Chopra, Gotham 1975–

PERSONAL: Born February 23, 1975; in Boston, MA, son of Deepak (an author and spiritual advisor) and Rita Chopra. Education: Graduate of Columbia University.

ADDRESSES: Agent—c/o Author Mail, Random House, 1745 Broadway, New York, NY 10019.

CAREER: Writer. Former anchor and correspondent for Channel One.

WRITINGS:

Child of the Dawn: A Magical Journey of Awakening, foreword by Deepak Chopra, Amber-Allen Publishing (San Rafael, CA), 1996.

Familiar Strangers: Uncommon Wisdom in Unlikely Places, Doubleday (New York, NY), 2002.

Writer of comic-book series Bulletproof Monk.

ADAPTATIONS: Bulletproof Monk was adapted for film starring Chow Yun-Fat, 2002.

SIDELIGHTS: Gotham Chopra is the son of Deepak Chopra, noted author of spiritual self-help books. The younger Chopra became a correspondent for the commercial Channel One that is beamed into high schools around the country and covered the world's hot spots until 2003, when he left that position. Chopra's experiences with Channel One led him to write his second book, Familiar Strangers: Uncommon Wisdom in Unlikely Places.

Chopra emphasizes that within all of the populations he has spoken with, people are consistent in their desire for safety and the ability to care for their families. A Publishers Weekly contributor called the book "a curious amalgam of New Age spirituality and war reporting" and felt that Chopra's account of a death "at the hands of an angry Muslim mob is worthy of a book unto itself."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

New York Times, March 7, 1999, Cheech Marin, "The Son Also Oms," p. ST1.

Publishers Weekly, April 15, 2002, review of Familiar Strangers: Uncommon Wisdom in Unlikely Places, p. 50.

ONLINE

SAJA, http://www.saja.org/ (July 18, 2002), interview with Chopra.