Vivek started to pen poetry when he was in his 6th grade and 8 years old. A Tamilian, Vivek who did most of his schooling in South Africa, draws a parallel between South Africa and Nazi Germany. He has a masters degree in cultural anthropology from Stanford. In 1992 – 93, a Watson Fellowship enabled him to travel in India, South Africa and Trinidad, writing poetry, fiction and personal history revolving around the subject, "Story Telling, Ethnic Conflict and State Ideology." He was the British Council poet-in-residence at the University of Kent in 2001.