Author Feature:

             Nidhi Dugar Kundalia

Nidhi Dugar Kundalia is an Indian journalist and author from Kolkata, best known for her deeply empathetic and evocative narrative nonfiction. A graduate of City University London, she has worked with leading media outlets before dedicating herself to long form storytelling. Her writing sits at the crossroads of journalism and literature as she blends reportage, oral history, and human observation to document the changing face of India.

Her debut book, The Lost Generation: Chronicling India’s Dying Professions (2016), explores the lives of people who belong to professions that are slowly disappearing in modern India. Through a series of real life portraits, from a letter writer in Mumbai to a professional mourner in Rajasthan, Kundalia captures the fading echoes of India’s traditional occupations with rare sensitivity. The book serves both as social commentary and as a tribute to those who live on the margins of the country’s economic and cultural transitions.

In her second book, White as Milk and Rice: Stories of India’s Isolated Tribes (2021), she travels across India to document lesser known tribal communities. With a blend of journalism, travel writing, and cultural anthropology, she brings to life the voices of the Onge, Konyak, and other tribes whose traditions and stories are slowly being erased by modernization. Her writing is marked by quiet compassion, curiosity, and a deep respect for the people she writes about.

Published by Penguin India, Nidhi Dugar Kundalia’s work has been praised for preserving vanishing worlds with both journalistic accuracy and literary grace. Through her books, she reminds readers of the importance of listening to those whose stories often go unheard in the rush of modern life.

Sources: 

1.   Penguin India Author Page

Nidhi Dugar Kundalia — Penguin Random House India

2. Listed author on Goodreads: Goodreads — Nidhi Dugar Kundalia

Penguin India, The Hindu, Hindustan Times, Eshé Magazine, Goodreads