Keki Daruwalla (1937–2024) was an Indian poet and fiction writer whose literary life ran alongside a career in the Indian Police Service. Poet and critic Sukrita Paul Kumar described his craft as sculpting words with “a sensitive ear for rhythm and a keen sense of metre.” His writing ranged from poetry to short fiction, a novella and children’s poetry; his best-known milestones include his 1970 debut collection, Under Orion, and The Keeper of the Dead, which won the Sahitya Akademi Award for English poetry in 1984.
Who was Keki Daruwalla?
Born in Lahore in 1937, Daruwalla joined the Indian Police Service in 1958. Penguin Random House India says he retired in 1995 as Chairman of the Joint Intelligence Committee (JIC). His working life in public service and his literary career were not separate biographies: both placed him in contact with institutions, histories and social realities that also appear in accounts of his writing. The Tribune’s obituary likewise presents him as a writer who held a senior public-service career.
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The poetry of Keki N. Daruwalla: A critical study (Indian writers series) | $26.11 | Buy on Amazon |
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Collected Poems: 1970 - 2005 | $14.00 | Buy on Amazon |
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Landfall | $35.00 | Buy on Amazon |
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Fire Altar: Poems on the Persians and the Greeks | $9.99 | Buy on Amazon |
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Daruwalla died on 26 September 2024 after a long illness, according to Kumar’s tribute in Scroll. He was 87.
What did “a sculptor of words” mean in his poetry?
Kumar’s phrase is a critical description, not the result of a published technical survey of Daruwalla’s metres. It points to the attention she heard in his language: rhythm and metre were part of how he shaped a poem, rather than decoration added after its subject was chosen. The phrase also suggests a writer attentive to the sound and physical texture of words.
That formal care coexisted with subjects rooted in history and society. In her tribute, Kumar highlights “Migrations,” a poem that asks what history would contain without migration: “If there had been no migrations / Would there have been enough / History to munch on?” The question makes movement and displacement a way of thinking about how history is made, not just a backdrop to it.
Daruwalla also resisted the idea that a fixed place of origin automatically confers meaning or value. Kumar quotes him: “This myth of roots is overplayed. There is nothing great in being in the same hell hole.” Read alongside “Migrations,” the remark complicates easy claims about belonging: a life shaped by movement need not be treated as a lesser or rootless one.
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Where should a reader begin?
Under Orion: the 1970 debut
Under Orion, published in 1970, was Daruwalla’s first poetry collection. Poetry International records Nissim Ezekiel’s response to it as “impressive evidence not only of mature poetic talent but of literary stamina, intellectual strength and social awareness”. The debut is a useful starting point for readers interested in the beginning of his published poetic career. Poetry International’s biography identifies it as his first book; its publisher, Writers Workshop India, also identifies it as his first poetry book.
The Keeper of the Dead: the award-winning collection
The Sahitya Akademi’s official award list records Keki N. Daruwalla’s The Keeper of the Dead as the 1984 English award-winning work in the Poetry category. Writers Workshop India says the collection appeared in 1982. Those dates describe different milestones: the book’s publication and its later award. The award listing is available from the Sahitya Akademi.
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Going and Landfall: later work in different genres
Daruwalla’s output was not limited to poetry. Penguin Random House India describes his work as including short fiction, a novella and children’s poetry. Kumar notes that he published Going, a short-story collection, and Landfall, a poetry collection, in 2022. These later titles show two distinct strands of his writing rather than a single genre or a definitive ranking of his books.
What honors did Daruwalla receive?
- 1984 Sahitya Akademi Award for English poetry: the Akademi’s official list names The Keeper of the Dead as the winning work.
- 1987 Commonwealth Poetry Prize for Asia: reported by Kumar in her tribute.
- 2014 Padma Shri: also reported by Kumar.
The award dates are milestones in his public recognition; they do not, on their own, settle which of his books a reader should consider his finest.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Why does Daruwalla’s career span matter?
Daruwalla’s identity as both a senior civil servant and a poet is part of the context for reading him, but it should not reduce the poems to biography. His writing encompasses poetic form, historical memory and social awareness, while his prose and children’s writing demonstrate a broader range of genres. Kumar’s tribute describes “Migrations” through the pressure of history and movement; Poetry International’s account of Under Orion preserves Ezekiel’s emphasis on social awareness. Together, those accounts suggest a writer whose formal attention and engagement with the world belong in the same picture.
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