WriterStory Interviews of Writers
Sudipta is a Full time writer and home maker. She completed her B.Sc from Calcutta University. Later she completed M.Sc from Central Sericultural Research and Training Institute, affiliated to the University of Mysore. She was awarded with gold medal for academic excellence in M.Sc.
Let us know more about her in her own words.
What inspired you to start writing?
Life to start with. Then there was this urge to find and add a purpose, a meaning to my life. To fill the world with stories of love, life, the beauties of it and many more. Because I feel the world needs good stories. Finally, people who believed and still do, in my capability as an individual, as a writer.
What did you like to read when you were a girl?
Books.
What is the greatest challenge in writing a book?
Writing a book is not a challenge if you have the required skill set and tool kit; if you know what you want to write and how to write it. Because the ball is in your court, do whatever you want to do with it. Write, edit, delete, create, recreate, change, modify… shelf, if nothing, and then restart. But publishing a book is undoubtedly a challenge; because here, the ball goes into a different court, where you don’t know who is playing, and rules of the game (if you are a beginner).
How much research do you do before writing the book?
The cities I have mentioned in my story, I was there for quite some time, I mean I used to live there… observed people, their lives, I mean everything that I needed… if you consider that to be a kind of research. Talking about formal research, yes I did a bit of it, and here I must add a note of thanks to many of my friends, who have had instrumental role in it. I thank them all from the bottom of my heart.
What motivated you to write the book “The Crossroads”?
I had seen people who loved and then lost themselves to love, lost their individuality to the idea of love. I did not like it. I mean I am not against love. I feel ‘love’ in itself is a wonderful thing; probably the best gift a man or a woman is gifted with. But losing ones individuality for the love of someone… I find it unacceptable.
I wanted to write a story about love and rediscovering oneself, one’s potential in love and not losing oneself to it. So that you realize that life is a complete whole in itself, and love is only a part of it. It is never the other way round.
By ‘love’ here I mean romantically connected love.
Can you tell us more about your latest book “The Crossroads”?
“The Crossroads” is a story of love, losing everything to love and then rediscovering oneself in the betrayal of it. It is a story of Aparajita Basu (my protagonist), her journey from girlhood to womanhood, her evolving relationship with her childhood friend Aniruddha, her relationship with her parents, specially mother, that she sacrifices, to some extent brutally, for her love, for her dreams. She leaves her parent’s house and goes to settle in the West. In this new country, her life changes, gradually, incrementally, irrevocably. And the truth is the more she moves ahead in her life, the more depth she acquires, the more she realizes her folly. The more she mingles with the world, the more she craves to go back to her roots. In short, it is a story of evolution from an ordinary individual to a more matured form of it.
How did you come up with the idea of writing fiction genre book?
What can be a better thing than to let your mind and thoughts wander, and create memorable stories and mind blowing characters. For me, creating a successful book is like creating a child who comes out to be a successful human being.
Who are your favourite authors?
I like good stories written by anybody. It is always the story that touches me more than the author. But again, if you ask me to name, I love Amitav Ghosh, Orhan Pamuk, Vikram Seth, Khalid Hossinni, Jhumpa Lahiri, Neel Mukherjee… actually many more. They are all great in their own way and I admire them all.
How much time do you dedicate for writing on a daily basis?
My schedule is little erratic, I would say, and I need to rectify it. But I have a family to take care, a five years old daughter to look after. So putting all these factors together, I try my best to sqeeze out as many hours as I can. On an average I spend 8 to 10 hours a day with my laptop; and this is not exclusive writing time. It includes many things… writing, checking mail, replying, facebook, at times reading… everything. I wish I could squeeze out more from each of my days.
What words of wisdom would you like to give to aspiring writers?
Write for the love of it, and not exclusively to get published. If you make small steps every day, you are sure to reach your destination one day. As somebody has once said, follow the headlight of your car, and you will reach your destination. The road will take you there.
You can buy her book now:
