“Sometimes, we do not get a chance to thank each one who has helped us in our Journey.”  Let the readers get a chance to know about all the important people who have played a part in this ‘Author Journey of Yours’. 

My ‘Author’s Journey’ has been recent and without any prior plan. I come from a science background and without any language training. Just as it takes a village to raise a child, I have been very lucky to have multiple people helping me get better with the passage of time.

First and foremost is my mother who is a grammar Nazi. Amma has helped me immensely with the language nuances.

Many at GurgaonMoms with their generous compliments have instilled the faith in me.

Thanks to Shavet Jain and the wonderful team at Momspresso, I learned the discipline of expressing myself in 500 odd words

With Sandhya Renukamba and Aparna VedpuriSingh at Women’s Web, I learned to channel the inner angst into effective churning words

Dipankar at Readomania is entirely responsible for my donning the avatar of an author. Readomania has taught me the essence of novel writing and the grind associated with it.

I’m thankful to all the wonderful readers who have invested their hard-earned money into my works.

 You have carved a niche for yourself as humor writer. Why the affinity towards this particular genre of writing?

My father has a huge collection of joke books and his favorite pastime is to tell us situational quips. As they say, laughter is the best medicine. Humour, a great aid in overcoming stress,  is all around us. We just have to spot the fun and grab it with both hands.

I find it easier to look at a problem in the eye and laugh at it rather than wallow in grief. Plus wordplay comes naturally to me.

But let me assure you, satirical writing is a serious business and no child’s play.

‘When Padma Bani Paula to Masala Mix you have given the readers a wide variety. Given a choice what would you pick, writing a novel or collection of short stories, and why so?

A full-length novel any day. To hold your story in your hands, to smell those freshly minted pages carrying your name, your thoughts,  is indeed a surreal feeling!

Let me add further, I enjoy writing succinct short tales but cherish penning a novel.

Short-story writing is extremely challenging because the writer is bound by the word length, which in itself is daunting. There has to be a conflict, a resolution, a closure with different characters undergoing varying trajectories of growth.

A novel gives the writer the leeway to explore the nuances at length.

 Are you working on anything at the present you would like to share with your readersabout?

I had been editing the completed sequel to my debut. But the pandemic afflicted economy put paid to that project.  Now after penning short stories across genres, I’m working on a collection of feel-good essays.

 According to you which are the 5 books, everyone should read and also who are your top 3 Authors and what impact they had on your journey as a writer?

 The list of 5 must-read books is highly individualistic. I find that my choice has changed ever since I have started writing but these 5 books have remained constant as my favorites :

• The Mahabharata – The beauty of this timeless work is that the core story can be narrated from the perspective of any of the stakeholders, be it Yudhishtra, Draupadi, or Karna. As an addendum, The Gita
• The Sherlock Holmes series by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
• ‘1984’ by George Orwell
• The works of R K Narayan, to get that Indian Milieu pat right. He spun gold out of the daily humdrum
• The early short-story collection of Jeffery Archer, Saki ( delectable humour), and O.Henry – This suggestion is only for the aspiring writers

Or

‘India after Gandhi’ by Ramachandra Guha for a glimpse of our nation.

Three authors would be Narayan, Saki, and Archer