Poet Keki N Daruwalla
Credit: Facebook/ Keki Daruwalla
New Delhi: Celebrated English poet and former IPS officer Keki N Daruwalla died at a Delhi hospital after prolonged illness and a spell of pneumonia, his daughter Anaheita Kapadia said on Friday. He was 87.
Daruwalla, one of India's best known writers in English, died on Thursday night.
"He had a stroke a year ago and hadn't been keeping well since. There were stroke related complications. But it wasn't a stroke this time, he basically died of pneumonia," Kapadia told PTI.
Daruwalla, also known for his short stories, is survived by two daughters, Anaheita and Rookvain, sons-in-law and four grandchildren.
The last rites will be performed on Friday at 4.30 pm at Parsi Aramgah near Khan Market.
Born in Lahore in 1937, Daruwalla studied at Government College in Ludhiana. He joined the Indian Police Services (Uttar Pradesh cadre) in 1958 and rose through the ranks to becoming special assistant on international affairs to then prime minister Charan Singh.
He later joined the Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW) where he was promoted to the rank of secretary, R&AW.
Even though he led a successful career in police and later at R&AW, it was his literary acumen that gained him national and international repute.
Daruwalla's first book of poetry, "Under Orion", was published in 1970. Two years later, he received the Uttar Pradesh State Award for his second book, "Apparition in April".
He also won the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1984, which he returned in October 2015 in protest against Sahitya Akademi's failure "to speak out against ideological collectives that have used physical violence against authors".