Prof. Malashri Lal, writer and academic with twenty one books to her credit, retired as Professor, English Department,  University of Delhi. Her publications include Tagore and the Feminine (2015) as well as her engagement with mythology in the ‘goddess trilogy’ (co-edited with Namita Gokhale) In Search of Sita (2009, 2018),  Finding Radha (2018) , and Treasures of Lakshmi (2024). Betrayed by Hope: A Play on the Life of Michael Madhusudan Dutt (2020), co-authored with Namita Gokhale, received the Kalinga Fiction Award. Lal recently published Mandalas of Time: Poems (2023) which has been acclaimed widely. She is   currently Convener, English Advisory Board of the Sahitya Akademi.