“Making people laugh is serious and tough business” – Author Anupama Jain

Anupama Jain is a writer, mentor, teacher and founder of an award-winning Facebook Group SeniorSchoolMoms. Her ability to look at life with dollops of humour has got her a steady fan following among the young and the old. While Anupama’s latest book When Padma Bani Wifey, a sequel to her debut book When Padma Bani Paula, is keeping readers hooked, her children’s book Kings, Saviours, Scoundrels: Stories from Katha Sarita Sagara took her to the Bookaroo Children’s Lit Fest in Srinagar recently.

In a heart-to-heart chat Anupama tells us how she balances so many hats, why she loves telling serious stories through humour and why she finds it very hard to put herself out there all the time.  

You were at the Bookaroo Children’s LitFest in Srinagar recently. How was the experience?

Writing for children and adults gives me the privilege of attending lit fests of both. Recently, I was invited to be a speaker at the Bookaroo Children’s LitFest, held at the Delhi Public School Srinagar. I had a great time being amongst distinguished authors, storytellers, illustrators, and creativity specialists who engaged the young with various creative exercises transforming Srinagar into a hub of creativity and wonder.

The bracing air of Srinagar, the love and warmth I received, the scenic venue of the festival and our stay, and my happy and passionate young attendees, made this experience all the more memorable.

Your Padma series is strikingly different from Kings, Saviours & Scoundrels: Timeless Tales from Katha Sarita Sagara. How do you move between the genres?

My mentoring and tutoring of young adults have helped me pen the Katha Sarita Sagara book. I was teaching the works of great masters, their craft, and the fine nuances of telling a story. While I taught, I learned. Writing for children is an entirely different cup of tea when compared to writing for adults. With children, you have to be very precise with your words, you cannot meander much. Verbosity doesn’t work, and it gets boring for young readers – whereas you can get away with freewheeling prose for adults. It is the economy of expression and vastness of the tale that works with kids.

Each time I wrote a tale for KSS, I read a story written for children by a maestro and went back to my writing to make the requisite changes.

Slowly the book evolved over multiple iterations.

What has been the toughest part of your writing journey?

I am not a hustler or a visible go-getter by nature. I do not possess the innate marketing skills to be that ice seller to the Eskimos. It kills me to put myself out there, seeking an audience for my work. But days are such given the overcrowding of the writers’ world where the supply far outnumbers the demand.

‘Out of sight is out of mind’ is truly an unfortunate situation. So, I am trying hard to step out and pitch myself more since writing is only 40% of the job of making a good novel. The other irritants have been concentrating completely on the job at hand while disconnecting from the lure of SM and getting over writer’s block.

In an age when people take themselves too seriously you are always laughing at yourself and sharing hilarious posts on SM which your fans lap up. Do you actually believe that laughter is the best medicine?

Laugh, and the world laughs with you; weep, and you weep alone

How true the above phrase is. Though I must tell you making people laugh is serious and tough business. In this wide universe, we are such tiny specs in the larger scheme of things. So why be serious or grandiose? Life is rather difficult for most. Bearing a fellow peep’s groan-fest is unpalatable for most since they are already trying their best to tackle their messes.

Eventually, since it is ashes to ashes dust to dust, why not spread cheer rather than gloom?

And laughter is infectious. I would rather be viral and influenza(r) than be solitary.

Your debut novel When Padma Bani Paula has your trademark humour but tells a serious story. Whenever you write, do you always want humour to take centrestage?

When Padma Bani Paula, my 70K odd-word debut novel came out of a 300-word short story written for a humour competition. It tackled several serious issues like ageism, second chances, and the strength of roots and traditions. I feel when you say something serious with an iota of humour it sits well on the audience rather than steamroll it down their throats.

If I can make people laugh while I manage to make them think, I have done a good writer’s job. Though, I don’t always write funny tales. I have penned multiple tearjerkers too.

In your recent release, When Padma Bani Wifey, your protagonist Padma, a go-getter, and career woman is married and settled in holy matrimony. What are you exploring in this book?

One can marry and still have a robust career. In the first outing, Padma was single and ready to mingle. She then found Varun who doted on her, who wanted to take their relationship to the next level. When Padma Bani Paula ended love culminated into marriage.

