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Of life`Afterwards'
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Writer Jaishree Misra talks about her recent book, `Afterwards' and her unfinished historical novel.
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THE TAG, woman writer, leaves her somewhat uncomfortable. It's apparent that Jaishree Misra does not see her works as appealing only to the sensibilities of the fairer sex.
All along, Misra says, she has strived to confound the expectations of the readers of/regarding what her writing was all about. "I've tried to break out of the mould that people try and push you into."
This is reflected in the choice of subjects for her books. While `Ancient Promises' is semi-autobiographical, `Accidents like Love and Marriage' is a "funny little comedy of manners". Her recent book, `Afterwards', tells of love, loss and reconciliation from the perspective of a man. And the book she is currently working on is a historical fiction.
All Misra is willing to allow is that her books are "set in the domestic sphere and deal with love, marriage and loss - things that encompass our lives". And it is not possible to escape these sentiments unless one decides to write a thriller or science fiction, she says.
With three books under her belt and the fourth underway, how has she matured as a writer? "I still make the obvious mistakes but find it easier to write now. Unlike many people who keep writing till they come to the end of the story, I need to go back to what I had written and make necessary changes."
`Afterwards' was a thin little draft she had worked on after `Ancient Promises'. "It was ready to be published. But I felt the spill over from `Ancient Promises' and had the publishers return the draft. Instead I began work on `Accidents like Love and Marriage'." Only after that book was written did she take out the draft of `Afterwards', rework it and send it for publishing.
A clearer picture of her evolution as a writer will emerge only after she completes her historical novel, based on the life of Rani Lakshmibai, says Misra. "Rani' departs most from what I've written. Being a historical novel, its style is measured, very dissimilar to the contemporary style used in my earlier books. I also enjoyed writing it more. In `Ancient Promises', there was too much of me. The theme would bind me down. But `Rani' has energised me."
But why a book on Lakshmibai? Misra says it was a conscious attempt on her part to pen something different. For a while, she toyed with the idea of writing non-fiction. "I wanted to write about a woman, a strong female character." She researched about Begum Hazrat Mahal and the Begums of Bhopal before zeroing in on Lakshmibai. "The choice of Lakshmibai was obvious, yes, but then I thought so what? I found that the Indian chroniclers and English historians had different things to say about her. I decided then I would interpret things the way I see them."
`Afterwards' seems to pick up from where `Ancient Promises' left off. Other similarities between the two books have also led to criticism. How does she respond to it? Says Misra, "Ancient Promises' is about a woman liberating herself, while `Afterwards' deals with loss and reconciliation. `Afterwards' could have been made into a book about the bereavement of a woman than a man if I'd wished to, she points out. "It is Rahul and his loss and grief that are important in the story. Maya is not important. A common thread runs through the two stories because they are about who I am, my life."
Misra ponders over the so-called common territory. "Perhaps, while reworking the first draft of `Afterwards', I should have left out Maya completely as I had intended. But I fleshed her out, in little ways, because the draft seemed depressing."
How difficult was it writing from the point of view of a man? "Writing from a man's perspective is possible, and people have done it far more successfully than I have. I had to stop every now and then to ask myself what would a man have thought. I eavesdropped on conversations between men, at home, on the phone, on the bus. The first draft of the book was sent to Khushwant Singh, and the second to two friends - one English and the other Indian. Their criticisms helped."
Like Rahul in `Afterwards', Misra has moved on in life. Settled in London, with her husband, Ashutosh, and daughter, Rohini, Misra works with the Board of Film Certification there. Her life revolves around her writing and family, particularly Rohini, who has learning disability. Rohini, now 21, is a student of Bromley College, London.
There's something else that Misra yearns to do - return to India to set up a centre for learning-disabled people.
R. K. ROSHNI
Photo: S. Mahinsha
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