Interview : Parul Sharma

Parul Sharma is a well-known, witty author of three books - 'Bringing Up Vasu', 'By The Water Cooler' and her latest 'Tuki's Grand Salon Chase'. It is an honour to interview her on Literary Sojourn again after the successful release of her third book. (First interview can be read here.)

'Tuki's Grand Salon Chase' is your third book. How has been the journey as an author so far?

It's been great though obviously there are challenges that one encounters. My voice is evolving, and that fills me with self-doubt, wondering if I am following the right path (not that I have any control on it, to be honest). That is why it is extremely encouraging to hear reviews commenting on my growth as a writer. That is what I am in this for, to be as good a writer as I possibly can be. 

How do you decide on the plot of your books and what is the typical timeline that your books follow?

No one can really point out where the seed of a story first falls but I think in my case, it starts with people. People who are interesting and unusual and then their own story ceases to be and I give them the story I want to. Tuki's Grand Salon Chase took a few months to write and then a year and a bit for the edits, proof-reading, design and so on.  

Out of the three books that you have penned, which is the one that gave you the maximum satisfaction and why?

I honestly cannot answer that. Tuki involved the maximum effort though.  

Who was the inspiration behind the protagonist Tulika in Tuki's Grand Salon Chase?

A girl who cut my hair in an upmarket Bandra salon. A girl with so much naive ambition. All the girls who have ever cut my hair, really.

  

In your last interview on Literary Sojourn, you expressed your desire to write one funny travel book. Has there been any progress on that front?

None, unfortunately, except in my head where I am on the second draft already.  

What is next in pipeline after 'Tuki…'?

I have an idea sort of building up but I haven't yet started working on it.  

Where do you see yourself ten years from now?

Greyer, fitter, much better travelled, much better read, kids all grown up, waking up every morning and sitting at a desk to write, many more books with my name on the shelf.  

Who are your favourite authors - Indian and foreign? Which genre of books do you enjoy reading the most?

Gaura Pant Shivani and PG Wodehouse. That doesn't change.  

What are your suggestions to the budding authors?

That doesn't change either. Focus on becoming the best writer you possibly can be, publishing will follow.  

How do you see the literary scene changing in India over the last decade and which areas still need more work?

There are just so many more books. Not all of them are of great quality. Some of them show such disdain for language and even grammar. I am hoping the market will evolve and really good first-time authors will emerge with new stories to tell, whose voices will be strong and engaging and we will all want to listen to the tales these people want to tell. 

Book Review : Tuki's Grand Salon Chase

Title : Tuki's Grand Salon Chase

Author : Parul Sharma

Publisher : Westland

ISBN : 978-93-83260-59-1

Parul Sharma, impressed many and made many followers (including me) with her first two books - 'Bringing Up Vasu' and 'By the Water Cooler'. So I was waiting for her next piece of writing all this while. Finally her 'Tuki's Grand Salon Chase' reached  me and I did not lose any time starting to read it.

After having read the book, I can safely say that Parul has managed to continue her winning streak this time as well. As the name suggests this is a story of a young ambitious girl Tulika (Tuki) who dedicatedly works towards achieving the goal, carefully following her well thought out plan A. She successfully graduates from a murky looking Lovely Beauty Parlour to the elite Nancy's Factory graced by Bollywood beauties. But she is neither complacent nor contented with what she has achieved. She has a clear vision of owning a state-of-the-art salon in front of her.

The readers are thrown into the daily humdrum of a typical high-class salon right from page one and as the scene unfolds so are the characters of the story - the clients and the employees. Tuki, with - a sparkle in her eyes, her perseverant efforts and a heart of gold assumes the role of a perfect heroine of the story. With this, from first chapter itself, the stage is beautifully set for an adventure full story.

As Tuki precariously carves her road to reach her dream, her desire takes her to various diverse places including Mumbai, Goa and  London. Love and career seem to play hide and seek with her all through the narrative. One moment she sees everything all clear in front of her and the next moment, the whole thing disappears in thin air. Though all sorted out in her own mind regarding her future and career, she ends up getting entangled in a lot of cobwebs - sometimes of others and sometimes of her own making.  As she tries to make sense of her life where  she had not accounted for any plan B, she finds herself never erring on being there for others. 'She was her Baba's daughter, through and through. She would always find it easier to say yes than no.'

