India in Love isn’t as the first half of the title suggests a syrupy sweet desi love story. Instead, it is a gritty take on the changing relationship dynamics of urban India related in a candid, no holds barred manner.
“I was a little afraid at first to publish this book as I didn’t know how it would be received here. But I also realized that I could not afford to be a coward and cow down at this stage. I wrote the book because I thought that India was going through a sea change and it was important to chronicle it,” says author Ira Trivedi
However she admits that though researching and writing the book was a challenging task which entailed her travelling extensively within the country; people’s reactions to it surprised her.
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“I didn’t expect them to be so open,” she says. “I guess that happened because people knew that they weren’t being judged,” she says adding, “Relationships are very complicated in India. There is a lot of confusion. For example, the arranged marriage phenomenon. Even those in arranged marriages want love but they also want family approval and seek to balance both these needs.”
India in Love is the author’s first work of non-fiction but it is not her first book. She has been writing for almost a decade. "I wrote my first book at 19 titled 'What would you do to Save the World?' a take on the dirty underbelly of the fashion and glamour industry," she says. This was followed by two other works of fiction 'The Great Indian Love Story' and 'There's no Love on Wall Street'.
"I’ve always wanted to write but life happened and the glamour of money and power took over. I worked in the corporate for a bit and then rediscovered the joy of writing. Now I write full time — I can’t balance a job with my writing, I like focusing single-mindedly on one thing," she says.
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As an author who dabbles in both fiction and non-fiction, she says that the latter is harder because of the constant need to cross-check facts before working it into the book, "It can get overwhelming," she admits. What helps, she mentions is her academic background. Ira who holds a Masters in Business Administration from the Columbia Business School and Bachelors degree in Economics says that, "I think my degree in economics and my stint in B-school had trained me to research correctly."
Another thing she says helps her writing is the yoga she practices, "I practice the Sivanand style of yoga which destresses me, disciplines and balances me. I need that, especially as a writer."
On future plans the Delhi-based writer smiles and admits that she needs a breather before she starts writing again, "I’m a little overwhelmed now. Maybe I’ll do another work of fiction next," she says.