Interview

• Deeba: You started writing at the age of 19 and from the age of 20 to 35 you were a scriptwriter and post that till now you have been into lyrics writing. Which one do you prefer? How different in your view is each from the other?

  Javed Bhai: To set the record straight, i started writing at the age of twenty or nineteen and a half but became a regular, full fledged script writer from 1970 onwards.  From 1970 to 1980 I was purely a scriptwriter and then I started writing lyrics and my first film as lyricist was Silsila, that was released in 1981 and after that gradually I shifted to lyrics writing and for the next 10-15 years I only did that. But after that, I returned to script writing and now I have a few films in production. Technique is totally different, in the sense one is prose and the other poetry. One is like a marathon and the other is like 100 yards. Songs usually contain 12 or 16 lines and script is so long that you continue till your fingers hurt if you write with pen, as I do. Each has its own advantages or disadvantages. I think, everything you do needs some level of competence and to reach somewhere near perfection is very difficult. Both lyrics writing and script writing per se are not easy or difficult, the question is what will satisfy you and make you proud of your work.

• Deeba: This is quite true. Mediocrity is easy and reaching perfection is indeed difficult. Moving on, we would like to know, what projects you are currently working on?

  Javed Bhai: Currently, I am working on two films with Excel Entertainment. One is called Gold, which is based on the first Hockey team that won Gold. The characters are not real, though the story outline is. I am also working on a film with Farah Khan for whom I have written songs earlier but not worked on a script. It is being casted at the moment.

  Deeba: That's interesting and we look forward to your next projects.

• Deeba: How would you describe your style of writing?

  Javed Bhai: You see, screenplay needs a lot of craft. You can have spontaneity when thinking of the story or of characters. I think art is produced in a kind of a paradox, in a kind of contradiction, in Ghalib’s words, ‘Bekhudi wa Hoshiyari’. Any type of art, whether it is music, dance, poetry or writing consists of two factors, which are ostensibly not compatible. One is craft and the other is imagination, passion and emotion. I will give you an example, let’s say you are acting in Shakespeare’s Hamlet, as Prince Hamlet and have to say the line - ‘To Be or Not To Be’. On one hand you have to get into the skin of the character and emote in that way and on the other, you have to remember the direction given by the director to reach the chalk mark and face a certain light at the end of the line. The artist does both the things together and that’s why art is a natural paradox.

  When you are writing a story, on one hand you are living the agony, the pain, the feeling, emotions and reactions of the character, and at the same time, there is another person within you who is watching the growth and the direction and warns you not to take a certain direction and warns you that it may lead you to a a dead end. This side is totally calculated and it is happening at the same time. If you are too emotional your calculation will go haywire and vice versa. Both have to happen in the right proportion and at the same time. This is how it is a paradox.

  Deeba: Honestly, that's a very vivid explanation with a great example.

• Deeba: How about your creative process interaction with your son Farhan Akhtar and daughter Zoya Akhtar, do you sit and brain storm on each other’s concepts and ideas or each of you work in isolation? Do you guide them or give inputs? What is the interaction process?

  Javed Bhai: Each one of them have their own little world and work with their own conviction but there are no water-tight compartments. When Farhan has a script he gives it to me to read and takes my suggestions. I also share with them and take their suggestions seriously. But it doesn't mean that them or I accept each and everything. We have a healthy creative interaction where each one ponders over the suggestions put forward and accepts or rejects depending upon our own rationale.

  Deeba: That displays an extremely interactive and a healthy creative environment. We wish you all the very best for your next projects.

• Deeba: What are the key elements of a novel turned into a movie, have you worked on any?

  Javed Bhai: I have not worked on an adaptation. It is rare now. Classics are not being made into movies. Any good story / novel will not be generic it will be deeply rooted into its own soil. It will have the ethos and culture of that region. What happens is most of the commercial Hindi cinema wants the film not to be associated with any particular region and this is the limitation why not much adaptation is there. However, the moviemakers need that elbowroom, which a good novel will not allow. Salman Rushdie said something interesting in one of his interviews, that each story is a censor in itself as it stops you from telling other tales. So the moviemakers don't want to be in that straight jacket.

  Deeba: Understandable!(laughs)

• Deeba: Something I ask all my guests! (laughs) your favorite non-alcoholic drink?

  Javed Bhai: Banana Milkshake (with a smile)

• Deeba: That’s interesting,(smiles) one last question as I know you are getting late. What are your views on our new initiative of ‘Young Author Awards’ to recognize the next generation authors under the age of 30?

  Javed Bhai: I think it is a wonderful idea to organize an awards function to encourage young authors and also to bring attention to them, that's wonderful. I think it is a positive and great idea and I must congratulate you for doing it. Now days I see an encouraging restating trend that many young people want to write - they want to write prose, poetry, fiction and I think there is a revival in younger generation. Am very happy that younger generation is producing writers.

  Deeba: Thank you so much for your time!

To interact with our guest - Javed Akhtar, connect with him on twitter: @javedakhtarjadu or visit his website: http://www.javedakhtar.com

• 1.

  You mentioned in one of your interviews that you have been writing both prose and poetry since your childhood. Share with us one of your earliest memory of your writing. How was the literary climate around you when you were growing up?

  I started writing in the early nineteen sixties. The publishing avenues were close to zero. As I wrote my poems I did not even think of a publisher. There were just two journals—The Illustrated Weekly of India which reached every middle class home, and Quest, published from Poona which had a limited circulation. My first poems were published in Quest, January issue of 1964, placed there by Khushwant Singh. I was writing bad stories and bad poems. A book was something too far to even think about! One might as well have dreamt of winning a lottery. In 1965 I started writing a little better. When Martin Luther King was shot, I felt terrible and dashed off a poem to the Weekly, and was sure it would be published. It was! I became known!

• 2.

