Nanda Ballabh Awasthi was born on 18th August 1963 in a remote Uttarakhand hamlet named Pantgaon/Naret. In the shadow of the towering Himalayan peaks and nestled between Nepal and the Chinese border, it was in this forgotten corner of the country that the author cultivated a sense of endless curiosity and grounded independence. The author grew up in a poor Brahmin family residing in the erstwhile princely state of Askot. His family has suffered several setbacks, he witnessed great hardship as a child including having his education cut short due to financial constraints. The long journey of self-realization began early in his life as he witnessed the suffering and inequalities that plagued the world. Seeking answers to his countless unanswered questions, he dug deeper to explore the nature of our world and what we call our reality. In his youth, he was impassioned by the Uttarakhand statehood movement for which he fought and was spent years of his life. There were also numerous failed attempts at earning a livelihood. Persevering through these experiences the author developed a strong spiritual foundation early in life. He started writing and now uses his nickname “Amogh”.

The author has spent a total of 35 years working in research, social work, and government. With the help of various national and international development institutes, he has dedicated his life to improving the conditions of the hill communities in Kumaon, currently focusing his attention on the Pindar valley in the Bageshwar district.

The author married late in his life at the age of 34 to Leela Pant, daughter of renowned freedom fighter Tara Dutt Pant. He now resides in Devanagari (Berinag), a small village near the famous tourist town of Chaukori in the Pithoragarh district of Uttarakhand. He lives with his wife Leela, their daughter Palak and son Divya Darshan. He works full-time in a nonprofit that seeks to uplift marginalized mountain communities of the state, content with devoting his life to social work and spirituality.