Anjali Kirpalani, all of age 27, has dabbled in different careers, from being a radio jockey to being an editorial head of Stylekandy.com, Mumbai, and writing for some leading magazines.
But she says her ‘true calling’ has always been writing. The former anchor with a leading news channel, Anjali has written two books, Never Say Never and Written in the Stars . Her second novel follows 27-year-old Ananya Jhangiani who flits from one job to another in search of a career that will capture her heart. Surrounded by over achievers in her family, Ananya is distraught when she faces a debacle at work and disappointment in love. However, a trip to New York leads her to meet Sameer. The book was inspired by a trip Anjali took to New York in 2012. How much of Anjali is in Ananya? “I have also battled with these feelings, of trying out different things in search of my true calling. I am someone who gets bored easily. Ananya too doesn’t like to be boxed into any particular career,” says Anjali, who lived in South Africa for eight years and moved back to India in 2008, and is now based in Mumbai.
Never Say Never is about Nikita Kumar, a 25-year-old Mumbai girl, who is unemployed and doesn’t know what to do with her life, made more confusing by her complicated love life. Nikita finally makes a list she of things she will never do, including never doubting her abilities, never falling in love with a person strictly out of bounds and never staying in a relationship with someone she doesn’t love. She soon realises that things seldom turn out the way we want them to and that you should never say never. “In this book, the focus is much more on the romantic aspect. Ananya in comparison to Nikita is much more ambitious.”
Writing, says Anjali, leads her to a different world, even as she balances writing with running her a company she has co-founded. “I started writing since I was in school in Durban,” says Anjali. “I freelanced for magazines and newspapers in South Africa.” Being a full-time journalist, she says, helped discipline her as a writer. “I was already writing my book when I was working with Stylekandy. Since I had to write within a deadline, I knew I could also push myself to write my book.”
Ideas flow as she writes, but Anjali says she also has a clear picture of the story she wants to write. “I always know the overall plot.” She is most excited by the reader responses she receives. “I get emails from readers. I once got a mail from a young girl who said she was feeling low and depressed at the point she picked up my book, but after reading it, she felt much more cheerful.”
Does she find the genre of chick lit misunderstood? “The books that fall under this genre are light-hearted and show a slice of life. I think people need to stop thinking chick lit is frivolous. Readers should be open to reading all kinds of books, and give every book a chance.”
