Ved Mehta, a native of Lahore, India, has been blind since childhood. He received his B.A. from Balliol College, Oxford and his M.A. from Harvard University in 1961. He has been on staff at the New Yorker magazine since 1961 and has written numerous articles on life in 20th-century India. A prolific author of more than 20 books and essay collections, Mehta's works include "Face to Face," "Walking the Indian Streets" and "Remembering Mr. Shawn's New Yorker: The Invisible Art of Editing.