  Few of our reader would know that you also made a distinct mark in civil services. You joined the Indian Police Service (IPS) in 1958, becoming a Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on International Affairs in 1979. You were later in the Cabinet Secretariat until your retirement in 1995 and were also awarded both the Police Medal for Meritorious Service (1975) and President’s Police Medal for Distinguished Service (1985). It is incredible that with such a busy schedule, you continued to write. Can you share with us how you found time to help our readers who are busy in their corporate lives but still have a desire to write?

  I can ascribe my output first thanking my wife and family. They let me write. You need commitment and a passion for writing. Any event that hit one, I tried to think how I could make a story or a poem out of it. I borrowed books (poetry) from the USIS and the British Council, and read voraciously. Poetry must get down into your system, and that can happen only if you read a lot, and now and then marvel at how the poet has managed to bring it off. I wrote on weekends.But there were periods when I couldn’t even think of writing, for instance when I was with the PM. It would be a fourteen hour day.

• 3.

  The characteristic features of your poetry besides being described as having vigor and immediacy of language and knife-edge tone is also described as having immense concern with love, death and dominationand cynicism about the plight of human society. How would you describe your process of writing? Are you an intuitive writer or a method writer? Do you select a topic to write on or you choose to write what hits you. Please share some interesting moments with us.

  Am not sure if there are two separate writers—intuitive and methodical. As far as stories are concerned I do plot them, following the nebulous trail of a metaphor or trying to make a point. Poetry has to be more intuitive. I write about what hits me. Yes I did write about love and death—but what else is there to write about in poetry? Name a poet who does not talk of them. We humans differ from other living beings by being conscious of death as the end. Death-consciousness is a vital part of our mental make up, and how we face life.

• 4.

  Your latest book is ‘Daniel Comes to Judgment’ by Niyogi Books. Your publisher has labeled you as ‘Vintage Daruwala’. It is a beautiful bouquet of old and new stories, I particularly loved the description from ‘A House in Ranikhet’ that makes me want to go there for a writing retreat next - “the quiet October afternoon, the arc of snow peaks struggling to keep their heads above the ascending clouds; oak on the higher ridges, and every now and then an old cedar that dwarfed everything else. Old cottages with their red-tiled roofs. And the silence, above everything else, punctuated every now and then by a gust of breeze through the pines, with the yellow needles drizzling down.” Which is your personal favorite?

  Ranikhet was a lovely time. My first daughter was born, I bought a car, and we lived through two winters there. But my favourite stories would be the title one, Trojan Horse (because it is an elongated metaphor), Winter Solstice.

• 5.

  Your five favorite books and authors?

  Books I admire are as follows:
• 1. Hope Against Hope by Nadhezda Mandelstam, gives an account of their lives under the Stalin regime, the privations and the zulm.

• 2. Duino Elegies by Rilke.
• 3. The Complete Poems of Anna Akhmatova (Expanded Edition) translated by Judith Hemschemeyer.
• 4. Doctor Zhivago by Boris Pasternak.
• 5. Collected Poems of Auden.

• 6.

  Do you ever get writer’s block? How do you handle it?

  Not really. At the moment though, the novel I am writing, presents me with a block. I don’t know how to proceed. But will get over it!I have almost never forced myself to write a poem. (Incidentally, you CAN’T force yourself to write a poem). I can think of one or two short stories I forced myself to write. One of them was Bars, it turned out well.

• 7.

  On a personal front, what does a weekend mean to you? Your favorite pastime?

  I am old. A week end means long hours at the newspapers, a visit to the IIC library and possibly a meal at the club. Please remember I live alone.

• 8.

  There is one question that I throw at all my guests, what is your favorite non-alcoholic drink?

  I have no favourite non-alcoholic drink! Perhaps nimboo-paani.

• 9.

  What would be your advice to aspiring authors of ‘The Write Scene,’ who are working on their manuscripts?

  I am not fond of the word advice. I consider it presumptuous of the fellow who thinks he can give advice. Have been a low profile man all along. But my suggestions are as follows. For poets: (a) Read a lot of poetry. Go on line read from poetry journals—Poetry Chicago, Kenyon Review and a host of others. (b) Don’t fall for rhyme, to start with. Most beginners can’t handle rhyme. (c) Practise rhyme a lot, till you get control of it. Never let the rhyme run away with your poem or your lines. A time will come when the sense (I mean what you want to say) will lead and not the rhyme. (d) An outpouring of emotion is not poetry. Someone has just sent me an ‘outrage poem’ on the death of the Chinese Nobel Prize winner. Good emotions don’t make good poetry always. (e) Go for half-rhymes now and then. (f) don’t try to be too post-modern.(g) Now and then try your hand at some political poetry. (h) Avoid prosaic language, by which I mean a reporter’s language. For instance don’t write ‘unless and until’—a typical desi usage, or ‘heavenly abode’ (leave that for obituaries. (i) Lastly be demotic. Stories: Don’t spell out everything. Leave something to the reader’s imagination. And the modern stories believe in leaving the end hanging. And please ‘site’ the story - place , time etc. and go into detail . Come to the abstract after you have made a name in the concrete.

• 10.

  We are very happy to have you as our Advisor on our initiative of ‘Young Author Awards’ which has been conceived with a belief that by rewarding Authors we can cultivate the climate of writing. Can we have your views?

  I can only agree. Every writer needs a spur to go on. Good luck to you all.

To hear him recite his poems and short stories please visit the Library of Congress New Delhi Office (The South Asian Literary Recordings Project) - https://www.loc.gov/acq/ovop/delhi/salrp/kekidaruwalla.html

• 1.

  You are on the Forbes most influential celebrity list in India. A writer and a poet. How did it all begin? Were you trained to be a writer?

  I have always written ever since I learnt to write. I have always contributed to my school and college magazines, taken part (and won) at several University level writing competitions.

