Aneesha Capur is a vibrant woman, who remembers a happy childhood with a complete family. Her book “Stealing Karma” however is steeped in the tragedy that she has never known and is her interpretation of how people would respond in the face of trauma. For a first time writer Capur is excellent as she touches all the right chords and pulls all the relevant strings. “Stealing Karma” is an emotional wreck.
“I always enjoyed writing, I was interested in the arts but never really considered it as a career option. It was after September 11, the recession and when I was unemployed that the first draft of the book took shape. Now not only do I love what I'm doing but I have also built a career out of it,” says Aneesha, who was at the launch of her book at Reliance TimeOut in the city.
Although she started writing her book in 2002, the whole process spanned several years as Aneesha juggled different careers, “My book has only benefited from the time it has taken me to write it because my story and characters have all evolved and so have I as a writer.” Aneesha left her full time corporate job to take up writing, “I have my own discipline and I had the flexibility to choose when I work and when I don't. But I also missed the team involvement,” she explains.
Brought up in Africa, Aneesha Capur writes a woman-centric book that is set in Nairobi, although she swears there is nothing even remotely autobiographical about it. “May be it happens with all first time writers, this was a story that I just had to tell. An immigrant, the political struggles in Kenya; it is a complicated plot but unfolds in steps and all the characters have their own plots. ”
Aneesha does not deny that she draws from her experiences in the country “So while the characters and the events are fictitious the political insecurity is not fiction.” It was the vulnerability of the mother and daughter thrown into this vortex that attracted Aneesha to the plot. “It is a tragic story but there are a set of diverse people dealing with their diverse cultural conflicts. People can relate to it and that exists throughout the narrative. The mother and daughter who are striving for intimacy and the notion of family is not traditional,” she says, explaining the role of the African housekeeper whose role in the book will make you question who one's family is.
With respect to the plot, Aneesha controlled the pen, so did she have to bring in the tragedy that she did, “I had a basic premise planned out and if I could I wouldn't wish for some of it to happen but I had to be true to the plot.
And just to acknowledge her non-fiction work before she concludes she says: “It is more analytical and very concrete, but not as exhausting or exciting as fiction – it is not my passion.”
