What's the story behind your latest book?
Have you ever glanced at that man on the train selling lottery tickets and wondered; what kind of a life does he lead, where does he live, has he always been employed at this job, and, is he happy?
Have you ever stopped at that busy traffic junction to notice the cobbler smiling and chatting with his customers as he unflinchingly handles the dirty shoes he repairs?
Have you ever felt that stab of raw human emotion, empathy, for these simple everyday people we encounter every day?
Did you know that empathy is that emotion that connects us to each other, no matter who we are and what we are doing?
My book is based on empathy and it happened to me like this: I was walking down a crowded dusty street in Chennai, when I saw a man huddled near a trash can. I had observed this man the previous evening too, and I definitely did not want to stop and stare. Something about him, however, pulled me to take a quick second glance, and I observed him holding a torn piece of newspaper and reading it in the fading twilight. Now I was intrigued, and I made a snap decision to walk up to him and ask him to tell me his story.
That was how this collection of 'conversations' was born.
All the conversations in the book are real, and are between a random person and me. They happened on a bus, a train, a flight, on a walk, at a store, and anywhere and everywhere.
When did you first start writing?
I don't think I can answer this question with accuracy. On the other hand, if you had asked me when I had started talking, or telling stories, I could answer saying, "When I was about two years old.'' I was a spinner of yarns, and my Mom was constantly at her wit's end trying to read between the lines and get at the truth behind my stories!
Read more of this interview.