Q) What projects are you busy with currently
Q) What projects are you busy with currently
Currently, I’m writing a detective novel that’s set in Mumbai. I’ve only just started, and don’t have all the characters or the story mapped out. In other words, I’ve no idea what I’m doing.
Q) Describe your favourite writing space.
I write at my dining table that overlooks a small balcony. There’s a tree outside and if I leave the balcony door open, I can hear some birds flitting about.
Q) Do you have a writing schedule
I start at about 7.30 or 8 in the morning and write until 2 pm, with a few short breaks in between. After some lunch, I go back to writing for another hour or so, but basically by this point I’m going over what I’ve written in the morning. This is generally my schedule when I’m creating new material.
Q) Ever struggled with writer’s block
I read somewhere that there’s no such thing as writer’s block, it’s more laziness and fear that keeps a writer from sitting down and doing the work. I couldn’t agree more.
Q) What inspires you to write Do you have a secret trick, or a book/author that helps
Reading good literature inspires me. As far as tricks go, there’s only one trick to writing: you have to sit in the chair and write every day till your fingers are numb from typing and your back hurts.
Q) Coffee/tea/cigarettes — numbers please — while you are writing
Two cups of masala chai with fresh ginger and a splash of sugar in the early morning and a cup of instant coffee with milk, no sugar, around 11 am.
Q) Which books are you reading at present
I just finished reading Orhan Pamuk’s new novel A Strangeness in My Mind and enjoyed it immensely. Tonight I start A Brief History of Seven Killings by Marlon James.
Q) Who are your favourite authors
That’s a difficult question. But if I must name a few I’d say, John Banville, Ian McEwan, William Trevor, Italo Calvino, Haruki Murakami, Amitav Ghosh, Ruth Ozeiki, Kiran Desai, Hillary Mantel, Michael Ondaatje and J.M. Coetzee.
Q) Which book/author should be banned on grounds of bad taste
“Taste” is a subjective matter, and “ban” is a strong word. I’ve come across books that are poorly written or insufficiently imagined, but I don’t think any book or author should be banned.
Q) Which is the most under-rated book
There are many under-rated books, but what comes to mind immediately is a novel called The Last Reader by Mexican writer David Toscana. The story focuses on Lucio, a librarian of a remote village in Mexico who is also the village’s only reader. There are also many excellent short story collections that don’t get the attention they deserve. The short story genre itself is often elided in favour of its robust cousin, the novel. I hope my book will help change that!
Q) Which are your favourite children’s books
It’s been a long time since I read children’s books. But the stories that have stayed with me are the famous tales of Akbar and Birbal, as well as the stories featuring Bakor Patel and Shakri Patlani written in Gujarati. Also, The Little Prince and The Arabian Nights — although these are not strictly for children.
Q) Which classics do you want to read
Remembrance of Things Past by Marcel Proust, Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky and The Stranger by Albert Camus.
Q )Who is your favourite literary character Prospero from Shakespeare’s The Tempest. This is the last play that the poet wrote. It is his farewell tribute to a lifetime in the theatre. Prospero, the exiled duke of Milan, is a thrilling and majestic character. His speeches in Acts IV and V are some of the finest lines in literature. Q) Which is the funniest book you have read Salman Rushdie’s Haroun and the Sea of Stories. But it is also one of the saddest books. Q) Which is the most erotic book you have read Although not an erotic book as such, Michel Houellebecq’s Submission has several erotic scenes that are lengthy and descriptive but they work because they are written in simple, straightforward language. Also, Gustave Flaubert’s Madame Bovary is such an erotic book! So much is conveyed in the clasp of a hand or the meeting of eyes across the room. Q) Which book do you wish you had written I am in awe of the Iranian writer Laleh Khadivi. Although there’s no such thing as a perfect novel, Khadivi’s The Walking comes close.
