Nobel Prize winning author Sir V.S. Naipaul passes away, aged 85

The world remembers the Nobel Laureate and Booker Prize winning author V.S. Naipaul, who passes away at his home in London last Saturday.

British writer and Nobel Prize laureate Sir Vidiadhar Surajprasad Naipaul, better known as V. S. Naipaul, passed away last Saturday at the age of 85, at his home in London. During his 5-decade long prosperous literary career, Naipaul published more than 30 novels and works of non-fiction that revolved around stories from India, Africa, the Islamic nations, and the American continents.

Naipaul just missed his 86th birthday which was right around the corner, on August 17. The internet poured forth tributes on Sunday morning, with writer Salman Rushdie and Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressing their condolences on Twitter.

We disagreed all our lives, about politics, about literature, and I feel as sad as if I just lost a beloved older brother. RIP Vidia. #VSNaipaul

— Salman Rushdie (@SalmanRushdie) August 12, 2018

Sir VS Naipaul will be remembered for his extensive works, which covered diverse subjects ranging from history, culture, colonialism, politics and more. His passing away is a major loss to the world of literature. Condolences to his family and well wishers in this sad hour.

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) August 12, 2018

Born of Indian ancestry to a migrant family in Trinidad, Naipaul received a scholarship to study at Oxford University when he was young. Although a man of evident greatness, he struggled to have confidence in his abilities in his younger day, falling into depression and working odd jobs. Settling in England, he went on to write world-renowned novels on the impact of colonialism. He blurred fact and fiction, inculcating elements from his own life into factual content. Known for his bold views on religion and politics, Naipaul was often declared, in the same breath, as one of the finest writers of the 20th century as well as a bearer of scorn!

The book that caught everyone’s attention was the 1961 novel A House for Mr Biswas, and Naipaul received the Man Booker Prize in 1971 for In A Free State. He was knighted in 1990.