  So the journey originated long before I began blogging. I started a blog in 2006, and I still continue to blog, and do blog maratthins (a term I coined . Blog marathon means I write a new post every single day, for a month). So the ‘training’ as such, you can say began with my blog. I went on to write for newspapers and magazines after that. Then contributed to ‘Chicken Soup for the Soul’ series etc, before finally getting abook deal.

  And yes, the journey has been great. But then again, I have put in an insane level of work to get to where I am today. It hasn’t come easy. I have worked till I fell asleep at the keyboard, till the lines have blurred, sacrificing sleep, going out and a lot of other things. It hasn’t been effortless—that much I can say!

• 2.

  You most memorable moments of being a writer?

  Oh—there are so MANY to recall. Mostly it is the pure love that is showered on me by my readers and the interactions with fans who say I have changed their lives by my writing. Some have gifted me gold! Some carry food that they have cooked. Some give jewellery and hand-made cards. It is that sincere expression of love and warmth from thousands of people who feel connected with me. An 84 year old woman hugged me and said I had written her story! I receive hundreds of emails. They are complete strangers to me. And they feel this powerful connection because of my writing. In Pakistan, at Karachi Literature Festival, I was mobbed by a group of women who said my writing gave them hope. They all wanted photos with me, and said I am an inspiration to them. I knew then that writing and art transcends geographical and political boundaries. They had nothing but love for me.At a blogging conference, I was a keynote speaker along with Bruce Dickinson (Iron Maiden). He wanted a copy of my books and wanted me to sign them for him. I was a Guest of Honour and a Keynote Speaker along with Shruti Hassan. She said she would read all my books. Because of my writing, I get to meet people from varied fields and that is a great thing for me.

  I feel immensely grateful for all of it.

• 3.

  You are the highest selling woman writer in India and have written 8 books, which is your personal favourite and why?

  My next one, which will be released in last week of October/1st week of November this year. We will be doing a cover release at the Birmingham Literature Festival, where I am a keynote speaker, and hence I cannot reveal the name just yet.

  I feel Ibetter myself with each book. Hence the answer to that question will always be 'The book I am currently writing/The book I have just written.'

• 4.

  Where do you get your inspiration? Tell us something about your latest book, ‘Its All in the Planets’ ?

  My latest is not ‘It’s All In The Planets’. It is the book which will be released soon. Incidentally, we have sold more than 60K copies of It’s All In The Planets (and still counting) and it has already been translated to Hindi. The other language translations are on their way.

  The book is a contemporary relationship story, set in our times, and explores the concept of Free will versus Destiny through a relationship angle. The protagonists are very relatable.

  As regards where I get inspiration--- I honestly do not know. Sometimes an idea just strikes me because of something I read, or have overheard or have seen. The inspiration for ‘It’s All In The Planets’ came during a train journey when I was travelling in Shatabdi from Delhi to Chandigarh for an event for the promotion of my book It Happens For A Reasonand I happened to read the astrology column in a free newspaper which is handed out in the train!

• 5.

  Your top five favorite books and authors? What are you currently reading?

  It is hard for me to pick my ‘Top five favorite”. My reading tends to be varied. I read everything including graphic novels and children’s books. I love Michael Morpurgo, Roald Dahl’s work for adults and Audrey Niffenger. I also like Neil Gaiman. I like non-fiction books too. Teenage Brain and Sonia’s Choquette’s work comes to mind, when I think of Non-fiction. Also books like Outlier and Blink. Here are a few other books I like:My all time favourite book remains Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom, which I read in my twenties. But the more recent ones which I thoroughly enjoyed and which left an impact on me are the following:

  The Magic Strings of Frankie Presto—Mitch Albom: I love Mitch Albom’s writing. It is sheer poetry. He is a master of the craft Here, he narrates this beautiful, poignant tale through the voice of music. I loved the concept, the execution, the story, the writing---sheer brilliance.

  A Japanese Manga graphic novel called DeathNote: I discovered this book, as my 16 year old daughter bought it. It tells us the story of LightYagami, a high school student, who discovers a notebook, dropped on Earth by Ryuk, the God of death. Written by TsugumiOhba and fabulous illustrations by Takeshi Obata, made me lose myself in this book. The book has to be right to left, and from back to front, following the Japanese tradition.

  The Tamil Story—translated by SubhashreeKrishnaswany and edited by Dilip Kumar, this is a collection of Tamil short stories published from 1913—2000. We get a glimpse into the society it’s evolution,, the rich Tamil literature and life itself, through these lovely stories, which had me happily reading for many hours.

  When breath becomes air—Paul Kalanithi :Paul was a brilliant neurosurgeon who attended Stanford University and Yale and before becoming a doctor, had majored in English literature. Cancer struck him at 36 and swiftly progressed, claiming his life at 37

  The book, which is deeply moving is not only poignant and powerful but is almost poetic too. It is the work of a man, whose days are numbered, and yet not once is there lament or an overly cheery tone. Paul is a gifted writer. There isn’t a doubt about that, but more than the prose, what makes this one a must-read is the questions he asks and the answers he finds. Throughout his life, Paul had sought to find the answer to the question “What makes life worth living?” In the face of death, he finds it. In many places, the book is heart-breaking, as it takes us on a journey through Paul’s life, his obsession about his work, the way he empathises with patients, and how he finally ends up as one, in the very hospital where he used to perform complicated surgeries, sometimes working non-stop, up to 36 hours, before taking a break.

  Having just finished Paul Kalanithi’s book, When Breath Becomes Air, I am in that strange state of calm, having been made acutely aware that there exists a place, where life meets death and despite death having the final say, life wins.

  It is on rare occasions that one comes across a book, which is so riveting that you are unable to do anything else, other than curl up and read and read, till you finish it in one sitting.

