A well-traveled professional, born in Kolkata during India’s independence era. His father was a professor at the University of Calcutta, and his mother held a bachelor’s degree in English literature. Amitava studied at La Martiniere and St. Xavier’s School, Kolkata, later obtaining a degree from IIT Kharagpur. He pursued a master’s degree from the University of Wales, UK, and a doctorate from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi.

After working in multinational corporations, he joined the Government of India. In 1979, he was posted at the Indian Embassy in Brussels to facilitate EU-India trade relations. His work in international trade took him across the globe. In 1992, he joined the United Nations as an advisor to Mongolia and traveled extensively across South Africa, Botswana, the British Virgin Islands, South Sudan, Jordan, Iraq, Rwanda, Bangladesh, and Ethiopia.

He has visited nearly seventy countries. Currently, he resides in India with his wife Anuradha, with homes in Kolkata, New Delhi, and Gurgaon. His writings have appeared in The Hindustan Times.