Many other supporting characters nicely complement and complete the story - her endearing always-experimenting Baba, besotted tattooist Faraaz, always-there Arvind, bizarre yet brilliant writer Bijoy Dutta, Nancy and her twins and of course Kaloo - a pig in a dog's hide.

When one picks up Parul's book to read, one expects a fast paced, fun-filled, light-read  book just as she had delivered in her previous books. But this time something lacked on all the above mentioned fronts. There is witticism, there is humour, there is fun, but not sufficient to keep the readers happily engaged and not tempted to skip some parts here and there. While reading her earlier two books, it was hard to find places in the story to keep the book down. However, this time the narrative suffered from some lows at various places.

She is one of those Indian authors who write good and interesting language, however, there is one thing which needs a mention here in this department too. In the first couple of chapters, it feels as if the author is rather in love with the word 'rather'. The word makes its appearance a little sparingly after that but then it surfaces again towards the end with much more enthusiasm. To make long story short, a tighter editing would have done the needful.  

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Interview with Parul Sharma

It is a pleasure to be sharing with all the readers, an e-interview with Parul Sharma - the much acclaimed and appreciated author of 'Bringing Up Vasu' (reviewed here) and 'By the Water Cooler' (reviewed here).

Do you think you were destined to be an author or did the writing happen by chance for you?

Well, I have always loved writing but the way things were going, it seemed unlikely that I would ever make a profession out of writing. I did the usual thing - studied Economic (not Literature) in college, got a diploma in communications, worked for brands - before I finally decided to reach out for that elusive book. It was a risk, a huge one in fact but it paid off.

When did you realize, you have enough content to start on a big project like 'Bringing up…'? What all preparations went into writing your first book?

I did not have content to begin with. The content appeared as I sat and wrote. I am not a very structured person and that reflects in my writing. I don't have ready chapter themes or even characters before starting out. They come about once I commit myself to sitting at my desk everyday and putting in the hard work.

Which piece of writing turned out to be more fulfilling for you - 'Bringing up Vasu' or 'By the Water Cooler' and why? Are you satisfied with the end products?

I think I am a very long way from being fulfilled by any of them. Honestly, I can't bear to read them without cringing. That's just the way it is. Hopefully this means that I will attempt to improve on them in further books.

What is your dream project? What other things are you working on right now?

I'd like to write a funny travel book. I have a feeling I'd enjoy that. I am working on a novel right now and editing another script too.

How has been your experience so far in the literary world? Any highs or lows being a part of this space, that you would like to share here?

Oh I don't know how much a part I am of the literary world. I don't know many authors or people who work in the industry. It's liberating to be your own boss and do the one thing that you are good at but it's a lonely sort of place to be in.

There have been a lot of budding authors on the Indian literary firmament. Who among them are your favourites? What significant changes do you see in Indian literary scene?

Yes, you are right in that but I haven't been doing too much reading other than my old favourites. I plan to rectify that at the earliest.

I think there is something of a genre-creation happening in the Indian literary scene and publishers are open to books that don't fall into traditional genres.

Both your books are contemporary fiction, do you want to continue in this space itself or would you like to diversify in different genres as well? Which would be your preferred one if you think of doing so?

I am open to writing everything - mysteries, travel, non-fiction.

Who among these - the one protagonist in 'Bringing up Vasu' and two in 'By the water cooler', defines you closely as a person ?

None and both, I would say. There is a bit of me in each and every character that I have written about but they are not all me.

Would you like to share any potential pitfalls of this world with the aspiring authors ? Any suggestions?

Oh but I don't think I have reached a place where I can offer advice to others. I'd say, read 'On Writing' by Stephen King. He says it all.

Book Review : By The Water Cooler

Title : By The Water Cooler

Author : Parul Sharma

Publisher : Westland

ISBN : 978-93-80658-37-7

Mini and Tanya are good friends who - studied together, left their previous jobs in an ad agency and are about to commence a new phase of their career in a fashion house - JR Enterprises. They begin their first day in the new place with stars in their eyes and hopes to have a promising career. But within the first day, the reality comes crashing down to them and their dream turns into nothing less than a far fetched one. The HR manager who hired them gets fired on their induction day and CEO is a conceited, egoistic person who hunts for the opportunities to make his employees know how dimwitted they are and how they are nothing but big recruitment errors. To top it all Mini's boss Shipra takes keen pleasure in trying every possible way to wreck Mini's career.

