Interview: Aditi Sowmyanarayan on her latest book Feet on the Ground, Head in the Air

 Interview: Aditi Sowmyanarayan on her latest book Feet on the Ground, Head in the Air

In her own words, Aditi Sowmyanarayan, is “a neurodivergent writer of fiction who enjoys writing slice-of-life stories that depict the victory of human spirit.” Her fiction novella, With You, Right Through won the Best Manuscript award at AutHer Awards Season 4, presented by JK Paper in association with The Times of India.

Print.Able connected with Aditi to delve into her experience of writing her latest book.

Print.Able: After Thus She Rose you seem to be back in your comfort zone with the Tam-Brahm swish set in Feet on the Ground, Head in the Air. In place of investment banking and the catering business of Gobble Thy Prejudice, you have warring families and pharmaceuticals in this new novel. What were the differences in researching for this novel when compared to the other two?

Aditi: So, from the perspective of cultural background, Ramesh and his family from Gobble Thy Prejudice were right up my alley since I belong to a similar family myself, and the story is set in my city.  I did do reading up and researching before creating the backdrop for this novel because it was partially unfamiliar territory. While language was the familiar part, certain cultural nuances and the city where most of the story is set are not. I am sure I have taken a few creative liberties in this book as well, but it was a lot easier to understand the backdrop and cultural nuances than while working on Thus She Rose, which was an entirely unfamiliar territory.

Print.Able: The two families sort of mirror one another – richer than rich, strong husbands, doormat wives, a good sibling and a nasty sibling in both families, the two good ones educated and living abroad, drawn back to Madurai for somewhat similar reasons, and identically focused on healing; the two nasty ones plotting and conniving, both confronting and collaborating with one another, identically focused on harming in order to secure their own positions. In the midst of all this, how did you conceive of Malar – enveloped in conservatism and overcoming it to the extent of ‘doing the unthinkable’?

Aditi: When I first envisioned this story, the outline and premise that I had in mind was of a modern day re-telling of Romeo and Juliet, with a liberal sprinkling of Gone With The Wind, but set in contemporary India. In this context, it became vital to create a character who could be the catalyst to get the story going; and so, the character, Malar, was born. I believe that we humans constantly evolve and change; and for someone like Malar, whose life is directly impacted by massive changes around her, to find the courage to choose herself is just a matter of time.

Print.Able: Harish is taken aback when he, by chance, overhears Sadasivan talking to Dhanush. Yet, Harish comes back to Sadasivan when he needs a schemer and collaborator. Did that happen as a slip or did you reason it out as a not unlikely turn of events in rich and warring families?

Aditi: The concept of allyship is a rather complex one. When you add deceit and the desperate need for one-up-man-ship to the mix, what usually wins is the need to win at any cost! Sometimes, the social strata doesn’t matter. What matters is who is perceived as the lesser evil. This pretty much sums up Harish’s thought process. 

Print.Able: Did you write this novel with your tongue in your cheek? Apart from all that is listed above, the way both families turn to ‘Silver Spoon’ to solve what they see as their main problem gives the novel a touch of whackiness. Anu adds to it by deciding to “open up to both families about the mess-up and remove herself from the unholy mess”. Were you laughing as you were writing this?

Aditi: There are times that I mentally chuckle when I observe people, chuckle some more when I read conversations on WhatsApp, or view content on social media. There is a lot of humour around us, and more often than not, it’s the same brand of humour that makes its way into my writing.

Click here to read her previous interview published on Print.Able