Iyer explores unconventional relationships

Writer Neeru Iyer has always been fascinated by the concept of throwing opposites into the same room and her debut collection of short fiction explores some kind of an unconventional relationship that forge between people with contradicting points of view.

Of Bridges Among Us came to Chennai-born Iyer, now based in the US, one story after another. All of the stories are aimed at exploring some kind of an unconventional relationship, she says.

“From the spiritual connection a soft porn actress shares with Michael Jackson, to the few strangely intimate moments a little girl shares with a mango-loving man in confinement, to the pain and awkwardness between a bully and the bullied who meet after several years — the world of these stories are full of people you know everything about who might take your hand and lead you to discover something new about yourself,” Iyer says,

Each story in the book, published by Palimpsest, pursues a different narrative style and a different relationship.

“This collection of diverse stories is put together with the hope that each story acts as a refreshing change from the one preceding it, striking a chord, so I think there’s definitely something in it for everyone,” the author says. To Iyer, relationships are the same as bridges.

“The same metaphor works for both — some bridges are meant to be crossed, some burned, some rebuilt. Sometimes a mere accessory or the spice of life, and at other times, the very meaning of our existence, each relationship has a role to play in all our lives, large or small,” she says.

Iyer feels that regardless of the gender, multidimensional characters that shatter stereotypes are a challenge to create and write about.

“Luckily, I’ve been blessed with the presence of several wonderful women in my life, so the only way to introduce a woman in my stories was as a real person, someone like me, someone like you, someone strong and yet vulnerable at the same time, a flesh-and-blood woman with all the glory of her virtues and flaws,” she says.

Iyer describes her book almost entirely a work of fiction though there are some autobiographical segments in the book, or parts inspired by real life.

“However, I have strived to keep the people and the relationships as true as possible, something to relate to and remember, as opposed to something far removed from our universe or something to be in awe of,” she says.

“The people in the book and their circumstances are from all over the place, really. Things I’ve read in the newspapers, people I’ve met, stories I’ve heard and read, everything contributed to the book. I’ve always been fascinated by the concept of throwing opposites into the same room. Would they become fast friends Would they kill each other Several of the stories deal with the bonds that are intentionally or unintentionally forged between people with contradicting points of view,” she says.

She finds a short story more or less a spontaneous adventure. “A novel is surely difficult to write and involves a lot of planning.”

Iyer, who believes that she has something to learn from every writer, has been recently reading a lot of slice-of-life manga, “so they have taught me to focus on producing more believable characters and scenarios while still offering the reader an exhilarating roller-coaster ride”.