Mini is more ambitious but grounded of the two while Tanya is a little queer and is more focused on her upcoming marriage with her boyfriend Prithvi. Mini is made the incharge of a critical project which is literally pushing a non swimmer into the deepwater without any protection, to survive or drown. Tanya on the other hand is literally removed to the basement next to the kitchen of the office and is deliberately kept away from any kind of work whatsoever. But both of them take these extreme shockers in their stride, Mini with grit and determination learns the hard fact 'corporate bitches are made, not born' and implements it to her benefit while Tanya uses her 'no-work' time to plan a perfect and a well organized wedding for herself.

The readers are on to a roller coaster ride with Mini and Tanya and their funny incidents.

The other characters like the office secretary who is a detective in her own rights, an oily personal assistance, a lovable old photographer, the attitude-throwing model - create a colourful ensemble and make the whole story an entertaining reading experience.

Parul Sharma has offered everything from office gossip to office politics, from friendship to back stabbing, office romance to treachery, management basics to self defined principles - typical 'all masala' corporate culture and how the water cooler aides in propagating the rumors and gossips. What I liked about Parul Sharma's writing is that she takes time to define and describe each character which feels like a slow progress initially but then the same characters are so beautifully etched in the minds of the readers that the scenes from the text can easily be visualized as if happening in front of the eyes. The narrative gradually builds and towards the end it reaches the peak which is the perfect time to peak, in my humble opinion.

As the right balanced proportion of all ingredients - is the key to having a delicious meal, so is the perfect mix of wit, humour, sarcasm and satire to have an enthralling and amusing page turner and 'By the Water Cooler' successfully manages to offer this lovely potpourri.

Book Review : Bringing Up Vasu - That First Year

Title : Bringing Up Vasu - That First Year

Author : Parul Sharma

Publisher : Westland

A fellow reviewer from BookReviews - Bedazzled suggested this book to me and I ordered this book right away to read it leisurely during the Christmas holidays. I started reading it two days before the vacation officially started and this book turned out to be such a page turner that I finished it within two days. That is a good enough evidence that 'Bringing up Vasu' is indeed a quick read. Bedazzled, thank you!

It is a coming of age story of Mira, a new mom who aspires to be a 'Supermom' handling the newborn child, home and office with aplomb. Rightly so because she is very well prepared, she has read all pregnancy related literature, attended all pre-natal classes and planned the post-natal phase with utmost precision. The story starts with the delivery of little Vasu but the true reality stares Mira in her face when she brings Vasu home and is welcomed by a shocking news that her trusted maid is going to leave the job. Now she has to manage the newborn baby without the maid's help, yes her mother is there but she also has to leave soon to take care of her ailing aunt. While on maternity leave, her company gets taken over and in that process, Mira loses her job too. So now she has 'no nanny', 'no support from mother', 'no job' and persistent sleeplessness, but she is left with '80 kilos' of weight which she had so meticulously planned to shed in initial months after delivery but all those plans seem to be simply futile.

The unending cycle of baby's poos, diaper changing, feeding and putting the baby to sleep keep Mira and her husband Anand on their toes.

The story is deliciously peppered with many other characters - a few friends of Mira, a yummy mummy Rhea who keeps Mira abreast of the 'in things' in mommy circles. Overall an interesting and engaging story and I am sure all new-age mothers will relate to the story at some level - the highs and lows of being a new mom, handling a lot of things during this phase - when to step out of the confines of home to pursue the career, insecurities of leaving the helpless child at home with a Nanny, providing the best to the child right from identifying the best preschool and in all this the unending quest to find own identity.

The most witty parts of the story are the conversations between Mira and Anand. However, on a very few occasions the humor felt somewhat forced and not natural with the flow of the story but such points are really few and far between. Mira's 'Letters from the edge' deserve special mention too. The only character which felt a little unbaked and unreal was that of Mira's mother, but that is a small irritant compared to many positives that readers get from the book.