  Goat Days by Benyamin is one such book. Not only is it engrossing but it is deeply moving. It is the story of an immigrant worker from Kerala who lands up in Saudi Arabia. Powerful, compelling and profound, this book is sure to leave an impact on anyone who reads it. Days after reading the book, I am still haunted by the vivid and powerful images that Benyamin draws up, and I wince each time I think of the protagonist and his travails. A story of hope, faith and a fight against destiny, it also showcases the human as an animal with all the frailty, ugliness and cruelty of the human psyche. By juxtaposing this with the will ingrained will in all of us to simply survive, Benyamin tells an impactful story, based on the real life of one such worker.

• 6.

  What is your process of writing? How long does it take for you to write a book?Are you a morning person or a night person? What time of the day is your most productive as a writer?

  The right answer to that would be 46 years (as I am 46 now). I think when we look at ‘time taken for writing a novel’ we largely discount the time we take in preparation for it. A novel is a culmination of so many varied experiences that you have been collecting your entire life. So how can you confine it and say “I wrote this novel in 1 year” or 8 months. What about the time you spent researching it? Editing it?

  My process of writing---I know the story completely and I have it all planned out. I don’t have any favourite time. Once I begin a book, I am diligently at it, till I finish it. It haunts, troubles me and I can think of nothing else till I complete writing it.

• 7.

  Are you a methodical writer or an intuitive writer? How do you handle writer’s block? Any example?

  I don’t suffer from writer’s block and have never had one! (touchwood). Here’s the thing---Writers block implies that you have to FORCE yourself to write. When words fails me, I turn to art. (I paint too. I am an artist trained in portraiture and illustrated journaling).

  I have no idea whether my writing is methodical or intuitive. I do plan my novels, plots etc. I think that is very important. But I also think the characters take over once you create them.

• 8.

  What does a weekend mean to you? And your favourate non-alcoholic drink?

  Weekend means nothing! There is no difference between a week day and a weekend. Favourite non-alcoholic drink: Black coffee.

• 9.

  What strategy would you recommend to aspiring authors of ‘The Write Scene,’ who are working on their manuscripts to increase their chances of publication?

  I truly believe that a commissioning editor would be able to answer this question best! I have no clue what the publishers look for really. Considering that my hugely successful book ‘Life is what you make it’ was rejected by almost all the publishers I approached (not only in India but also abroad), I guess my advice would be ‘Learn to face rejections and never give up.’

• 10.

  Can we have your views on our new initiative of ‘Young Author Awards’ to recognize the next generation authors under the age of 30?

  This is an excellent initiative. It will be a huge boost to young authors. Who doesn’t like recognition?!

To know more about our guest : http://www.preetishenoy.com/

• 1.

  Many congratulations on your first novel being published by HarperCollins India this year. We would like you to share with us your publishing journey and how long it all took from acceptance of the contract to the release of the book.

  Too long! In the sense that it sold twice but the first time, it ran into some difficulties in terms of legalities and couldn’t be published. But as they say, what doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger. I reworked the narrative to make it a much more stronger story line and in the process realized that it was actually more Nazo (the anti-heroine’s) tale than that of Rani Shah’s. The first time around was a happy co-incidence when an editor got in touch over FB of all the places while the second time around it was Kanishka Gupta of Writer’s Sides’s persistence that got the book it’s right home.

• 2.

  Was a Masters in Creative Writing a logical step towards achieving a dream, or it just happened? When was it that you first started writing? Your advice to new authors who are struggling to identify their voice?

  Actually, it was the other way around. It was my writing that got me into the programme. Coming from the background I did I was conscious that a woman must always be financially independent and the only way I could see that happening was through higher education. And so I kept applying for scholarships and kept studying despite children, my job and household responsibilities. I was interested in comparative literature but my creative writing won me funding for a Masters of Studies programme and so I went on to study writing at Oxford. It was interesting coming from a background of critical theory where I was used to deconstructing a writer’s work to be in a position where it was all about putting it together. And so I began creating words instead of taking them apart.

• 3.

  Your top five favorite books and authors? What are you currently reading?

  I always read multiple books at a time as I find it very difficult to stay with a single story for a long time. So I’m swinging between Dozakhnama by Raksinder Bal brilliantly translated by Arunava Sinha and What Belongs to You by Gareth Greenwell which is a lovely sweet queer love story about loss and longing. I don’t really have any constant favorites. I feel that books are like friends and at different times you seek comfort in different ones. I also have a fear of attachments and so the word favorite disconcerts me. I find it very difficult to let anything even a book become a constant.

• 4.

  I read in one of your interviews that you consider yourself as an intuitive writer, can you share with us your process of writing?

  Intuitive in the sense that I can’t always explain why I feel a certain story will work if told in a specific way. I feel I have a sense or a longing set off by an image or a sound that I instinctively know can be translated into words. I love dreaming and sometimes I intuitively feel that an idea will makes a great story though at the time I find it hard to be logical about why I feel that way. Like with Nobody Killed Her, I had intuition that it will develop into a cracker of a story. I couldn’t explain why I was sure at the time but the feeling was very strong... and I always listen to myself. Because if I don’t, who will?

• 5.

  Do you ever get writer’s block? How do you handle it? How long did it take you to write ‘NoBodyKilled her’?

  I think Writer's Block is the luxury of privileged writers who can afford to indulge in it. Working class professionals like me who also happen to be parents with a multitude of responsibilities rarely have the time to sit about waiting for the muse. And so whatever time I get I sit down and utilize it effectively. I think another reason I don’t get writer's block is I because I avoid the blank page. I always try to face the blank screen or the blank page only after I have dreamt up the story in my head while I was cooking or ironing or whatever I was doing before. For me dreaming up stories is a delicious way to distract myself from the harsh realities and often mundane chores of daily life. And so while you may think I’m chopping onions, in my head I may be planning a sequel to Nobody Killed Her….

