A change in environment can lead to creativity. This is true for Deepti Kapoor whose debut novel, “A Bad Character” (Penguin), was launched recently. A graduate in journalism and postgraduate in social psychology, she worked as a journalist with a magazine for many years as a trends correspondent. Later she became the editor of The Man for a year.
Over a luncheon interview at Cafe Turtle, Khan Market, Deepti explains how her first novel came into being. “I became sick of the publishing world and then moved to Goa with my husband, a freelance writer and photographer. I practised yoga, became an early riser and led an austere life.” It was time for retrospection of the years she spent in Delhi. “The space, time and place made me contemplate about my Delhi experiences – the power of men and their domination, female desire, the treatment meted out to women by men and vice versa. Basically what the city does to people – leading to paranoia, claustrophobia and aggressiveness.” This culminated in the novel, completed in little over three years in May 2013.
The title came to her almost instantaneously. “The term ‘bad character’ is used by neighbours while gossiping about someone who wears jeans or comes home late and is frequently used in newspapers…I used it for the boy, girl and the city in the story – a sort of declaration, mocking the society at large.”
Deepti orders a Delhi Detox, a mix of carrot, celery, beetroot, apple and ginger juices while nodding a greeting to an employee. She seems very much at home. “I had worked here in my college days. It was nice meeting people and enjoying the jazz music. Though it was a long time ago but it seems like yesterday,” she says. After checking with her ex-colleague, she orders fattoush for lunch.
Continuing about the Capital, the author observes that the ancient and the modern are juxtaposed here. “It leads to clash of the old values with that of the young, who are influenced by the West,” she says.
The female protagonist of the novel is Idha. Says Deepti, “It was inspired by the feminine side of yogic body which is ida.” It means comfort in Sanskrit and is associated with moon and female energy with a cooling effect. The masculine side is pingala. “Idha is a product of the middle class strata which has got opportunities and access to resources because of globalisation and a flood of new jobs. Hence there is a clash between the old values and modern trends.”
The book deals in detail with the status of women. “The male gaze and stare are a unique aspect of Delhi. It is not good and leads to objectification of women. In fact it becomes a part of women’s psyche and they create a shell around themselves to avoid it.” Unaware about it, it was her husband, an Englishman, who pointed it out after observing her.
The salad, a West Asian dish made of mixed, seasonal vegetables and herbs arrives. This one has bell pepper, onions, cucumber, tomato and lettuces.
The aroma of food is all-pervading and one sees patrons enjoying the fare with music playing in the background. Deepti loves Italian and Japanese cuisines and kababs. The home-made variety of the first two is available in Goa thanks to the expatriates. The last she enjoys when visiting the Capital.
Deepti confesses that she never learnt cooking because of her work and since she was staying with her family.She learnt cooking from her mother, who instructed her over phone, husband, and of course the internet. “I make excellent chicken curry. I enjoy marinating it with spices and then cooking. The best part is the changing flavours of the dish.” She adds, “I must learn to make more items from my mother, especially kababs”.
Does she miss her mother’s cooking?
“Yes, when I am sick, the khichdi and dal. I suppose more than the food it is the nurturing feeling and love which makes it special.” She clarifies that her husband too, takes equal care of her when she is unwell.
With the lunch over, the writer’s ex-colleague hovers for further orders. She enquires if the lemon cake with lemon sauce continues to be tasty. The emphatic yes makes her order that.
“I love chocolates, banoffee pie and cheese cakes and not to forget ice creams.”
Resuming conversation about the book, Deepti says, “My debut work is not a fantasy, it is rooted in real life — seen, experienced and observed — which I have used as jumping board for the fiction,” says Deepti, adding “though I have invented a lot more.”
Rounding off an open and frank interaction, she says she plans to write a couple of Delhi-based stories which will be “breezy and funny” and also a big novel.
