Writer’sBlock
The Mahabharata is a complete book in itself. It challenges you to deal with the grey areas of life, which is the most difficult part
Amrita Sharma, author of What Did I Ever See in Him?, has worked for various media organisations. She is currently with the BBC and is working on a sequel to her first book.
QDescribe your favourite writing space?
My room. I like a space where I can work in peace, without any interruption, so as to allow my thoughts a free flow.QDo you have a writing schedule?
Not at all. I pen down thoughts whenever I come up with something new and then elaborate on them whenever I get some time, amid all the chaos, if I may add :)QEver struggled with writer’s block?
Oh, many times. And believe me, it is very frustrating — when you have the time, you are not in the mood to write and when you pen it down just because you can, you see the difference in the quality of your work. It just doesn’t reflect what you want to articulate.QWhich books are you reading at present?
A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini. It is an amazing book and touches you deeply with its poignancy.QWho are your favourite authors?
Most of the Victorian writers like D.H. Lawrence, Jane Austen, George Eliot, Thomas Hardy, some Russian novelists like Fyodor Dostoevsky and Leo Tolstoy. Some of my favourite books are The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde, Dangerous Liaisons by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos and Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert. Among my contemporaries I have really enjoyed reading Erica Jong, Tehmina Durrani and Upamanyu Chatterjee.QWhich is the most under-rated book?
The Mahabharata. This is one book which is complete in itself, since it encompasses every nuance of life. It challenges you to deal with the grey areas of life, which is the most difficult part to deal with.QWhich are your favourite children’s books?
Books by Enid Blyton and the Arabian Nights are my all-time favourite children’s books. I can read them for hours and hours. I also love the Amar Chitra Katha series.QWho is your favourite literary character?
Heathcliff from Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë. I was in love with that character for a long time since he was the archetypal tortured romantic hero who was extremely passionate about every emotion he felt.QWhich is the funniest book you have read?
Upamanyu Chatterjee’s English August. The tongue-in-cheek humour makes me double up with laughter even today.QWhich is the most erotic book you have read?
The Stranger at the Palazzo d’Oro by Paul Theroux. It is a very sensual piece of work. Also, Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov, which appeals due to its unrestrained style of sensual expression. Even Lady Chatterley’s Lover by D.H. Lawrence is an amazing piece of writing.
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