Saaz Aggarwal
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- biographer, oral historian, artist
Saaz Aggarwal | |
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| Born | 5 October 1961 |
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Saaz Aggarwal (born 1961) is a Pune-based Indian-English writer, biographer, oral historian, independent researcher, and artist. Best known for her extensive efforts in documenting the culture, heritage, and Partition experiences of the Sindhi diaspora, her writing and art also prominently feature themes of satire and parody.[1][2]
Saaz was born in Bombay (now Mumbai) in 1961 and grew up in the Nilgiris, where her father worked as a tea planter. She attended boarding school from the age of five,[3] spending her final six years at The Lawrence School, Lovedale.[4] Saaz pursued a Bachelor of Science in mathematics at Jai Hind College, Mumbai, followed by an Master of Science in mathematics at Mumbai University in 1982.
Language, loss and cultural exploration
Saaz's upbringing was shaped by her multicultural heritage, which was uncommon for the time. Her father belonged to the Chitrapur Saraswat Brahmin community, while her mother was Sindhi, both from families with multiple generations of formal education.[5][6]
Despite her multicultural upbringing and the influence of many languages, English became her primary language of expression. This linguistic identity became a focal point during the Jaipur Literature Festival in January 2023, where she was initially invited to join a panel on Sindhi literature. After explaining her inability to contribute in Sindhi, the panel was restructured to focus on "Mother Tongue," allowing her to share her perspectives on language loss and identity.[7][8]
Early career and journalism
From December 1982 to March 1986, Saaz taught undergraduate Mathematics at Ruparel College, Mumbai, and took a career break when she had a baby in 1986.[9][10] Her transition to writing professionally began after becoming a single parent in 1989. She began contributing articles to various Mumbai publications, and in December 1990, was appointed Features Editor at The Times of India, where she launched Ascent, a human resources supplement.
In 1993, after marrying Ajay Aggarwal, Saaz moved to Pune. For the next few years, she was Pune correspondent for Femina and contributed regular columns and articles to local and national publications, including Maharashtra Herald, Indian Express, Sunday Mid-Day, Verve, and Outlook. From 1998 to 2006, Saaz worked as Head of Human Resources and Quality at Seacom, an Information Technology company co-founded with her husband, eventually selling Seacom to Zensar in 2006.[11] In 2006, Saaz began writing weekly book reviews for the Sunday Mid-Day, covering a variety of genres and interviewing authors including at the Jaipur Literature Festival.
Memoirs and corporate biographies
Beginning in 2006, Saaz started helping individuals and corporations document their histories. Notable works include:
- Did I Really Do All This (2024) memoirs of Vijay Raman, published by Rupa Publications.
- Building Dreams (2022) memoirs of Vasudevan Ramamoorthy, founding Chairman of Vascon Engineers Ltd.
- The Weikfield Legacy Stories (2022).
- An Elephant Kissed My Window and other stories from the tea plantations of South India (2019) co-written with M. Ravindran.[12]
- Even Against All Odds (2019) memoirs of Sunder Advani, a pioneer of India's luxury hotel segment.
- The Forbes Marshall Story (2016) – Corporate history of Forbes Marshall.
- Forgotten Tales from my Village, Harwai (2015) – memoirs of Hari Gobind Narayan Dubey.
- Odyssey (2014) – memoirs of Dr. N.P. Tolani.
- Bicycles, Boilers, and Beliefs (2011) – memoirs of Darius Forbes.
- The Spirit of Sandvik (2010) – Corporate history of Sandvik Asia.
- There’s No Such Thing as a Self-Made Man (2008) – memoirs of P.P. Chhabria, founder of Finolex.[13]
- Doing it My Way (2006) – memoirs of S.P. Malhotra, founder of Weikfield.