Jhumpa Lahiri with her husband Alberto Vourvoulias during an earlier visit to the city. A Telegraph picture

Jhumpa Lahiri is coming to Calcutta again. This time to hold a reception for her daughter.

The Pulitzer-winning author, who shuns media spotlight, created a sensation another January six years ago by getting married in Calcutta to Alberto Vourvoulias, a journalist who was then with Time Latin America. The event was covered true paparazzi style, even from neighbouring roof-tops.

Now, the Brooklyn-based writer is returning to the city of her greater family for the one-and-a-half-year-old Noor. “Jhumpa’s daughter is about 18 months old, so it wouldn’t be right to call it an annaprasan. But a party has been arranged for the family and a few close friends, to celebrate that occasion. This is the first time that Jhumpa is coming to Calcutta with her daughter,” said a family member. Noor, he said, was named after the famous queen Noor Jahan.

Lahiri is scheduled to reach the city on January 23. The reception will be held at Dakshin Kalikata Sansad, popularly known as DKS, on the afternoon of January 26, a source at the Deshapriya Park club said. Since Lahiri is not a member, the booking is in a committee member’s name. The number of invitees is expected to be around 100.

Noor is Lahiri’s second child. A family member recalls a similar event organised for her four-year-old son. “They have a priest who does it according to Bengali tradition. A party was held in Calcutta to celebrate his annaprasan, though the ceremony was held abroad.”

Lahiri could be in town till February 1. Her parents are already here. Other family members are tightlipped. “She is coming on a personal visit and does not want to publicise a family occasion. Her mother is making all the arrangements for the party,” was all that they would reveal.

After Interpreter of Maladies, a collection of short stories that won her the Pulitzer in 2000, Lahiri wrote The Namesake in 2003, her first novel. It has been filmed by Mira Nair, partially in Calcutta. Lahiri has collaborated on the screenplay and appeared in a cameo, with her family, in the film starring Tabu and Irrfan.