  The very first draft barely took me three or four weeks to bash out. However I did multiple revisions over the years. Till the very last day that it went into print, I was reworking it, rewriting it….

• 6.

  On a personal front, what does a weekend mean to you? Your favorite pastime?

  Weekends in Karachi come and go before I even realise they’ve begun. Mainly because the pace of live is so fast here. In London of course, Friday night meant party time! Art galleries and museums on Saturday and family time on Sunday. Here in Karachi I find the exclusion of women from public spaces especially jarring on weekends for I feel I’m very limited in my choices…This makes life monotonous and devoid of any interesting experiences such as meeting new people or discovering new places….

• 7.

  You are a short story writer and have just released a full length novel – which form of writing do you prefer and why? What are you working on next?

  I think the short is my first love and as they say you never forget your first love!

• 8.

  There is one question that I throw at all my guests, what is your favorite non-alcoholic drink?

  Idrak aur elachi ki chai (Ginger-Green Cardamom Tea). I love tea so much I actually get caffeine hangovers.

• 9.

  What strategy would you recommend to aspiring authors of ‘The Write Scene,’ who are working on their manuscripts to get a leading publisher?

  Treat your writing as a craft and not just an art. Writing is like any other sport. The more you practice, the better you get at it. I would advise you to do character dossiers to really get to know your characters before you start writing their stories. I am also a big fan of structural charts to help keep the plot on course. Basically I'm a planned writer rather than a discoverer. I believe in revising and editing and rewriting to make your work the best it can be.

• 10.

  Can we have your views on our new initiative of ‘Young Author Awards’ to recognize the next generation authors under the age of 30?

  I think it’s an absolutely wonderful initiative and I think it’s great to see you bringing back a culture of reading for pleasure in young people - as it seems to have gone out of our ever increasing utilitarian educational culture. Great for young people to have this opportunity. Though I personally believe that authors are young in books and not in years, I think it’s a great way to encourage young people to write.

If you want to know more about our guest, please visit below:

Facebook Page : Nobody Killed Her

Twitter and Instagram:  @sabynjaveri

• 1.

  Since you have been recognized for both Poetry (All India Poetry Award) and Fiction (Shortlisted work for nine awards including Man Asian Literary Prize) What do you feel more comfortable with – Poetry or Fiction writing?

  They have different demands: for me, poetry requires more space to write. By space, I mean a slower pace of reading, writing, thinking, living, as well as elbow space around oneself. I cannot combine it with my academic routine. Fiction is easier to manage to write – though it demands space too – along with other kinds of work and language-uses.
• 2.

  Which is your favorite piece of your work and why?

  One cannot choose between one’s children, can one? But I consider works that I published before (roughly speaking) the year 2000 to have been part of my learning process, and I have no real desire to see them re-published. Of course, one continues to learn, but perhaps less obviously once one has gone through an early and necessary phase of ‘finding one’s voice,’ as they call it (and I cannot find any other way of putting it).
• 3.

  Share with us the germination of the idea of your latest book – ‘Just Another Jihadi Jane’ that has been shortlisted for various awards and has received some rave reviews from people like Amitav Ghosh, Indra Sinha and Gulzar besides others and share with us, also how you developed the idea?

  It is basically the second part of my engagement with the convoluted matters of Islam, Islamism, terrorism, islamophobia and global politics today, which, given my background, I could not ignore. The first part was the largely humorous novel, set in Denmark, ‘How To Fight Islamist Terror from the Missionary Position.’ It basically featured three men, two from Muslim backgrounds and the third from a Hindu one, and the way they see each other and are seen by Europeans, particularly Danes. But that left me with the matter of Muslim women, their perception and self-perceptions, and I think ‘Just Another Jihadi Jane’ grew out of the need to engage with that. It also turned out to be a very different kind of novel, inevitably.
• 4.

  What is your writing process? How long do you take to finish a book and do how long does it take for you to edit it?

  Depends on the book, but generally I write when I have sufficient time and peace of mind, then I get interrupted, then, when life allows, I go back and revise and write a bit more, and one day the manuscript gets done… or abandoned. I spend anywhere between six months to two years revising and editing a ‘completed’ manuscript.

• 5.

  Do you ever get writer’s block? How do you handle it?

  No. I do not get as much time to write as many ‘full-time’ writers. I have a day job, a demanding one: an academic job where I get no recognition or support from my university or managerial colleagues for my creative writing. So I have ideas building up, bottled up, and when I can finally sit down and write, there is no time to agonize over the writing process and develop such largely privileged neuroses as writer’s block.
• 6.

  Who are your top 5 authors / books? What are you currently reading?

  This is difficult. If you asked me a year ago, I would probably have two or three different names in the list, and I guess that will be the case a year from now too. One relates to good writers in different ways, depending on one’s own situation and writing, so the list can keep changing. But, at the moment, I would say: Shakespeare, Emily Brönte, Ghalib, Italo Svevo, Ismat Chughtai.

• 7.

  On a personal front, what does a weekend mean to you? Your favorite pastime?

  I hate weekends, unless I am doing something with my children. I particularly hate Sundays.
• 8.

  There is one question that I throw at all my guests, what is your favorite non-alcoholic drink?

  Sheer Chai (a traditional kind of sweet masala tea). But a good thick lassi comes close too.
• 9.

  What would be your advice to the aspiring authors of ‘The Write Scene,’ who are on the road to get published?

• Write because you have to, not because you want to or because it sounds cool. It is a vocation, not a profession. It makes for a lousy profession. If you want to get power, make money or become famous, it is better to do other things: like become a doctor or banker, a manager or a politician, a computer expert or maybe even a film actor. Your chances of success are better in all these fields, and the work is less demanding. But if you are driven to write, go ahead… with few or no expectations from the world out there.
• 10.

  Can we have your views on our new initiative of ‘Young Author Awards’ to recognize the next generation authors under the age of 30?

