Metro Plus
Bangalore
Chennai
Hyderabad
Empirical empress
|
Writer Ira Trivedi tells MINI ANTHIKAD-CHHIBBERthat she is comfortable in her skin
|
Photo: K. Gopinathan
WRITE RIGHT Ira Trivedi: ‘Life is all about collecting experiences. I enjoy observing, being on the outside.’
After her second novel, “The Great Indian Love Story” (Penguin Rs. 199), was published, people started looking at Ira Trivedi as a writer. “And that’s what I am,” exclaims Ira who was in town for the launch of “The
Great Indian Love Story”. It is easy to mistake her to be a model given her peaches-and-cream complexion, her height (5’ 7.8”) and her lissom grace. Ira did have a brush with the beauty business when she took part in the Miss India Contest in 2004. Her experiences of the training sessions took shape as the snappy, vivacious novel, “What Would You Do to Save the World?” (2006) (Penguin, Rs. 250).
“I had attended this literary conference and realised I am happy in my skin as a writer of commercial fiction,” Ira says pulling a shawl closer around herself. “I like the Bangalore cold, it is not brutal like Delhi,” she says in an aside.
So does that mean literary fiction is a complete no-no? “For now. I might try it later.” Ira does not prefer to call her books chick lit. “Since I am a woman, I write about stuff women would be interested in. That is not to say only women read my books.”
This economics graduate from Wellesley College Massachusetts with an MBA from Columbia Business School is the personification of beauty and brains. Ira says she did not have to overcompensate because of her looks.
Both the novels share one thing in common — Riya, the protagonist’s name. “I decided to stick with the name. I don’t apply logic of any kind. I go with the flow, with whatever feels right when I am writing.”
Though Ira has travelled the world living in “nine cities across four countries and three continents”, she loves to write in Delhi. “My parents live there and I draw a great deal of comfort from that.”
So when Ira had come to Delhi to write her novel set in the high finance world of Wall Street, “The Intern”, she met a young woman whose story fascinated her and thus the doomed and beautiful Serena Sharma of “The Great Indian Love Story” was born.
The novel tells the story of an unlikely friendship between Serena who lurches from one debauched night to the next and Riya who has returned from the States after an unsuccessful job hunt. The book is set in the glitzy glittery world of Delhi high society where diamonds, cocaine, sex and heartbreak flow in equal measures.
“It is a darker book when compared to ‘What Would You Do…’. The title itself is a satire as the book is not about one great love even though there are love stories in it. I perceived it as a coming-of-age story for Riya, Serena and the city itself. It could have been any city, I just chose Delhi. The book talks of youngsters who are at a crossroads in their life and how easy it is to get seduced by the fast life. It is about young people doing a balancing act between the traditional and trendy.”
Both Ira’s books are based on experiences and even “The Intern” is based on her experiences as an intern on Wall Street. So is she scared of running out of experiences? “Oh no!” the 24-year-old says with a laugh. “Life is all about collecting experiences. I enjoy observing, being on the outside.”
“Great Indian…” is short and ideal to finish in one sitting. “Since the book is too short to have chapters, I divided the book into different voices. So you have Serena, Riya, Serena’s lover, her parents, all talking to the reader.”
While all beauty queens are Bollywood bound, is this beauty queen and writer looking at the Hindi film industry for film versions of her novels? “I think ‘Great Indian…’ would make a great film.”
Ira claims to enjoy editing her novels. “It is like giving clothes away. You don’t want to, but feel good when you do.”
Future plans include book tours and fulltime writing for the year with “The Intern” and another book for young adults. And would the protagonist be called Riya again? “I don’t know. Let us see!”
Printer friendly
page
Send this article to Friends by
E-Mail
Metro Plus
Bangalore
Chennai
Hyderabad
|
