She completed her undergraduate studies in Psychology from Dartmouth and went on to obtain a Masters in Social Psychology from London School of Economics (LSE). Her debut novel Like a Diamond in the Sky was published by Penguin India in 2009.[break]
Republica sat down with her to discuss her background, being a woman, and being a writer.
Have you always been writing or did you use your back ground in psychology and social psychology for your book?
I’ve always really enjoyed writing, but my Masters in Social Psychology definitely helped me in a lot of ways. One was the actual discipline of writing – doing a Masters with a thesis taught me how to structure things. Writing actually isn’t just so much creativity as I used to think was there, there’s a lot of structuring and it was a skill that I had to learn. You have to plot it out, build the architecture, lay the foundation, and draw the narrative.
There was this survey where Bangladesh was rated at one of the happiest countries; you would wonder why that is when it’s one of the poorest nations. So I went to investigate it. My thesis was on happiness and the representatives of happiness among the ultra poor. So I got to spend a month with extremely poor women in Bangladesh understanding what happiness means to them.
What I learned there actually fed directly into my novel. One of my characters named Falani is a slum dweller who sells drugs, she’s a single mom and she’s very poor; so everything she says is a compilation of what I learned for my thesis.
Why did you study psychology and social psychology instead of writing?
I did a 10-day course after psychology but I guess I didn’t think it was something I should study. I still had to get a job and earn my living. I’m also working as a social development agent, so that degree definitely helped me. Writing has always been a hobby for me. I would love it to be my fulltime profession, but I think I have a long way to go before that.
There was a session where Tarun Tejpal said if you’re young, you should wait to write a book. But you’re young and have a novel. So what do you say to that?
(Laughs) I hope I get better as I get older! Maybe I have a head-start since I’m starting young. I have two kids now, but I actually wrote this book five years ago. Then I didn’t have kids, I wasn’t married and I had this huge chunk of time. And now with kids, a job, and bills, it’s much harder!
How do you balance working, writing, and being a mother?
I think modern women can hang on to their career and their passion, (laughs). They have to give up their social life! I mean, you can’t do it all. In countries like Nepal and Bangladesh, you have a lot of social obligations and it’s hard, it’s hard being a woman.
As a woman, you go to work, then you come home and manage the household which I don’t see men doing. So for men, the harder part of their day is at work, for women, that’s the easier part of the day. So that’s something I’ve definitely been struggling with.
Do you have plans for another book?
I’m working on one. It’s sort of about the modern woman’s struggle. It’s much lighter, more fun. It’s drawing on some psychology I’ve studied and little tips on how to make it through. This book is more about having fun and being a modern mom with changes on an individual level.
Do you know if the younger generation has picked up more on your novel?
I don’t know in terms of sales. But in terms of feedback, a lot of university students really liked my book and I think it’s because my protagonist is a university student. I got a lot of feedback from young Bangladeshis saying, “Wow, I’ve never seen Bangladesh from the eyes of someone like us.” So it was really special to hear that. But it is in English, so a lot of the Bangladeshi population isn’t able to read it. So in terms of young readers, it’s been the English medium and university students.
They really liked it and the problems I’ve written about – the really large and disturbing growth of drug abuse is very common among that group of people. So I think they’ve been able to relate to it and I hope it’s been helpful.
What advice do you have for aspiring writers?
Just keep at it, That’s the hardest thing to do. A lot of people are very creative but they don’t have the discipline and that’s one of the reason I’ve been able to finish a book when people a lot more talented than me just haven’t. Everyone has a busy life. But you just have to carve out time and be disciplined.
Related story
Nepalis’ spirit after the earthquakes was Nepal’s most beautifu...
-1770648553.webp)
