a:10:{i:0;a:2:{s:8:"question";s:38:"Describe your favourite writing space?";s:6:"answer";s:138:"I tend to write in cafes, I like the peace in quiet, the aroma of coffee beans and the sound of music. I also write at home on weekends.
";}i:1;a:2:{s:8:"question";s:34:"Do you have a writing schedule?
";s:6:"answer";s:199:"I don’t have a writing schedule. Writing isn’t something that you can start and stop everyday at fixed points of time. I tend to write when I am able to isolate myself, which is very important.
";}i:2;a:2:{s:8:"question";s:39:"Ever struggled with writer’s block?
";s:6:"answer";s:167:"I have, to be honest. But it doesn’t last for too long. All it takes is a nice long walk by the beach and some music to relax. You need to take breaks and unwind.
";}i:3;a:2:{s:8:"question";s:86:"What inspires you to write? Do you have a secret trick, or a book/author that helps?
";s:6:"answer";s:322:"I never had this ambition to become an author. The people I’ve met and interacted with, or those whom I’ve observed from a distance are my sources of inspiration. I don’t have a secret trick or author that inspires me to write. But at some level I might have been inspired by Great Expectations by Charles Dickens.
";}i:4;a:2:{s:8:"question";s:70:"Coffee/tea/cigarettes — numbers please — while you are writing?
";s:6:"answer";s:140:"Two to three cups of coffee while I write. Sometimes a cup more or a cup of green/mint tea, particularly past 2 am, and I’m still at it.
";}i:5;a:2:{s:8:"question";s:33:"Who are your favourite authors?
";s:6:"answer";s:225:"A lot of them actually — Charles Dickens, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Truman Capote, James Christopher Frey, Roald Dahl, Ruskin Bond, Ian McEwan, Amitav Ghosh, Haruki Murakami, Rohinton Mistry, Graham Greene and Khaled Hosseini.
";}i:6;a:2:{s:8:"question";s:61:"Which book/author should be banned on grounds of bad taste?
";s:6:"answer";s:192:"Fury by Salman Rushdie and The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy are two books that I picked up and didn’t finish. These are accomplished writers, but these books didn’t work for me.
";}i:7;a:2:{s:8:"question";s:38:"Which is the most under-rated book?
";s:6:"answer";s:302:"Books by Ruskin Bond, Premchand and R.K. Narayan are under-rated. They deserve a lot more attention and praise. Their books will stand the test of time and will be relevant even a 100 years from now, because they reflect a deep understanding of society and the landscape where these stories are set.
";}i:8;a:2:{s:8:"question";s:46:"Which are your favourite children’s books?
";s:6:"answer";s:251:"I grew up on the classics. My picks would be Oliver Twist, Three Musketeers, Treasure Island, Kidnapped, A Tale of Two Cities, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, The Fantastic Mr Fox and short stories by O. Henry.
";}i:9;a:2:{s:8:"question";s:43:"Who is your favourite literary character?
";s:6:"answer";s:252:"There are a number of endearing, conflicted and at times wonderful characters. I am most fond of Pip, Estella, Jaggers and Mrs Havisham from Great Expectations, Hassan in The Kite Runner and Dorian Gray from The Picture of Dorian Gray, to name a few.
";}}
