The Writer’s Corner: In conversation with Roopa Pai

Pai thinks of Bengaluru as a “liberal, accepting, largehearted melting pot”, with the recent online trends about the city being unwelcoming an anomaly in the 50 years and more she has resided in it.

Pai says, “This is a city of writers… there are reading movements and bookstores in a way that you don’t see in other cities. I was probably influenced by that… if you are a reader, your thoughts turn to writing at some point. My way of expressing myself turned to writing.”

She recalls that growing up at a time when a lot of children’s fiction was through the lens of Western authors such as Enid Blyton, she found representation in the form of the children’s magazine “Target”. She adds, “It was an Indian magazine with Indian writers that showed me that life was good where I was – I didn’t have to look somewhere else. That’s the point I decided to be a children’s writer… and represent Indian children, mythology and symbolism, so a generation of children would not grow up looking elsewhere.” Among Pai’s extensive work for children is her “Taranauts” novel series, the first Indian fantasy adventure series for kids in English.

On writing for adults and children, Pai says, “Every adult was once a child. So, if an adult reads a children’s book, it should be able to touch that child in them… it takes you back into another space. The only thing is when writing for adults I can use longer sentences which I would avoid in a children’s book – I want it to be accessible to them.” She is also a creature of habit when it comes to writing – something she exclusively does in the daytime at her own desk at home. She laughs, “It frees me from the tyranny of carrying my laptop everywhere.”

Her book on Cubbon Park was particularly extensive, covering parts of its history such as the informal music concerts in the 1980s. Pai notes that having grown up in that period was an advantage, having heard of such events at the time, while also interviewing Bangaloreans regarding their memories of such events. The book had its beginnings when she was asked to write about a neighbourhood of the city. She says, “No neighbourhood had a hold on me for all of my life. Some for work, some for a home… when my editors said it need not be a conventional neighbourhood, the penny dropped. Cubbon Park was the only place that has held me in the palm of its hand from when I was a child to an adult, for my own kids…”

Noting the scope for a writer in the city, Pai says, “The only Indian to have been nominated for the Arthur C Clarke award for Speculative Fiction was initially Amitav Ghosh… then a Bangalore writer was shortlisted, Lavanya Lakshminarayan… any kind of book that has been written has been written in Bangalore. So, it is fertile soil for new writers. For them, I have two tips – read, you need to fill your head with voices to be a new writer. Second – write, because just reading and coming up with plots in your head can only go so far. The craft has to be honed with long practice.”