Books

Meenakshi Reddy Madhavan

The blogger-turned-authoress on her debut novel <i>You Are Here</i>

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Meenakshi Reddy Madhavan
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Your blog is widely read, so what is it that inspired you to write a book?

The blog and the book are separate. Blogging has helped me keep discipline and write regularly but the book has been brewing for years.

You say nobody should tell their story unless they have something to say. Do you?

Well, for that, you’d have to read the book!

What are the issues that matter to the here and now generation that you portray?

Honesty and being above board with oneself and the society and I think that is one addressed by me directly by just writing the book.

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As a single woman in a city, you encounter a lot. Your characters don’t reflect it.

There are other books that deal with deeper, darker subjects, my book is not one of them.

After all the partying, drinking and casual sex, isn’t there a search for meaning?

I disagree that drinking and casual sex is all that there is to my characters. It’s a part of their lives, but it also causes them to think deeply about who they are, where they’re going.

What segment of the readership is your book aimed at?

I hope it’s reaching all segments. I’m getting feedback from 15-50-year-olds.

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Dirty old men are said to pick up these books.

That, surely, is the problem of the dirty old men. I can’t control who reads me.

You juggled a full-time job while writing this book. Didn’t your work suffer?

Luckily, I’m a night person, my most creative work always happens in the wee hours. I believe in the edict: I’ll sleep when I’m dead.

Your father is an acclaimed writer.

I’ve read his work in translation. Judgement is inevitable, but our writing is different.

How are you dealing with the critics?

Many are just upset I wrote a book at all. To be honest, I’m surprised there aren’t more bad reviews than there are already.

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