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of what we otherwise know as the carnivalesque Goa.
In an exclusive interview with Satarupa Ray, the author gave her views on journalism, the much-debated sting operations, new media, her first novel, publishing and the changing face of bookstores in India.
Tell us about your stint in journalism.
I've worked in several areas of journalism since I was in school. Documentary filmmaking, radio, Internet, and now print. My writing has appeared in India Today, The Hindustan Times, The Indian Express and now in Tehelka, where I'm writer-at-large. My focus has changed over the years, as well it should, since I started so young. What interested me before in terms of subject - such as books or art - is something I now enjoy at a personal level. I'm currently concentrating on a lot of human-interest stories - from farmers’ suicides to a recently completed series on the lives of domestic workers. I'm lucky to have found a niche both educational and inspiring.
How do you perceive journalism today? Where does print journalism stand in the wake of the electronic and digital wave in media?
I'm excited by the possibilities of the new media, in both print |
and TV. They offer more opportunities, greater competition - which is always a good thing - and in their attempt to outdo one another many produce solid journalism with integrity and impact. Let's just say I'm cautiously optimistic. As for print, it may not have the advantage with breaking stories, but no medium can offer you the depth of print journalism. It's certainly never going out of style.
What is your take on sting operations?
To me, the purpose of the sting operation is paramount. What are you trying to achieve? Are you trying to empower a people or offer them salacious gossip for their evening tea? Sting operations, which were first started in India by Tehelka, have become an integral tool in every media organization’s arsenal. But merely because one can, doesn't mean one should. Conventional journalism can achieve many ends, and because of the many violations of freedoms inherent to the functioning of sting operations, I would support them only as a last option.
Tell us something about your creative process of writing a novel.
I write only in the mornings, quite early at that, and for several hours at a stretch. The rest of the day is spent in editing or fleshing out new ideas. I'm currently working on a non-fiction novel, and as you can imagine, the process is quite different because the research cannot be time bound and interviews continue throughout the day. But I imagine that when I sit down to write it all, I'll revert to my old ways.
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How was The Girl conceived?
It was conceived in the National Library of Scotland in Edinburgh where I was researching my M.Sc thesis. I'd spend up to eight hours a day among books, and one day I decided to open a word document to write a story to relax me during my breaks from work. That story turned into The Girl. I continued writing it on my return to Delhi, where I lived at the time, and thereafter I went to Goa to complete it.
How far is The Girl autobiographical?
All first novels are autobiographical in some way, however small or big. I'm a Goan, and this book is set in Goa. And Azul, the Village of the Dead, is certainly a composite of many villages I've lived in, in Goa. But that's all you're getting from me at the moment!
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Despite a very simple story line, there is something very disturbing about The Girl’s setting and the imagery. Was this haunting depiction predetermined or did it just happen as you started telling the girl’s story?
It was natural, flowing from the first chapter at which point I already knew the ending. Grief and loss is something each of us identifies with. The Girl simply took those emotions to the extreme. For me, being away from home, certainly the feelings of melancholia were greater and those set the tone of the book.
How many years did you live in Goa? What are your most impressionable memories of this place?
I was born in Goa, but moved to Delhi when very young. We returned twice a year for two months in the summer, and for Christmas, every year while I was in school. There's much that I miss about the "old" Goa. The sense of community, the peace and quietude, but most of all the traditions. We rarely bought things, we made them at home. In the monsoons we'd go hunting for frogs in the paddy fields behind our house, return with sackfulls, and have my grandmother cook them the following day. Catch us, or kids for that matter, doing something like that now!
We get a very different picture of every day life in Goa in The Girl. How have your experiences in Goa been intertwined with the descriptions in the book?
Very much so. As I mentioned previously, I spent my childhood in the "old" Goa. And that's the spirit that I've tried to capture in The Girl. The Goa that we know now is entirely different from what we knew then, and for me my craft is the best way to capture the past. This way, I'll always remember it.
With the protagonist being a woman, somewhat young, committing suicide and left nameless, is there something that you were trying to say about the human condition in modern times?
Yes. We're less likely now, I think, to reach out and help others, than we were ever before. There's also the stigma of depression that our society is still wary of. People are either against counselling because they're afraid of what others will say, or entirely unaware that various forms of assistance exist to help them become better and tackle their concerns.
In the last few years, we have seen an increasing number of young Indian authors writing in English. How do you view our literary output vis-à-vis the international trend in writing?
We have some distance to cover, absolutely. Particularly in |
terms of the variety of fiction, access to markets elsewhere in the world, and in the quantity of non-fiction we are producing. But as with most things, publishing in India is on a climb - there are many more authors, particularly young ones, and they are committed to their craft. I think in terms of both quantity and quality we've done well so far.
How do you view the reader today?
With affection. They're accepting of new writers, even while remaining committed to the established ones. They love good literature, and not merely pulp, as is often said of them. I'd imagine that bookstores too are doing booming business, because I've never been to one, which hasn't been half full. They're the new social spots to be seen at!
What did you read as child and later as an adolescent? What kind of books do you read now?
As a child I read everything I had access to. Including books I shouldn't! I started off with the classics, lots of Enid Blyton, and the Little House series by Laura Ingalls Wilder, which I must confess remains a huge favourite. Currently, I'm reading a lot of contemporary fiction and some non-fiction. By my bedside are Prep by Curtis Sittenfeld and The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson.
What are your other interests?
I love watching films, browsing bookstores, and travelling.
And finally, what more would you like to explore as a writer?
More fiction, and definitely some non-fiction. But being a writer allows access to a vast canvas, and I would like to explore as much of it as I may.
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