Deepa Agarwal, nee Rawat, was born in Almora, Uttarakhand, a small town in the Himalayan region of India. Her father was a doctor and her mother a schoolteacher. One of six siblings, Deepa spent her childhood in the picturesque Kumaon region which forms the background of many of her books. Childhood escapades have provided material for stories like "Fire", about an incident when she and her friend accidentally set the pine forest around her home on fire. Deepa's family history too, has inspired books like CARAVAN TO TIBET. Her grandfather belonged to a nomadic tribe known as the Shaukas, who traveled to Tibet to trade. When he converted to Christianity and married an indigo planter's daughter, he had to leave his community and settled in Almora. Deepa did her master's in English from the University of Allahabad, where she met her future husband Dilip. She taught English in a Delhi University college for a few years, then opted to become a homemaker. In the mid 80's she took up free-lance writing and eventually made a name in the genre of children's literature. However, she writes poetry and fiction for adults as well and has translated Hindi classics like CHANDRAKANTA into English. At present Deepa lives in Delhi, India. She has three daughters, Garima, Sonali and Geetika and five grandchildren: Adya, Kartik, Aanya, Anika and Ahan.