When Kiran Joshi moved from India to Melbourne and in her own words was “jobless” for a few months, she chose to write. Her book Beyond Forever… in Love was published earlier this year, and like many young Indians writing in English today explores the romance-fiction genre.
Beyond Forever… in Love is about Kamna, a young physiotherapist, who suddenly realises that her choice of career and choice in men have both been wrong. In a bid to turn things around, Kamna moves to Mumbai and opts to do an MBA programme. Soon, Varun, an old patient, comes back into her life and love blossoms between the two. But, all is not what it seems. Just when Kamna begins to believe that she has found Mr. Right, Varun is a changed man and things fall apart!
The book almost mirrors Kiran’s own life. Just like the protagonist in her novel, Kiran too is a physiotherapist, but chose to quit the field and pursue HR after an MBA degree.
“Nearly 50 per cent of the book is from my own life,” says Kiran. “I’ve always felt that when an author writes, he or she puts in small parts of his own life into the story. So, I started the novel with my own experiences, but then the characters took a life of their own and started creating their own stories,” she says.
So, while Kiran concedes that Kamna is a lot like her, she says, “But if I were to compare myself to her, I would say Kamna is a lot more patient than me. I am a very hyperactive person and sometimes my Bollywood-esque antics can be hard for people to tolerate.”
As for Varun… she sighs! “Varun is every girl’s dream man. He is suave, morally grounded and a total gentleman who is invested in relationships. And, oh! He is filthy rich too,” she laughs.
With the novel exploring the archetypical romance between a simple, girl next door and a wealthy man with Greek God looks, Kiran says the story came naturally to her. “Being brought up on a fare of Bollywood movies and romantic novels, I have to confess that I am an eternal romantic at heart. My first novel may be a romantic chick lit, but I am interested in pursuing other genres as well,” she says.
Currently based in Melbourne, it was not easy for Kiran to get the book published.
“It was easy to write the novel. But when one finishes it and looks to publish, the industry is just way too competitive for newcomers,” she says.
So a string of unanswered mails later, Kiran took matters into her own hands and stayed up odd hours to call publishers in India and chase them for responses. “Since, I was unemployed I had all the time in the world. Finally, I received a contract from two publishing houses. It was definitely worth all the hard work and chasing,” she smiles.
Beyond Forever… in Love has been published by Pustak Mahal and is available at Homeshop 18, bookadda, U read, Flipkart, Amazon and Pustak mahal.
