Born in Cuttack,[1] Bahuguna grew up in Goa, and moved to Delhi during her high school years. She attended Delhi University for her undergraduate degree,[2] and graduated from the University of East Anglia with a master's degree in creative writing (poetry) in 2014.[3] As of 2017[update] she lived in Delhi.[3]
In 2017 she was awarded the Emerging Poet's Prize by the (Great) Indian Poetry Collective for her debut collection of poems, Terrarium.[3] She was selected for the award by Aimee Nezhukumatathil. The collection was described by the HuffPost as "the poetry of our planet [...] terrestrial, atmospheric, oceanic",[4] and a review by The Hindu said that Bahuguna's poetry "will draw your attention to our fragile planet, making you fall in love with it".[5] She has also received the Charles Wallace India Trust Fellowship, a Sangam House fellowship, an Eclectica Spotlight Author Prize, and a TOTO Award for Creative Writing.[6]
In 2021 she published a collection of essays titled No Straight Thing Was Ever Made: Essays on Mental Health.[7]The Hindu said that the collection "comforts, confronts and challenges" readers.[8] In 2022, her poetry was included in The Penguin Book of Indian Poets, edited by Jeet Thayil; she is one of the youngest writers included in the anthology.[9]
Selected works
Terrarium (The (Great) Indian Poetry Collective, 2019)
No Straight Thing Was Ever Made: Essays on Mental Health (Penguin Random House, 2021)
