Dom Moraes

Poet

Dom Moraes was born in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India on July 19th, 1938 and is the Poet. At the age of 65, Dom Moraes biography, profession, age, height, weight, eye color, hair color, build, measurements, education, career, dating/affair, family, news updates, and networth are available.

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Date of Birth
July 19, 1938
Nationality
India
Place of Birth
Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
Death Date
Jun 2, 2004 (age 65)
Zodiac Sign
Cancer
Profession
Author, Journalist, Poet, Writer
Dom Moraes Height, Weight, Eye Color and Hair Color

At 65 years old, Dom Moraes physical status not available right now. We will update Dom Moraes's height, weight, eye color, hair color, build, and measurements.

Height
Not Available
Weight
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Hair Color
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Eye Color
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Build
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Measurements
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Dom Moraes Religion, Education, and Hobbies
Religion
Not Available
Hobbies
Not Available
Education
Jesus College, Oxford
Dom Moraes Spouse(s), Children, Affair, Parents, and Family
Spouse(s)
Henrietta Moraes (m. 1961), Judith Moraes, Leela Naidu (1969–1992; separated)
Children
Francis Moraes
Dating / Affair
Not Available
Parents
Not Available
Siblings
Frank Moraes (father), Beryl Moraes (mother), Teresa Albuquerque (aunt)
Dom Moraes Life

Dominic Francis Moraes (19 July 1938 – 2 June 2004) was an Indian writer and poet who published nearly 30 books in English language.

He is widely seen as a foundational figure in Indian English literature.

His poems are a meaningful and substantial contribution to Indian and World literature.

Early life

Dom Moraes was born in Bombay (now Mumbai) to Beryl and Frank Moraes, former editor of The Times of India and later The Indian Express. He had a tormented relationship with his mother Beryl, who had been confined to a mental asylum since his childhood. His aunt was the historian Teresa Albuquerque. He attended the city's St. Mary's School, and then left for England to enrol at Jesus College, Oxford.

Moraes spent eight years in Britain (in London and Oxford), New York City, Hong Kong, Delhi and Bombay (now Mumbai).

Later life

He had a lifelong battle with alcoholism. Moraes suffered from cancer, but refused treatment and died from a heart attack in Bandra, Mumbai. He was buried in the city's Sewri Cemetery and as per his last wishes Sarayu Srivatsa buried the soil from his grave in Odcombe, Somerset, on 19 July 2002 (his birthdate). Many of Dom's old friends and publishers attended the memorial service in Odcombe. A headstone in yellow Jaisalmer stone lies embedded in the front lawn of the Church of St Peter and St Paul to mark the service.

In 1961–62 he was one of the very few public Indian figures to strongly criticize the Indian Army takeover of Goa, land of his forefathers – Daman and Diu from Portuguese India. He tore up his Indian passport on TV in protest. He was later allowed back in the country.

When the Gujarat riots erupted in 2002, with their heavy toll of Muslim dead, Moraes left for Ahmedabad the minute the news came through, saying that since he was a Catholic, Muslims would not see him as an enemy. Even though he was physically in considerable pain by then, he was one of the first on the scene.

Moraes ended his writing career, writing books in collaboration with Sarayu Srivatsa.

Personal life

In 1956, aged 18, he was courted by Audrey Wendy Abbott who later changed her name to Henrietta. They married in 1961. He left her, according to his close friends in London, but did not divorce her. He had a son, Francis Moraes, with his second wife Judith, whom he divorced, and returned to India in 1968. In 1969, he married the Indian actress Leela Naidu. They were treated as a star couple, and known across the world for over two decades. Their marriage ended in a separation. For the last 13 years of his life he lived with Sarayu Srivatsa, with whom he co-authored two books.

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Dom Moraes Career

Career

In 1957, David Archer published Moraes' first collection of poems, A Beginning. He was 19 years old at the start of the Hawthorn Prize, becoming the first Indian to win the Hawthorn Prize and receiving a £100 and a silver medal from Lord David Cecil at the Arts Council of Britain on July 10, 1958.

He edited journals in London, Hong Kong, and New York. In 1971, he became the editor of The Asia Magazine. For the BBC and ITV, he produced and partially directed over 20 television documentaries. He served as a war correspondent in Algeria, Israel, and Vietnam. He joined the United Nations in 1976.

Moraes conducted one of the first interviews of the Dalai Lama after the Tibetan spiritual leader fled to India in 1959. The Dalai Lama was 23 years old when Moraes 20 20.

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Dom Moraes Awards

Awards and recognitions

  • Hawthornden Prize for the best work of the imagination, 1958, for the book of poems A Beginning
  • Autumn Choice of the Poetry Book Society for Poems (1960)