Timid Fingers: First of all, Loads of
congratulations for your book Operation Mom. How does it feel to hold the book
in your hands? I know, you are not new to the feeling but still, I am sure it
feels new every time.
Reenita Malhotra: It always feel fabulous! It was my birthday
recently and for a birthday greeting, my daughter who is in the US, posted a
picture of me holding her when she was a brand new baby. Needless to say, when
you look at a photo like that it brings on a rush of emotions, memory and
pride. That's exactly what it feels like to hold your book in your hands. After
all , it's also your baby.
TF: Operation Mom! Quite a unique name
to the book. So, how did this idea come into your mind?
Reenita: RTHK (Radio Television Hong Kong) where I work, runs a
charity called 'Operation Santa Claus' each year in Nov/Dec. I guess that's
where I (partially)got the idea for the name of the book. In my household, no
project comes easy. Everything requires
major consensus and work because every family member's agenda is always
foremost. Kind of like what happens during Operation Santa Claus with my
colleagues. Hence, 'operation' is a more utilized word in my life than
'project.' It worked perfectly for this story – Operation Mom – a Mumbai teen's
mission to get her single mother dating again.
TF: And how is the response you are
getting from the book?
Reenita: The response is great. This is the first Young Adult book
of its kind both in terms of writing style and genre. The story is definitely a
little out of the box for Indian readers but that's what I wanted to do – shake
things up a bit, make people laugh. There was one review by Shubham Kumar on
Flipkart that really delighted me. He called it
“top-notch intellect” and
said
“Albeit
it’s a female oriented book but it holds good entertainment value for both the
genders.” I was particularly happy about this
because even though it is female-centric, I know that a lot of male readers
will enjoy it because they will identify these characters with females from
their life.
Shubham also said “I feel that
Operation Mom is a top rated season of a famous TV show. It’s finely divided
into different episodes, with each one taking the story further. It never felt
like I was reading a book. It was more of watching a TV program that would be
telecasted on weekends.” Once you’re into the story, you feel like you’ve known
the characters for quite some time. Whatever they say, whatever they do, is
completely justified.”
More and more, people reject reading in favor of TV. I know
how I love binge-watching my favorite TV shows. How great is it then to bring
people a book that make them feel like they are watching their favorite TV show
instead!
TF: What about you’re previous works?
Could you please give us an insight about what your previous works were about?
Reenita: Previous to this I have written three books about Ayurveda
– Inner Beauty, Ayurveda – the Ancient Medicine of India and Forever Young -
Unleashing the Magic of Ayurveda. There is also The Chronicles of Arya,
another Young Adult book which I wrote before Operation Mom but is yet
to be published.
TF: I have seen that the way you have
penned your ‘acknowledgement’ section was really very new and interesting. Was
it the way you write? Or was it to maintain the flow of the whole story?
Reenita: No that's definitely the way I write. To be honest, much
as I love reading, there is a lot of material out there that is boring and in
this age of ADHD, it is really hard to grab someone's attention and entice them
into reading your book. I find most acknowledgement sections boring in the way
they are written so I like to spice up mine with something much more
interesting. And this might sound crazy but I also find many author
presentations boring. So if I am invited to speak as an author, I make mine as
lively as possibly – it's more of a standup comedy show than a classical book
reading.
TF: Any of
it related to your real life? I mean, setting up your mom etc?
Reenita: Goodness no! In fact my own mom made it a point to stand
up at my book readings in Mumbai and make this known to the crowd. She's
anything but divorced – a good old Punju lady who's been married 62 years.
The story premise is
completely fictional but there are real life anecdotes that I have cut and
paste into the book. The story about stalking George Michael for instance,
which is something I did as a teen. Or the description of the scenes in the
spinning class or flamenco dance class for example – those are lifted from my
own experiences.
TF: You really are in love with the
people you are always with and it is evident from the way you have used real
names in your book. Was it intentional or you just wanted to dedicate it?
Reenita: Wow – you picked up on that!
You know one of the oldest
truths that comes out of Vedic philosophy is that whatever is topmost on your
agenda today will eventually be reduced to dust and swept away by the winds of
time. I think the fear of being forgotten might be one of our greatest and most
basic fears. John Green highlighted this so well in his book 'Fault in our
Stars' through his character, Augustus who feared inevitable oblivion.
I don't fear oblivion but I
do think that through the writing process, an author gets to participate in
creating a lasting memory with a timestamp through his/her work. So why not
immortalize some of your most cherished relationships and moments through your
fiction?
My characters and settings are heavily inspired by my own
life scenes so people who know me are always looking to relate a particular
character to one of my family members or friends. And while there is plenty
overlap with things that have been, as a fiction writer you have the luxury of
twisting situations and characters into what you want them to be. It's a great
way to immortalize those you walks you always wanted to take down the wild side
or seek revenge on those who left you in the lurch somehow.
I'd say, none of my characters are truly one person but more
an amalgamation of different people I have come across at different times of my
life. In many ways I myself identify with the plight of
Ila and her mom, Veena, but the wild and wanton Aunty Maleeka is heavily
inspired by a crazy classmate of the same name. She and Deepali, her younger
reincarnation, buck the trends of the traditional Punjabi 'isms' that I have
dealt with throughout my life and in many ways they are who Veena and Ila live
vicariously through. Truth is, I think we all need a bit of Aunty Maleeka or
Deepali in our lives!
TF: You are a prolific journalist and
you have written so many books. Which profession do you idealize? Being a
journalist or being an author?
Reenita: It's not necessarily so different because I look at both
as story-telling. So in fact what I am is a story-teller. I use fiction and
non-fiction to do that. I use print, radio and multimedia to do both.
I think that no
matter who you are, the greatest thing
you have to offer to the world is your stories. Everyone has terrific stories
submerged within the depths of their subconsciousness but sometimes, it can be
hard to dig in discover those stories, much less bring them to conscious realms
and then disburse them to the rest of the world.
This is probably why I take my role as a story-teller very
seriously. Whether it is through my books – both fiction and non-fiction, or
radio shows or public appearances, I filter those untold stories, not just the
ones that originate from me but the ones that come from you too...the readers,
the listeners, the players.
TF: I am sure fame doesn’t touch much
of you cause you must be accustomed to it. But still, did being an authoress
help your fame of being a journalist or being a journalist played catalyst in
bringing fame to your books?
Reenita: To be honest I am not sure what fame is. The nature of my
work in journalism requires me to meet a lot of people, talk to them, interview
them. They recognize my voice from radio or tweet me when they read one of my
articles. Does that make me famous? Perhaps if I did that on TV. I love the medium of radio because I am the
most casual person on earth – my life is a pair of sweats physically and
metaphorically. I get to live that life to full capacity on radio and still
have people identify with my voice and stories. Is that fame or is it just a
matter of running away from TV?!
I certainly have not enjoyed
the JK Rowling experience of having throngs of
people line up outside the bookstore to buy my book the day of release.
That might bring me to true fame. Something I would absolutely love...not so
much for the fame but for the thrill of knowing that people so badly want to
read my story. What author doesn't want to write a best-seller?
TF: Really sorry to have bored you so
much but for the parting words, I would like to request you to say a few words
for my blog and for your readers.
Reenita: As
storyteller is always looking for stories so suffice it to say that the world
is my inspiration. That means you folks...my readers. So please do stay in touch and bring me your
stories too in any way that you can.
Blurb: When you try to set your mom’s life right,
be prepared to have your own turned upside down.