• Excellent idea. Young writers need all the encouragement they can get. I personally feel that you are formed as a writer in the first 30 years of your life, maybe even the first 25.

• 1.

  What have been your best and worst moments from your long stint at the top Bollywood publications in UAE?

  I enjoyed it as much as it lasted. All moments were memorable. Right from meeting legends like Mr. Amitabh Bachchan to Irrfan Khan, Ranbir Kapoor, Varun Dhawan, Alia Bhatt, Sushant Singh and nearly everyone we watch on screen as well as the directors, producers etc., it has been a great time. There have been no worst moments so far.
• 2.

  How important is PR for writers? Should it be focused on their own profiling or a focus on their books?

  PR is important once your content is ready to be showcased. Not before that. The hype should follow the content and not the other way around!
• 3.

  At your position where your inbox would be invariably flooded with press releases, what almost always catches your eye? What kind of email - subject line? What Kind of email / Press release content?

  A phone call followed by that email would make me look for the press release or an invite. If your inbox is cluttered with mails, it becomes tough to keep track.
• 4.

  With self-publishing on the rise and getting wide acceptance, can you share some tips for an author facing his first interview with a publication? Three mistakes never to make at an interview?

  Never boast, never appear too over-eager and be humble. Remember that you are the one in need of publicity and not the other way around.

• 5.

  You are an avid reader, what are your top five authors/books?

  I like biographies largely. Aishwarya Dhanush’s biography on her life with a celebrity father Rajnikant – Standing on the Apple Box: The Story of a Girl among the stars, was particularly moving. However, Istanbul by Orhan Pamuk is my all -time favorite.
• 6.

  On a personal front, what does a weekend mean to you? Your favorite pastime?

  I enjoy watching movies. I can watch movies the whole day without getting bored. I also like good television series – for me original content is all. Be it lyrics of a song or the story of a film or a series. I dig that. I am a workaholic. I try and experimenting writing in various styles – words are fascinating to me and I constantly try and work out different ways to use them. This process is perennial – it doesn’t need a weekday or a weekend. My son and I play word games a lot. I love music and poetry – I like to listen to good Hindi/Urdu songs where the lyrics aren’t regressive and the poetry is sublime.

• 7.

  You have carved a niche with your signature Saree style in a city where it’s a rare sight! Was this a conscious effort?

  Not at all. I am comfortable in a saree and I collect them because I love the magic behind the way they are created- the weavers, the colours, the culture – all come together in a saree. And I have grown up in a home where all women wore sarees only, including my grandmother who wore a nav-vari sari daily.
• 8.

  What is your opinion on our new initiative, ‘Young Author Awards’?

  It is a good platform for nurturing young talent and also to promote traditional publishers to give a chance to more young talent! The Awards will help top league publishers accept more young talent!
• 9.

  There is one question that I throw at all my guests, what is your favorite non-alcoholic drink?

• A well brewed cup of ginger tea, filter coffee or a good mock tail that surprises my palette. Not too sweet though!
• 10.

  What would be your advice to the aspiring authors of ‘The Write Scene,’ who are looking to get coverage without a PR agency by their side?

• Social media is a great tool to put your word out there and today’s generation is quite savvy.

• 1.

  Your latest novel, ‘Before We Visit the Goddess’ has  just come out in paperback in India and USA, can you share with us the inspiration behind this book? How and when did the idea germinate? Who is your favorite character - Sabitri, Bela or Tara? And why?

  I started working on Before We Visit the Goddess soon after my mother passed away. I was thinking a lot about mothers and daughters, and the influence that my own mother, who brought me up pretty much as a single parent, had on my life. Thus, quite naturally, the book became about three generations of mothers and daughters and their complicated yet deeply rooted relationship. I like all the three protagonists of the book and identify with them in different ways – the ambitious Sabitri who wants to break through the glass ceiling and become a successful entrepreneur, the adventurous Bela, who runs away halfway across the world, and the rebellious Tara, brought up in the US, who must rediscover her links to her family and her culture.
• 2.

  Multi generational and/or transcontinental bonds have been the focus of many of your works including this one, how much do you find yourself in your characters? They say that writers do partake of themselves in their characters in some ways, is it true for you?

  The characters I write about are not really like me in any way – they are much more adventurous and take many more risks and sometimes rush into dramatic decisions! But they do reflect many of my concerns, and their lives are often built around themes that are interesting to me – immigration, women’s success, family relationships, secrets that change our lives.
• 3.

  I heard you say in one of your interviews that it was only after receiving the ‘American Book Award’ for ‘Arranged Marriage’ that you considered yourself a writer and knew that, that is what you wanted to do for the rest of your life. But when was it that you first started writing and did you train yourself for it? Your advice to new authors who are struggling to identify their voice?

  I started writing some years after I moved to the United States. I think the experience of immigration and of finding myself in a country that was so different from the place where I grew up impelled me into writing. For quite a while, I wrote in seclusion and did not show my work to anyone. I was not very confident about my talent or the interest that my subject matter would hold for anyone. Slowly, I joined the writers group, and that was very helpful. Then I started sending out my work to magazines. Finally I found an agent. For beginning writers, I strongly recommend taking a class or joining a writers group. That gives you valuable feedback and helps you improve your writing. It certainly did that for me.
• 4.

  You are now exploring the magical realism and writings with a spiritual connect between human and divine. ‘Palace of Illusions’ which I have immensely enjoyed simply because of a different perspective and a female narrative that, as you rightly noticed at a very early childhood listening to your grandfather, that it was missing! Your next in the Epic line is ‘Under the Sorrow Tree’ – Sita’s voice from Mahabharata. How difficult was it to write from Sita’s perspective and when is the book due?

  I am still working on the Sita novel – it is a very challenging one, and I want to be able to handle it right, and bring out the complexity of the main character. I hope to finish writing the book by early 2018.

