Aubrey Menen

Salvator Aubrey Clarence Menen was an English writer of Irish and Malayali parentage who was primarily a satirist. He was also a drama critic, theater director, advertising agency executive, and an alumnus of University College London. His essays and novels explore the nature of nationalism and the cultural contrast between his own Irish-Indian ancestry and his traditional British upbringing. The first sentence of "Dead Man in the Silver Market" offers an example of his good-humored approach to this contentious topic: "Men of all races have always sought for a convincing explanation of their own astonishing excellence and they have frequently found what they were looking for."

Menen's 1954 retelling of the classic Hindu epic Ramayana meant as a funny and readable version of the work was banned in India for some years, as devout Hindus were horrified by the liberties Menen took with a sacred text.[1] Menen states that his goal is to, "aim at reviving," Valmiki's, "attitude of mind."[2] Menen's humor did not undercut his love for India, however, as can be seen in his book on Hindu mystics and his text to Roloff Beny's great book of photographs of India (India, 1969).