Geeta Anand is the Mumbai-based much-feted author of The Cure , (published by Random House) a riveting book that tells "the true story that inspired the movie 'Extraordinary Measures'". It stars the redoubtable Harrison Ford, but Geeta is no mere speck in the distance, or the quiet author who wrote the book and faded into anonymity.
Now a senior writer with the Wall Street Journal , Geeta has done a lot of things, and all, her own way. Once a national swimming champion, she now makes a splash with her pen. "I set out to write a book that will have a strong narrative, not an academic book that would bore people. I covered bio-tech as part of my journalistic beat. I wrote on pharmaceuticals too, and came across John Crowley on my beat. I wrote a story on him back in 2001, and a couple of articles. I found the story rich, fascinating, with so much drama, intrigue, that I had to have it as a book."
So, her journalistic credentials helped shape the book? "Well, I used the same set of skills, the same channels, but, while writing the book I had to learn to be slow. I realised it is a different type of writing. When I sent my first draft to the publishers, my editor asked me to make it twice as long. He told me the reader needed to slow down, ponder, reflect; he needed detailing. So, I worked on that, but I was always certain that the book has to have a certain kind of momentum."
Talking of details, Geeta has painted with words. She brings out every little piece to the fore, not just the text but even the sub-text, not just the Crowleys' search for the enzyme that would keep their children alive, but even the side stories of Barbara and others. Right from John's graduation ceremony to the little reactions of his children to medicines, everything falls in like the slanting beam of the early morning sun through the curtains of your window.
"If the book is rich with details, I have to thank my editors. And, also John. He was so open, so receptive, so willing to share everything. In fact, while talking to me he came across as a man comfortable with himself, someone who made a mistake, and owned up to it. I saw him as a real man who sometimes stretched the truth, made mistakes, but was always a fine, fine human being."
For all the rapport she struck with John, Geeta was not as lucky with Aileen, John's wife, who was not as comfortable talking about her private life. While John probably found his interactions with Geeta therapeutic, Aileen "did not quite want that kind of therapy", as Geeta puts it. Result? When Geeta sent in her draft to the publishers, they thought she was being harsh on Aileen. "They felt I had done great injustice to Aileen. She is a much more private person." So, there resumed Geeta's search to know Aileen better, and restore parity.
About the book, she says: "I am an impatient reader. I did not want people to get bored. I did not want anybody to look, read and move on. I wanted them to finish the book. So, I kept it simple; it is a simplicity that stems from 20 years of writing on the subject."
The Cure , with its simple but extraordinary story of a father's search for a cure for his children, and his obstinate refusal to give up hope, might be making headlines, but there is more to Geeta than just a much-raved-about book.
Back in 1982, she represented India in the New Delhi Asian Games. Then went on to participate in the Commonwealth Games. Today, she might be walking the red carpet for the premier of "Extraordinary Measures", but, back then, she grabbed attention with her exploits along with the likes of Anita Sood, Persis Madan, Bula Chowdhury, Khazan Singh and Wilson Cherian. "I remember the those times. I am still great friends with Khazan, Anita and the rest. I was just 16 then."
So, when and how did she decide that the writer's desk and not the swimming pool will be the stage of accomplishment? "I was always a good student; had lots of interest. I regarded swimming as something I was good at, not something I could take up for a career." And, what a career it has been — A Pulitzer, a book that narrates a true story that inspires a movie… And, there’s more to come!
