Friends Behind Walls
Your second book has arrived after three years. Are you happy with the way the book has turned out?
I am thrilled with the way Friends Behind Walls has turned out! I had initially visualised it as an illustrated book for younger readers. But Smit Zaveri, my amazing editor, called me one December afternoon and pushed me to think of it as a novella. She woke up this sleepy writer who thought the story was done, and she asked her to explore more. (When you read the book, you will know what I mean.) So that sleepy writer listened to her, and here it is!
How long did you take to write the book?
In the last three years, I have been doing a lot – running a book club, facilitating the library programme at Akshara High – a school very dear to my heart, writing, of course, and being mommy. So I took about 8 or 9 months to write Friends Behind Walls.
Bala Shenoi's cheerful and beautiful illustrations adorn your book. Did you give him inputs for the sketches?
Krishna is spot on with the illustrations! Besides being so much fun, they are astonishingly close to the mood of Deolali. I felt like he had a camera trained on this cantonment town where my story is set. I can take zilch credit for this though – it’s all Devangana Dash’s doing! She guided Krishna, and the man is blessed with supreme imagination.
Also, speaking of something intangible, I believe a great deal in the passionate spirit that drives a project, in fact every single thing we work on in life. Passion can raise the vibe of a project. An entire team can really be in different places and yet be completely in sync because they share the same vibe.
What came first? The characters or the idea?
The idea, definitely. I was in Deolali when I saw my neighbours’ children going across to each other’s houses through a hole in the wall. No, really, like creeping through. I was very amused. And the thought just came to me about warring neighbours and what the children would resort to, to keep a friendship going. The characters came to me after Smit asked me to expand the idea. I realised I had a rich pool of people right here whom I could write about!
Characterisation has been your strength. Does it come naturally? Do you create elaborate character charts?
Thank you for your kind words, Shyamala. I really do enjoy creating characters. But I don’t have elaborate character charts. I am more of an observer. I like to watch people and I think a lot (sometimes excessively, much to my family’s chagrin – I seem to be in my own world when the most important conversations are on!) When I think of people, I tend to weave a fictional world of events happening around them. It happens all the time; it’s a near obsession.
After creating an award winning book with your first creation, were you stressed while you were writing the second book?
Was I stressed? Actually, during this pandemic and with the lockdown, I have realised the last two years have been super-filled with books and children, so much so that I was barely thinking of anything else. So, ideally I should’ve been quite stressed about Friends Behind Walls but I wasn’t. Thanks to all the work and children surrounding me.
Are your two main characters inspired by kids you know in real life?
In fact, they are the only two characters that aren’t inspired by anyone I know in real life. Though Neel aka Putti definitely has shades of my own son (it’s something that people around authors are used to, I guess!)
Can fans of Kittu expect 100% fun and humour from this book?
Aaaaah! I hope so. Sprinkled with mystery too!
Is there anything else you want the readers to know?
I would like my readers to enjoy this place called Deolali through Friends Behind Walls, just like I did as a young girl. I loved reading about the place it was set in and if it was a real place, I imagined going there. Maybe my book could inspire them to come here. I have set one more story in Deolali. Read that too if you can – Doolally Tap from the Flipped | Adventure Scary series.
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