I wanted to see how the seven-year itch – which refers to the disputable notion that divorce rates reach their height around the seven-year mark of commitment – would be tackled by the two involved parties. Would it leave any scars on them? Or was their love good enough to hold them through? How do changing career dynamics affect the husband and wife? Will egos play the spoiler? One has to read the book to know more.

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In this book you have tackled how an ambitious, successful woman can transform post-pregnancy. Have you experienced this physical-mental change?

For a long time, I didn’t know that a term called postpartum depression existed and I had already gone through it when my first child was born. Now I know and that is the wisdom accorded by hindsight for you.

There is so much pressure on a woman to ace the twin game of mothering and careering plus sporting a faultless figure with washboard abs to boot.

The calling out of failures or the faltering is relentless, scarring even the strongest. How Padma tries to tackle this carping crescendo forms the material for a few chapters. Does she sink or learn to swim against the tide? When Padma Bani Wifey has the answers.

It is said that writers draw inspiration from people around them. Has anybody you hate, become a villain in your story?

Unfortunately, so far no. I’m being a bit Jaini that way. Forgive, forget and move on. Nonetheless, I am keeping very close tabs on the hurting folk. Let them be forewarned that they are walking on very thin ice. There are so many stories still left in me to write. And stories will have villains. So, who knows.

Can you tell us a bit about your writing process – how you create your characters, setting, plot twists, do you first create a storyboard, or does it flow as you write?

The skeletal plot has to strike me first – which it invariably does – when I am not in a position to jot down my thoughts. So, I fervently hope, these stirring, the next booker-prize thoughts are sustained in my bubbling cauldron of a head.

I also mentally file away the real-life incidents that are far quirkier and whackier than what a half-decent fiction writer can conjure up.

Then the basic character set, and the bare story twists, all have to be sitting properly in the head first, where they churn for a couple of days until they spill out on the .docx document. The rest evolves as I start editing the rough draft. The initial idea and the final product almost often, are entirely different.

You are a teacher, mentor and founder-administrator of the hugely successful group SeniorSchoolMoms. How do you divide your day between so many endeavours?

You have to add one more to this list. I am the resident chef of the picky Jainlets. Sometimes I wonder if I have bitten off more than I can chew and if I can do half justice to these multiple verticals I have chosen to pursue.

What I try and do is ensure that each task has a specific hour allocated for that, stick to that schedule and not jump around wasting precious energy. My Sunday is sacrosanct to recharge my very tired batteries.

I am learning from my children to prioritise my mental health and take some personal time off. I am also learning to say ‘No’.

What are you writing next?

I am attempting a couple of books for children, and I hope to complete the last part of Padma’s journey someday.  When Padma Bani Mommy currently is marinating in some tiny corner of my head space. I have to cook it, cook it well and that is the Tea.

Three important writing tips for aspiring authors….

Read Read Read. Observe around and file away the unusual. For starters, you can always pick up the run-of-the-mill. Remember what goes up doesn’t take long to come down too. So stay true to your craft and not get blinded by the razzmatazz.

Check out: How Tintin came to my rescue….

Quick Takes with Anupama

My current read: Just started The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera and recently finished Twinkle Khanna’s latest book Welcome to Paradise

My favourite pastime: Scouring X for ideas, OTT, trawling various Facebook groups for their vent posts. These give me an inkling of the way society functions

What I love to cook: A sumptuous South Indian Meal. Some gourmet continental and North Indian fare. I stay away from Chinese (except for my Mac and iPhones)

My biggest regret: That I didn’t start writing earlier, and perhaps now I’m running out of precious time. If I can add one more regret, it is that I haven’t learned Classical music. There are multiple small ones, I just have to get around to fixing the status quo

My greatest happiness: Many – I know I know, it cannot be the greatest then. But I am at that stage of life, where the ground beneath my feet doesn’t move for trifles. So, I collect moments – A great holiday. Seeing my children do well. When my books are received well and I get good reviews. When a child told me, ‘I write well’. When mentees who are studying in various colleges, come back year after year to meet me. A compliment from my parents

My weakness: My children, make that my family

My strength: My family again, and my ability to bounce back. Yesterday is a page off the calendar and tomorrow? Ain’t seen it yet.

If you want to look up Anupama Jain’s books, click here