Academic, Speaker, Columnist, an Author – Khyrunnisa A.! Was writing a book a conscious decision or a part of the literary journey which eventually happened with time?

It was the latter – a part of the literary journey that happened – since a set of interesting circumstances made me a writer.

You created a popular cartoon character, ‘Butterfingers.’ which eventually got quite famous as a comic strip in Tinkle comic magazine and then a series of novels were published. How was the idea of creating a comic strip conceived? Is the character of ‘Butterfingers’ inspired from some real life person?

I didn’t think of creating a comic strip. What actually happened (here is the set of circumstances that set me on the ‘write’ path ) was that we used to get Tinkle for my young son and one day I read the announcement of an All India Short Story Competition for Adult Writers of Children’s Fiction by India Book House ( now Amar Chitra Katha) in the magazine. Just for the fun of it, I sent an entry. The word limit was 3000 words and I playfully say my story had 2999 words. The story was titled ‘Butterfingers’ and it won the second prize. I was thrilled and the writing bug bit me when I won the first prize for seven consecutive years.

Since Tinkle was bringing out the story, it needed to be in the comic strip format. A script writer wrote the script for the comic and that’s how it all started. When Tinkle requested me to create a regular character for the magazine, I brought back Butterfingers and very soon it became hugely popular. I continued to send long stories that were turned into the comic format by a script writer. Since I had the copyright of the original stories, I approached Penguin with them. I hoped they would be published as a collection. The editor loved the concept but wanted a novel. That was how I wrote ‘Howzzat Butterfingers!’

I have given my son’s name, Amar, to Butterfingers. I have taken only the name from him, not the characteristics, though he, like me, is quite a Butterfingers. But he’s a quiet chap while Butterfingers is quite the opposite.

You have successfully forayed in all three of them with a variety of books. As an author, what difference do you feel when it comes to writing novels for children, young adults and adults?

When it comes to stories for children, one should be careful about the themes. They should be children-friendly. When you write for adults, such caps and boundaries are not there, though you do set yourself certain restrictions. It’s the same with the kind of language used. My books are all humorous books and when I write humour, I do have to make some adjustments to my mindset when I’m writing for each category, but I don’t find it difficult to make the switch.

How did publishing your first book change your process of writing?

I never thought of writing a novel, but having successfully written one, it gave me the confidence to go for the second in the series. I just evolved as the demands were made on me. I wrote short stories on different themes, newspaper columns, articles for magazines and the Butterfingers novels were happening too. And I’m happy that I haven’t disappointed my editors, publishers or readers. Of course it’s a lot of hard work. Every writer will acknowledge that.

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

There’s a plurality of taste and a great variety in the kind of books available. Tastes differ. So I really don’t think I should categorically give the names of five books that everyone should read. That’s up to the personal choice of readers. But I can give you the names of five books (among the huge lot of books I love) that are personal favourites. ) and RohintonMistry’s ‘A Fine balance.’

They are Jane Austen’s ‘Pride and Prejudice’, Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s ‘Chronicle of a Death Foretold’, Gerald Durrell’s ‘My Family and Other Animals’, P.G. Wodehouse’s ‘Joy in the Morning’ (and all his other books) and Rohinton Mistry’s ‘A Fine balance.’

My top three authors?William Shakespeare, P.G.Wodehouse and Bill Bryson. I love humour; hence Bill Bryson is naturally a favourite. But P.G.Wodehouse is my all time favourite. I discovered him in class VIII and still read him. I own almost all his books. Since my writing is mostly humorous, Wodehouse’s books, and to a certain extent, Bill Bryson’s, have had an indirect influence on my writing. As for Shakespeare, he continues to delight, nourish and amaze. He’s the ultimate.