A writer of many different worlds

Q&A/ Kunal Basu

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His next work is a collection of short stories, of which the lead story, "The Japanese Wife", is being made into a film by Aparna Sen. He tells Jai Arjun Singh that he is a story maker and a story teller.

Tell us something about "The Japanese Wife". How closely are you working with Aparna Sen on the film version?

"The Japanese Wife" is an unusual love story involving an Indian school teacher, Snehamoy, who lives in the Sunderbans, and his Japanese wife, Miyage. They meet through letters, get married by letters, and lead a "married life" without ever having met each other.

Things get complicated though as a young widow come to live in Snehamoy's household with her son, and our shy schoolteacher is faced with a strange situation: sharing domesticity with a woman to whom he isn't married, and sharing a marriage with a wife with whom he has experienced no domesticity.

I have provided inputs to Aparna Sen's screenplay, and consulted with her on some creative aspects. I have done a small cameo as well.

What are your expectations of the film?

Given Aparna's previous works, I am convinced she will bring alive the lyrical and quixotic nature of my story.

Among Indian writers based abroad, you are relatively low-profile, yet your books have been well-received. Why the decision to shy away from publicity at a time when Indian writing in English is so much in the news?

Publicity-shy! That's news to me! Ever since the publication of The Opium Clerk in 2001, I have been interviewed more than 50 times in India alone. I have been fortunate to receive literary appreciation as well as popularity in terms of sales of my books worldwide.

As for high profile "" that is usually composed of hype, which tends to evaporate after a book or two. The real test of a successful author, I think, is longevity on the shelves. That's what I am about.

Your books cover a gamut of themes and settings "" in fact, Racists (the story of a 19th century experiment intended to "prove" that some races are demonstrably superior to others) didn't have an Indian connection. What is your main motivation for writing a novel?

I am a story maker and a story teller. Despite locating my stories in a variety of worlds, I suffer no delusion of expertise. As neither a historian nor a social scientist, I have no pet theory to tout. Creating these stories, though, take me on a voyage of discovery into domains I would never have explored.

Do you have a personal interest in the differences between races?

Honestly, I don't know why I thought of the story of Racists. Just as I don't know why I thought up this unusual love story that forms the kernel of "The Japanese Wife". I have no didactic interest with respect to race theories. In fact, it required a fair amount of research on my part to bring alive the 19th century world of biological science.

How do you divide your time between your day job and writing?

I don't divide my time. I simply write, and that too mostly fiction. After 25 years as a professor, I have learnt to work my academic life around to suit my literary passion. At times there are pressures to deal with, but I try not to think too much about the disjunction between my two lives.