Q. In your piece, The Anglophone Empire in The New Yorker, you wrote, “A substantial proportion of America’s population remains unconvinced of the need to undertake a new version of a “civilizing mission”. This is what distinguishes America from the imperial nations of the past”. Please comment.
A. Most Americans don’t want to see their country as an empire. They are very troubled with the way things have happened in the recent past. In fact, they are a lot who are more concerned about their own well-being.

Q. Didn’t the US attacks on Iraq concern them?
A. They have noticed it and are increasingly disillusioned and horrified with the costs of war. Americans have been misled by the Bush administration and the press. They did not have a realistic sense of what’s going to happen.

Q. With the US elections in the offing, where do you see America heading with its “acts of power”?
A. Popular sentiment has changed in the last few months. Americans have realized how problematic the current regime is. It is very possible that Kerry will be elected.

Q. And what next?
A. The change of regime will make a huge difference in terms of immediate policies of America. American power is so out of power with the rest of power in the world - this imbalance has to be rectified. This will take a very long time.

Q. How do you see the cosmopolitan Indian culture evolving in the coming years?
A. Indian culture is evolving very quickly. It will become a global culture and this trend will accelerate. Indian films, music and food are increasingly penetrating the globe.

Q. Apropos of what is happening in the world today, what would be your theme if you had to write a science fiction?
A. I would address the pressing issues of the environment through science fiction. Besides, The Hungry Tide is also an exploration of science and environmentalists. But it is not science fiction definitely!

Q. Your works of fiction and non-fiction have revealed the expert anthropologist, political commentator and historian in you. In The Hungry Tide, your latest novel, we see a skilled psychologist as well. Did the setting of your novel inspire this exploration into the deep recesses of the human heart?
A. This is actually true. Sunderbans has an extreme environment. The whole situation creates a circumstance where the characters are required to dig very deep into their emotional states.

Q. You have been a journalist in the past. Is there any contemporary author or world leader you would like to interview and why?
A. That’s a tricky question! I would rather not answer it!

Q. What are your other pursuits besides writing?
A. I am interested in sports, especially tennis. I like to read as well.

Q. Finally, what do you think is the best thing about being a writer?
A. Writing! That’s the real reward!