”Never, Never Land’ reaches readers across generations’: Namita Gokhale celebrates latest work entering 2024 Crossword Book Awards longlist

Her most spoken-about work — Treasures of Lakshmi: The Goddess Who Gives — is available as an audiobook on Audible. Gokhale, who also directs the Jaipur Literature Festival, shared her thoughts on her literary journey, creative process, and what’s next. Read the edited excerpts of the interview:

Q: How do you look back at your career trajectory?

Namita Gokhale: I have had a ragged graph of failures and successes, good times and bad. I have never looked at writing as a career but rather as an essential part of my life, like eating, drinking, or sleeping. And I’ve discovered that I learned more from the hard times and the disappointments than from the good times, though they too contributed much to my creativity.

Q: What are your thoughts as the audio version of Treasures of Lakshmi: The Goddess Who Gives recently released on Audible?

Namita Gokhale: I am delighted. It makes the text of our anthology leap out of the pages through spoken word, song, and Sanskrit invocation. The readings have been done by prominent professionals – Vidya Shah, Sunit Tandon, Vayu Nadu, and Alka Tyagi – from the world of music, theatre, spoken word performance, and Sanskrit scholarship. It truly is a very special book and a perfect gift for Deepavali.

Q: Is audio more powerful than the written word?

Namita Gokhale: Words and voice naturally belong together, and oral traditions are integral to literary heritage. Technology now extends this in new ways. Yet, the silent communion between mind and text remains equally powerful and mystical.

Q: You’ve mentioned that Paro isn’t your best work but that you got “lucky.“ How do you view that period in writing and publishing compared to today?

Namita Gokhale: I deeply admire my debut novel Paro – Dreams of Passion. It was published forty years ago and has remained popular with readers across generations and stood the test of time. It was lucky to appear when it did and it marks a sort of watershed in Indian writing. But of the 24 books I have written, others are as or perhaps more important to me because of the themes and stories I was trying to convey.

Q: What is your biggest learning in the craft of writing?

Namita Gokhale: Finding and sustaining the voice of the book is essential for the craft and spirit of a story.

Treasures of Lakshmi: The Goddess Who Gives (Source: Penguin/Audible)

Q: Do you think social media has democratised writing and communication?

Namita Gokhale: Social media has opened up communication and made platforms accessible. But the literary instinct is more internal, while social media is more accessible. The medium and its vocabulary are still a work in progress.

Q: Have you consciously stayed out of the limelight?

Namita Gokhale: I am the best out of the limelight. I love the different things I am fortunate enough to be doing. Having done them, it is also important to showcase and resonate with them, which I do as sincerely as I can. But I’m uncomfortable with projecting myself; it doesn’t come naturally to me.

Q: Your thoughts on self-publishing.

Namita Gokhale: Editorial feedback and distribution are key elements of publishing. Some authors successfully navigate this on their own through self-publishing, while others find comfort within a traditional ecosystem. It’s a personal choice.

Q: What has been your most challenging work?

Namita Gokhale: Each book has brought its joys and challenges. I let projects flow at their own pace. The inner process of thoughts and ideas has its mysteries. One has to keep trying to remain within the ambit of grace, and to be critical of one’s output, never to be complacent.

Q: If you could have a conversation with authors from the past, who would you choose?

Namita Gokhale: I would like to spend time with Lady Murasaki, the author of the eleventh-century Japanese Tale of Genji, which is considered the first modern novel. Also, from more recent times, Muriel Spark.

Q: Where do you find inspiration?

Namita Gokhale: Everywhere. The key is to be observant and open.

Q: Any advice for dealing with writer’s block?

Namita Gokhale: Just let it be. Writer’s block often stems from performance anxiety. Another possible reason for writer’s block is that one is still processing experience and working internally to resolve the structure and format of what one is working on. So, it’s best to let things brew on the back burner and work on something else.

Q: What’s next?

Namita Gokhale: I am working on two or three ideas. Let’s see which one gathers pace. I will keep chipping away at words and sentences and paragraphs until one of them takes form.