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India's suave spokesman at the ministry of external affairs on his debut novel' We Weren't Lovers Like That (Penguin)
Are you the first spokesperson at the MEA to write a novel while holding the post?
Probably not. And that's a comforting thought.
How long did you take to finish We Weren't Lovers...?
Three years and another ten to get to the point where I could do it in three.
Graham Greene did 400 words a day' Flaubert did eight. What's your average?
A daily word output is the enviable luxury of a professional writer. I write whenever I can.
When do you find time to write now?
Honestly' I don't.
Why a first person singular narrative?
It takes me deeper into the protagonist's mind' helps me sound more bitter' more lonely' reach for that last nuance.
Do you identify with the novel's hero?
Like him' I went to school in Dehradun' and like him' I once took the Shatabdi. But that's it.
Are you a compulsive re-writer?
Sometimes I do. At times' I don't want to remove a comma from what I wrote in the first go. But in writing' you learn to kill your darlings.
Do we see your short stories in print soon?
Just find me a publisher.
Is the art of writing short stories dying?
I hope not. A good short story is like a photograph: it captures forever where something changes forever.
What's your count of rejection slips?
I've not done too badly. I even have one from The New Yorker.
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