We all have a story to tell by the lives we live, the experiences we have, the lessons we learn, and the people we become as a result. Words can lessen the pain of some memories, elevate the joy of others. Words can change perspectives, help us understand ourselves better, find our place in the universe. They can end wars, start revolutions, and change the world. It is knowing the power of words that inspires me to write. Everyday.
This website has a range of my work, fiction and non-fiction, and photographs I have taken while traveling which is my most passionate hobby. I am trained as a science and medical journalist though, in my career as a reporter, I have also written about travel and food.
For the last few years I have been working on my debut novel, The 86th Village, a story that shows the complexity of Indian society – its traditions, its divisions, its imperfections, and its perfections. Which brings me to the reason for writing it.
I was born in a landowning family in a village in Southern India that is doomed to drown in the backwaters of one of India’s biggest and most mismanaged dam projects. I had known this all my life; the impending submergence was hanging like a sword over my village, Yadahalli, and 175 other villages that will flood in the dam backwaters. When that happens, my 300-year-old ancestral home in which 18 generations have lived, will be gone forever.
I started researching the project, as a journalist, to do an expose but I couldn’t remain neutral and objective. I decided, then, to write a novel based in a village like Yadahalli. The setting of The 86th Village is real but the story and characters are all fictitious. The novel reflects the politics and corruption prevalent in India. But, it also reflects the humanity, the hope and love that have not yet been destroyed.
The 86th Village was launched by Polis/Agora books in April 2022. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I have enjoyed writing it for you.