Q.1 “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’.

Yes, this is the most important aspect. I would definitely like to pay my gratitude to my sisters Deepa Di and Shobhi Di who always encouraged me to go ahead with the book and then I would like to thank my friends Reena Mittal DI and Mani Bansal who kept the light in me shine bright.

Q.2 How and when did you first realize your calling for writing a book? Please tell us a bit about your book titled “She & Everything” and share a few lines from any of it.

I guess, writing appealed to me from the very beginning, since I learnt how to write! ‘She & Everything” started possessing my brain space for a couple of years. I wanted to pencil down the snippets from a woman’s life and look at things from her perspective. There are 8 stories, dealing with 8 shades of life and this ‘she’ can be any one of us. I hope women readers will relate to these protagonists and male readers will try to understand women better through this book.

“Anu was unable to fathom how she felt. There was this commotion of feelings inside her. She was wondering why she didn’t feel angry. Has she moved on? Or did he not matter at all now? Or is there something attractive in this face still? The only emotion that she could feel was that of inquisitiveness. Yes, she had certain questions to ask but she was not in a hurry. She was inquisitive about how he looks at what happened 10 years ago and how he has changed or grown as a person. He was not some random person who could be discarded off in oblivion. He had to be acknowledged and kept in her friend list. No, not because he was some out of this world person, or he merited to be in her friend list because of his stark good looks and other talents. It was because of her. It was because she had chosen him to shower her love back then when the whole of Psychology department was drooling over her but she preferred a much senior person from Department of Mathematics. She knew that she was not a commoner. She knew that she wouldn’t be roaming around with any Tom, Dick and Harry. He definitely has to be extra special whom she finds irresistible. And here he was again, on her phone screen. This was his merit.” Excerpt from the first story-Committed

Q.3 According to you which are the 5 books that everyone should read and who are your top 3 Authors and what impact did they have in your journey as a writer?

My top three authors will always be- Khaled Husseini, Manju Kapur, Madeline Miller.

My 5 recommendations would be-

Thousand Splendid Suns

Cerce

The Immigrant

All My Sons (play)

The Namesake

Q.4 What inspires you to write? Where do you get the information and ideas for your books?

I have always been a voracious reader and with the inception of internet as a major medium, I have been watching the youtubers and talkshows and this is how I am never short of ideas. And then life itself has so many living stories in its womb!

Q.5 Could you share a few tips for budding writers?

Sure! First of all, have conviction about what you want to write about. Even if it’s a fiction, you have to live with the characters. Secondly, be coherent with your writing pattern. Even if your pace is slow, keep writing. Thirdly, it’s always better to use the language that’s easy on the brain.

Q.6 What has been your cherished experience as a writer? Which is your best-preferred genre?

I love the feel of words, I love their fragrance, so, fiction comes very naturally to me. And I guess, it’s mostly poetic prose to me.

Q.7 What were the learnings and struggles you experienced while writing a book?

The biggest trauma was caused by this pandemic when I lost people close to my heart, so I was not in the mental framework of writing any fiction. Secondly, there was always dearth of time because of my professional commitments and family responsibilities.

Q.8 How has been your journey as an associate English professor? How has it evolved you as a person?

I have grown up as a person and as an academician in this journey. I have learnt to be more compassionate towards students and also I have become more open to learning and dissipating knowledge.

Q.9 Are you working on anything at present that you would like to share with your readers? What are your future plans?

I want to write a book on female character from Hindu mythology and try to look at the epic from her point of view. Actually Madeline Miller’s Cerce inspires me to do this.

Q.10 At Sharing Stories, we have an ongoing campaign ‘Let’s Empower Our Kids’. Please suggest some books here that you would want your child to read before the age of 15 which could help him in understanding certain dimensions of human life like empathy, sympathy, relationships, etc.

Rapid Fire Round

1. Favorite Place, Actor & Actress, Person, Food, beverage….

My best friend’s home, Alia Bhatt & Fawad Khan, My sisters, Aloo ka paratha, chai

2. Your other Talents apart from writing….

I am good with plants and I am pretty fast in kitchen

3. Your First Love…

Stationery-all kinds of pens, papers, envelops, notebooks…

4. Favorite Quote….

“Pain is inevitable, suffering is optional”

5. Favourite Character from a book…

Cerce from Madelin Miller’s novel, Chris Keller from Arthur Miller’s play ‘All My Sons’

What if Round

1. What if you had to live with only three things all your life, what would the three things be?

Money plant vine, pen and a notebook

2. What if you were given the power to change one thing from this world, what would you change?

I would amend Indian TV News Channels to do their work right.

3. What if you had all the money in this world, what would you do first?

I find this thought scary! I don’t need all the money! I am just waiting for my salary and I will buy a new MacBook J