Place in heart

BENGALURU : Manreet Sodhi Someshwar has previously penned five books, including The Long Walk Home and The Radiance of a Thousand Suns. Currently, the author is based in New York but dedicates, in part, her latest novel – Girls and the City (HarperCollins Publishers India) – to Bengaluru. A murder mystery with a strong highlight on female friendships, the book also tries to reignite a conversation around sexual harassment. Excerpts from an interview:  
Can you tell us about your new book?
Set in Bengaluru, Girls and the City is a story of female friendships centered on a murder mystery. A whodunit that’s more of a who-was-it-done-to?

What prompted you to write this book?
I started writing this novel amid the #MeToo movement as I wanted to explore the dynamics between sex and power. As a society we are reluctant to discuss sexual assault and harassment. I saw Girls and the City as a way to reignite that conversation. It explores how women navigate everyday misogyny using wit, grit and tenacity, and is a definitive #MeToo novel.

What made you choose Bengaluru as the setting for the book?
I wanted a big city that is growing rapidly, and to which young people are drawn because of work opportunities. Bengaluru fit the bill: It is the Silicon Valley of India and yet has the beating heart of small towns in its varied localities.

Have you visited Bengaluru? If yes, what are some of your fondest memories of the city?
Namma Bengaluru is where my in-laws live. I’ve been visiting the city regularly for the last 25-odd years and have seen it change and grow. I wanted to capture some of that change in my novel. Indeed, Girls and the City is part-dedicated to this lovely vibrant city.

You describe your characters Juhi as ambitious and naive, Leela as a tenacious single mother and Reshma as a hotshot young executive. Which one of these characters was the hardest to write and why?
I wouldn’t say any one was particularly difficult. Each character has her own motivations and once I figured those, I was able to write from her distinct point of view. Having said that, Juhi, with her simultaneous naivete and cunning, posed the greatest challenge.

You chose to pursue an MFA in Creative Writing after becoming a published author. How has your writing changed since the degree?
I’ve had a great time pursuing MFA in New York. I wanted a community of like-minded people who are vested in writing and the MFA programme has provided me with that. English Literature is a big component of this programme, which is helpful since I have trained as an engineer-MBA. I’d hope my writing has improved — workshops are built around critique and constructive feedback.

Would you recommend a formal degree in writing to all aspiring writers?
No, not at all. In my own case, I’d published four novels before I joined an MFA programme. However, if someone is looking for a community of writers and other people to share work with, joining a writing group would be helpful. A big component of being a writer is reading, and no one needs a degree to read!

How do you deal with writer’s block?
Read, listen to ghazals, read some more. And cook!

Are you working on any other book at the moment?
I’m working on a trilogy set around the Partition.