the animals of the Bog dumbstruck?
A. The frog sang very well B. The nightingale sang melodiously
Answers
1. A 2. B 3.B 4.B 5.B

8. THANK YOU
• This was presented to you by :
• Renita
• Sajina Francis
• Sidra Moosa
• Sneha Sarkar
• Aadithya Shankar
• Abhishek Ramesh
• Daves Jude
Of Class X A