Amulya Malladi

As to how Malladi came up with the title and names of the characters from The Mango Season, she said in an interview that unless she has a title of the book she is writing, she cannot move on. Same is the case with the names of her characters from her works of literature. Most of the influences on her characters came from her Hyderabad connection, which she corroborated by saying, "I think it’s easier to write about a place you’ve lived in. The research element definitely shrinks and you can write more confidently. I also feel I have an obligation to write about a place I’ve lived in. I have moved a lot in my life, as a child and even as an adult, and I just feel that it would be such a waste if I wouldn’t write about the places I have lived in." She said that writing this book was like taking a trip to Hyderabad.

After three miscarriages, Silicon Valley residents Priya and Madu make one more attempt at parenthood, this time via a surrogate in Madu's native India. The surrogate, Asha, already has two children, but is lacking in everything else. Searching for a way to secure a good future for her gifted son, she reluctantly agrees to carry Priya and Madu's baby inside her. While Priya's choices are questioned by her family and friends in the United States, Asha must hide her pregnancy for fear of societal shaming, residing in the Happy Mother's House away from her family for most of her pregnancy. A House for Happy Mother’s received a starred review from Booklist, who said it "examines India’s surrogacy industry with honesty and grace."

In an interview, she spoke about the influences behind her first book, A Breath of Fresh Air (2002). While she was nine years old, her family was living in the Indian city of Bhopal because her father was posted in the Corps of Electrical and Mechanical Engineers. During that time, on the night of 3 December 1984, methyl isocyanate gas leaked from Bhopal's Union Carbide plant that killed many people. When this gas tragedy occurred, her family and she were staying at the Army Center which was a few kilometers away from the plant. Due to the wind that blew in a direction opposite to theirs, they remained unaffected by the gas leak. However, she remembered how those affected described the methyl isocyanate gas as chili powder in their lungs. These images stayed with her and took the form of a story, which she wanted to tell but had no idea how to. While living in Utah, the writing process for her first novel began.

Amulya Malladi (born 1974 in Sagar, Madhya Pradesh, India) is an author. She earned her bachelor's degree in electronics engineering from Osmania University, Hyderabad, India and her masters degree in journalism from the University of Memphis, Tennessee, United States.

Amulya Malladi was born in 1974 in a small town called Sagar, in the central state of Madhya Pradesh in India. Due to Malladi's father's occupation in the Indian Army, Amulya lived all over the country ranging from the Himalayan foothills to the southern city of Madras.