Vinod Kumar Shukla is a modern Hindi writer known for his style that often borders on magic-realism. His works include the novels Naukar ki Kameez and Deewar Mein Ek Khirkee Rahati Thi (A Window lived in a Wall), which won the Sahitya Akademi Award for the best Hindi work in 1999. He was born on 1 January 1937 in Rajnandgaon, Chhattisgarh (then Madhya Pradesh). His first collection of poems Lagbhag Jai Hind was published in 1971. Vah Aadmi Chala Gaya Naya Garam Coat Pehankar Vichar Ki Tarah was his second collection of poems, published in 1981 by Sambhavna Prakashan. Naukar Ki Kameez (The Servant's Shirt) was his first novel, brought out in 1979 by the same publisher. Per Par Kamra (Room on the Tree), a collection of short stories, was brought out in 1988, and another collection of poems in 1992, Sab Kuch Hona Bacha Rahega.