• 5.

  Your top five favorite books and authors? What are you currently reading?

  I have so many favorite books and writers that it is very hard to choose the top five. I would say that perhaps they are Tagore, Margaret Atwood, Mahasweta Devi, Tolstoy, and Tolkien (for his Lord of the Rings).

  Currently I’m reading a nonfiction book, The Gene by Siddhartha Mukherjee.

• 6.

  What is your process of writing? How long does it take for you to write a book?

  It takes about two years. First, I do the research. Then I tried to take notes about the characters and a basic plot outline. Then I get started. I revise a lot, so by the end often many important elements of the story have changed and become something quite different.

• 7.

  Do you ever get writer’s block? How do you handle it?

  I do get writer’s block. I tried to put myself in a quiet space without interruptions and make handwritten notes about the story and the characters – what’s going on, what is the problem that’s getting me stuck, etc. Often that helps me get over my writer’s block. At other times, I have to take a break and go away from writing. Generally, a long walk helps to clear my head. I also find that my regular meditation practice helps keep creativity flowing.
• 8.

  On a personal front, what does a weekend mean to you? Your favorite pastime? I read your blog where you share recipes from your mother’s kitchen. Would you label yourself as a foodie? There is one question that I throw at all my guests, what is your favorite non-alcoholic drink?

  My favorite nonalcoholic drink is Mango Lassi. I like cooking fancy dishes, but am very unmotivated when it comes to everyday cooking! My favorite weekend activity is watching movies with my family – this can be in a theater or just in my living room, after a nice dinner together. Of course, I love reading and always have piles of books handy.
• 9.

  What strategy would you recommend to aspiring authors of ‘The Write Scene,’ who are working on their manuscripts?

  As I said before, joining a writers group would be very, very helpful. Also, sending out excerpts or publishing short stories in well reputed magazines or webzines is a very good way to get your name out there. I would also recommend that the start building their writer’s platform through social media. I have a website, and Facebook and Twitter accounts on which I’m quite active, and it helps me get book news out to many people
• 10.

  Can we have your views on our new initiative of ‘Young Author Awards’ to recognize the next generation authors under the age of 30?

  I think it’s an excellent idea. It is bound to give writers encouragement and enthusiasm. I wish I had this kind of opportunity when I was younger.

__________________________________________________________________________

To connect with the author :

Website: chitradivakaruni.com Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/chitradivakaruni

• 1.

  Share with us your role at Srishti Publishers, India..

  I am a part of the publishing team, which involves welcoming a new author onboard, helping him/her through the process and acting as a conduit through the whole publishing process starting from editing to production, all the way to marketing & PR of the book once it hits the stands.
• 2.

  What is the Genre that is being selected for publication in India generally and at Srishti in particular these days?

  With more than five hundred titles to boast of, Srishti specializes in publishing books in genres as diverse as Astrology, Biography, Children’s Literature, Culture, Health, Fiction, Management, Philosophy, Plays, Self-Help, Translations, among various others. The year 2017 will see Srishti's burgeoning presence in genres as varied as romance to coming-of-age stories, all the way up to thrillers.
• 3.

  Do you see this changing in the next 5 years? If yes, in which direction do you see the shift?

  The publishing trends tend to change from time to time. We are seeing an emergence of new genres like travel-lit, spiritual-lit etc. However there won’t be any single genre which will be all dominant and will keep the market mostly heterogeneous.
• 4.

  How do you see the immediate future of publishing in India?

  The industry is growing and has a huge potential. The emergence of digital platforms and availability of books across multiple devices will help it grow.

  We hope to see a significant rise in readership, with an increase in levels of literacy and percolation of English as a language amongst the masses.

• 5.

  In your opinion, should the writer write for a particular audience / genre in mind or write what he wants to and think of the target of their work later?

  A simple word of advice to all budding writers would be to write with your heart and passion and persevere in your efforts. The initial focus of the writer must always be on content rather than glitz. The content still is and will always remain the King. However the author should also have a marketing plan in his mind after he is done writing.
• 6.

  Share with us the ingredients of some of the best-written queries you have received?

  A good manuscript must have most importantly, a good story. Having a story which is new yet touches a chord with millions of readers is the most important but elusive ingredient. Quickly following it on the scale of importance is the language, easy to read and colloquial but at same time making grammatical sense. These are two of the most important things amongst others that we look for in any manuscript that we accept.

• 7.

  What is a weekend to you?

  Weekends usually mean finishing those pending work, which have a next-week deadline. Also gives me some time to unwind and finish my ever-growing pile of to-be-read books.
• 8.

  One question I ask all my guests – what is your favourite non-alcoholic drink?

  Black Coffee, preferably filter coffee from Coorg, with a large dollop of sugar.
• 9.

  Advice to the writers of ‘Write Scene’ who are looking to get their work published.

  Work diligently. The publishing process is one of perseverance and patience is the key to success.

• 1.

  Share with us your role at the Nelson Literary Agency.

  I am a literary agent representing clients in YA, middle grade, and women’s fiction.
• 2.

  Top of your mind - your most rewarding moments as a Literary Agent?

  The most rewarding moment of my job is when I get to make The Call to let an author know we have an offer on their book. It is so special to tell someone their dream, which they worked so hard for, is coming true.
• 3.

  Share with us some trends for 2017?

  I don’t want to call this a trend because that would imply that it is going away and I certainly hope it isn’t, but I have seen a real shift in publishing where editors are now actively looking to publish diverse voices. I think we are in the middle of a shift in the landscape of publishing where we will see more of a balance in representation moving forward. There is a demand for that change to happen and there is an awareness out there that we need to make a real push. So, again, not a trend, but a shift in a very positive and necessary direction.
• 4.

  We hear these days that children are less interested in reading and are more inclined towards visual media or are into audio books. What do you feel?

