“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’s Journey.

I would say my teachers, both at school and college. It was my English teacher who suggested I take up writing after reading my school essays. She was a huge inspiration and promptly I decided I wanted to be a writer! This was in class VII. Later, at college, I took up English literature, more because I loved reading and discovering new authors and their writing while being shepherded by the best of teachers. It was here I got introduced to mythology not as a genre but as a subject, as the oldest, most effective literary tool. What all these teachers inculcated in me was the passion for the Word.

Another person who staunchly egged me was my mother who insisted I should write either a novel or a book of poems- if there was any choice! Guess she was the most relieved if not the most delighted soul when I handed her a copy of my debut novel.

And yes, the readers. I was planning on writing just one book but by making that one book a success, they gave me the courage and encouragement to attempt another.

When and how did the idea of writing a book about a less celebrated character like Karna’s wife come to you? Can you tell a bit about the books you have written and share a few lines from any of them?

It was pretty simple really- I wanted to tell Karna’s story but not him recounting it. It was a woman’s perspective I was looking for. That’s how Uruvi came about. She is the raconteur, the sutradhar narrating his story. While writing this book I realized the significance of minor characters as I developed little-known characters like Shon and Bhanumati and Ashwatthama in the novel. The success of Karna’s Wife made me surer about my next protagonist – Urmila, the most neglected character in the Ramayan. Interestingly I had wanted to debut with her story but just didn’t have the courage to write on such a marginalized character with so limited information. It was through a multitude of small characters I could weave her larger story, again realizing the importance of minor people in the narrative.

And this holds true of all the later novels to be it Menaka or Satyavati, Surpanakha,  Ahalya, or the forthcoming one on Saraswati.

How difficult it is to research the mythological female characters? Do you find similarities regarding the societal outlook towards women in the then and present era?

We rarely register the important female characters in our epics or their importance. That’s large because we see them as men-centric stories of war and valor with the women blurred figures in the background. But can you imagine a Mahabharat without Satyavati, Kunti, or Gandhari? Or the Ramayana without Surpanakha, Ahalya, or Mandodari? Besides Sita and Draupadi, the two female protagonists of the respective epics, other women fade in the background though each of them has a reason to exist in the narrative, with each having a fascinating story to tell. Research subsequently revolves around these stories and episodes but forms little nuggets of information.

Comparing the social mores of the two eras is futile but these stories from the epics can be used as a huge canvas to throw light on various contemporary issues.  There is enough evidence of how the role of women deteriorated not only in society but also in the family. These stories and the female characters especially became the victims of patriarchy, reducing them to convenient embodiments of conventionality, making them mind-blowingly retrograde. Despite their powerful individual stories, the women characters from our mythology have been largely ignored. Sadly, it is this prejudiced interpretation of mythology that has in a way shaped our concepts about the women of our society. But again we can use these same stories to deconstruct these forgotten or distorted characters,  employ them as a creative device to question and contest these very stereotypes.

Would you try writing any different genre other than Mythological fiction in your next book? All your books had strong female mythological characters. Do you plan to retell a story of any mythological male protagonist?

I might. Never say never. But right now I enjoy writing in this narrative genre as mythology gives me greater creative freedom in recreating and reinterpreting characters, investing them with contemporary sensibility against the backdrop of the social process of change while revisiting, revising, and turning the spotlight on lesser-known characters. Till now, it’s the women whom frankly I find more complex and fascinating. Possibly I might write on a marginalized male character. Let’s see.

According to you which are the 5 books, everyone should read and also who are your top 3 Authors?

I really am not into listing the top and the best or the favorites. Whoever and whatever I have read has influenced me in a certain way at a certain age, helped me evolve as a person and a writer. Enumerating them would not be fair.

Tell us a bit about your family, likes, and dislikes as a person.

I come from a large women-populated family- we are three sisters, all having daughters. Also, I come from a family where books and reading were as essential as eating and if you did not like to read, you were a freak. These two factors clearly molded me into what I am – not just as a writer, but even as a mother of my two daughters.

My likes and dislikes? Besides my shoe fetish, l love cinema, and art. Theatre is another weakness though I don’t get to watch plays as often as I would have wished. Strongest dislike- chauvinism in any form. And my nickname.

Could you share a few tips for Young Authors? What would be that one thing which you would like to tell your younger self as a writer?

First- writers should read. A lot. Next, don’t hesitate to write. The most difficult part about writing is actually getting down to write. Do it. And regularly.

My younger self as a writer would be comparing Karna’s Wife with the latest Saraswati’s Gift out this July. And I can say, I loved and enjoyed the journey so far, mistakes included. What those mistakes are, it’s for me to know and correct. As readers, they will know too!

Which are the books that left a lasting impact on you as a writer? Who are your favorite authors?

Same reply- no faves!

At Sharing Stories, we have an ongoing campaign ‘Empowering Our Kids’ where we are trying to encourage and inculcate reading habit from a young age. We are trying to pick up 20 to 30 must-read books for children and try and make them available at our library in Jaipur, also take this initiative across the globe. Please suggest some books which you think every child should read before the age of 15 (mostly the character-defining age).

Definitely, Amar Chitra Kathas to round up general information on Indian mythology and history.

Folk stories of any country. They are the real stories of real people.

Panchatantra tales

The Little Prince

Roald Dahl

Ruskin Bond

R K Narayan

And so many many more…

Rapid Fire Round

1.Favorite Place, Person, Food, beverage….Pune. The person I meet in the mirror. Any Chinese dish! Coffee

2.Your other Talents….nothing! Used to paint. But frankly am a passive admirer- of the arts, movies, and theatre.

3.Your First Love….Reading

4.Favorite Quote…..Loving yourself is the beginning of a lifelong romance.

5.Favorite Character from a book…Lady Macbeth, Draupadi, Elinor Dashwood, Jo March, Celia, Offred, Antoinette Conway, Philip Marlowe, Bertie Wooster, …phew, innumerable!

What if Round

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

Health, family, and work.

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

Wisdom in humanity.

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

Spend!