A well-known name in Hindi literature, Nirmal Verma is known mainly for his fictional works. Born on April 3, 1929, he obtained a M.A. in history from Delhi University. He studied Czech at the Oriental Institute in Prague, and has been a Fellow with the International Institute for Asian Studies. Nirmal Verma is a recipient of Indias highest literary award, the Jnanpith, and his short stories Kavve aur kala pani won the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1985. Some of his more popular novels are Antim aranya, Rat ka riportar, Ek Chithra Sukh, and Lal tin ki chat.
Vedina, his first novel, is set in Prague, Czechoslavakia. Like all his works, it is rich in symbolism with a style that is simple yet sophisticated. As one of the most important prose Hindi writers of our times, Nirmal Vermas creativity extends to the description and travel to places in Europe especially on Czechoslovakia and literary criticism. Among his nonfiction writings is Kal ka jokhim an investigation of the Indic arts in the 20th century. His diary, Dhundh se uthati dhun, describes his life in detail while addressing issues related to Hindi literature. His works have been widely translated into English and Gujarati.