  I haven’t seen this! I think there will always be children who read and who love stories. Whether they prefer physical books, e-books, or audio books, the stories will find their audience.

• 5.

  You have experience of handling Foreign Rights? Share some of your contributions.

  At my former agency, I was the foreign rights director in addition to being an agent. It was a really fun job because I was working with a network of agents in many different countries. Building those relationships was a wonderful experience. I also learned a lot about what types of books work in various markets. Now I focus on domestic sales and a partner of NLA sells my authors’ foreign rights on our behalf. I have a lot of respect for the people who specialize in foreign rights.
• 6.

  What genres are you currently seeking?

  I’m looking for every genre in YA and middle grade! What I really want to see is a spectacular voice and a story that keeps me fully immersed. It is more about the experience of the read than it is about a specific genre. On the adult side, I’m taking on select women’s fiction. I only have so many slots on my client list so, regardless of genre, I’m looking for books that won’t let me say no.

• 7.

  Is Author-Agent-Publisher equation changing with the self-publishing becoming increasingly popular and an accepted norm? What is your opinion?

  I think that the relationships haven’t actually changed much with the introduction of self-publishing. If an author chooses to solely self-publish, he or she doesn’t interact with agents or with publishers because the author fills every role him or herself. It is a daunting task, but it can work very well for the people who truly commit to it. Authors who want to take a more traditional route and have the weight and support of a publisher behind them still go through the same process as before. Self-publishing and traditional publishing are two very different paths with the same end goal so, while they exist closely alongside one another, they don’t necessarily cross very often, at least not when it comes to author/agent/publisher relationships.

• 8.

  On a personal front, what does a weekend mean to you? Your favorite pastime?

  I love the weekend! I usually spend one of my weekend days doing reading work, but I also really like to go to plays, walk in the park, and take my cardio kickboxing class. When I can get out of NYC, I like to hike and explore nature. Of course, I also love being a couch potato and watching tv or movies to relax.
• 9.

  There is one question that I throw at all my guests, what is your favorite non-alcoholic drink?

  I’m a big seltzer drinker!
• 10.

  What are the key points that an aspiring author of ‘The Write Scene,’ should keep in mind to enhance their chances of finding an Agent?

  My biggest piece of advice is that you make sure your manuscript is the best, most polished, version of itself before you send it to agents. After you finish your first draft, go through and edit and get it into the best shape you possibly can on your own. After that, share it with friends and family and make even more changes based off of their feedback. Do this as many times and with as many trusted readers as you can. Keep plugging away at it and polishing. It will get better with each revision. Wait until you feel it is as strong as you can possibly make it before you begin to query. This is your shot!

• 1.

  What is the best thing you love about your work?

  Everything—Letters, literature, logic and load…
• 2.

  You mentioned on your blog about a work of fiction you are working on, share a bit about that with us. When do you foresee its completion?

  Well, that is a tough one! Sometimes, editors, who are writers, get so engrossed in helping others realize their dreams that their own dreams take a back seat… As for the project, the draft is ready, so a major bit is done; however, what remains is equally challenging and demanding…The book is a play set in the last lap of the twentieth and the early twenty-first century with a contemporary Indian backdrop. It is the story of the dilemma faced by three generations of average Indians in an era in which the world shrank under the Internet umbrella but problems surged. It explores the challenges that Indian youth faced and continues to face, among other overlapping themes including love in the twenty-first century and surrealism.
• 3.

  I love the line form one of your poems, ‘you wish, you knew me. I wish, you wished!’ beautiful thought. Are you compiling your poetry too? Who are your favorite poets?

  Thank you! I am happy that my work is being liked. Although, the fact is that I have not published a lot of it, yet. I have always believed in the magic of poetry, however, I have not touched its realm in entirety. Therefore, not compiling poetry as of now… However, ‘spontaneity’ is the one word that goes hand in hand with poetry. Having said that I may surprise myself by bringing out a compilation before the play comes out! My favourite poets include P.B. Shelly, William Wordsworth, Robert frost and William Shakespeare.
• 4.

  What are your responsibilities at Rupa publications? What do love the most?

  A host of things…right from reading and evaluating manuscripts to seeing them off to the press.The pleasure of holding a published book—a product of creativity and sheer hard work—in your hands for the first time and its fragrance is a joy, none other but the author and the publisher would know! And this is what I like the most!

• 5.

  A day in the life of Ananya Sharma?

  That is easy:

  • dream,
  • dream a little more,
  • help others to get to their dreams,
  • work a little towards my own dreams,
  • dream again; and repeat!

• 6.

  What genre do you love the most to read, share some of your favorite books.

  I like plays and prose alike: As You Like It, Candida, Julius Caesar, Accidental Death of an Anarchist, A Prisoner of Birth, One Hundred Years of Solitude, Iliad, Pride and Prejudice, Wuthering Heights, David Copperfield, Jane Eyre, The hunger games and False Impressions, among others.I have read them over and over again, many times. It gives me great pleasure to pick them up every now and then…

• 7.

  What genre trends do you see in the Indian Publishing industry in the next 4-5 years?

  Though prose and poetry seem to dominate, ‘poetry’ and ‘digital space’ are the buzzwords…And 4-5 years is a long time…

• 8.

  On a personal front, what does a weekend mean to you? Your favorite pastime?

  Weekend means more time with friends and family and a lot more sleep than usual!There is hardly any free time to pass; but if would be, I’d read or watch a movie.

• 9.

  There is one question that I throw at all my guests (laughs), what is your favorite non-alcoholic drink?

  Water!
• 10.

  What are the key points that an aspiring author of ‘The Write Scene,’ should keep in mind to enhance their chances of finding an agent or a publisher?

  There is no thumb rule to excellent writing or finding a literary agent. But here are a few things that will help you with both.

  • Content, content and content
  • Style and presentation, and
  • Humour and simplicity