Let me finish my term as RS member, then I’ll write a story set in Parliament: Sudha Murthy

Bengaluru: Parliamentarian and author-philanthropist Sudha Murthy on Sunday said although she has read a book set in Parliament way back in the 1980s, about Shyama Prasad Mukherjee, since so much has changed about India and the Parliament since then, that she would not mind writing about it.

“Although, I have to finish my term as a Rajya Sabha member first, before I could attempt to do that,” said Murthy on Sunday.

Murthy was in conversation with fellow author and actor Twinkle Khanna, at the celebration of the launch of her 300th book title – and 46th book – ‘Grandpa’s Bag of Stories’ here. The event was organised by Bengaluru-based Lit Spirit Foundation.

But in her immediate list of wishes is a book on ‘shlokas’ that her grandfather used to recite, she said.

“Like the one my grandfather used to recite when someone went travelling or stepped out of the house,” said Murthy.

Murthy also said it is not likely that she will not set her stories in the United Kingdom, even though it is the place of her grandchildren.

“There are characters in my book that are very much my grandchildren, but they are based in India…In the UK, I have been at any point of time just for 10 to 15 days. To set a story in some place, you need to know the place well, you need to interact with the people. Then only you will get a glimpse of the culture and can write comfortably about it,” she said.

Khanna and Murthy also discussed their respective approaches to writing as well as what they do to stay relevant as well as the meticulous research that goes into writing a book.

Talking about her process, Murthy said, she sits down to write only after she had framed the ‘entire story’ in her mind.

“I take only 10 to 15 days to write, not more than that. But I’ll think about the story for more than a year even,” said Murthy.

Khanna said she struggled a bit in the beginning to juggle being a mother and writing, but eventually found her pace and reserved her mornings for writing.

“Writing is about discipline, finding the time – whatever works for you – and being very selfish about that time,” she added.

Both the authors agreed that understanding what readers want is the key to being a productive writer.

Khanna said as a writer, she had discovered along the way that it was extremely important to form a connection with the readers.

Murthy said she regularly interacted with children, as she writes a lot of children’s books.

“I try to find out what problems they are facing. I may not be able to give them solutions, but I write in such a way that makes them happy,” Murthy said.

Earlier in the conversation, Murthy also talked about how difficult it is to write children’s books.

“When I write for adults, I can write without any filter. But when writing for children, I want to leave a positive message. I have to be careful about what I write because I also do not want to preach to them as well. The best way to go about it is to become a child yourself. This is not easy,” she said.

‘Grandpa’s Bag of Stories’ is published by Puffin Books and is the second in her series of grandparents’ stories. The first one was called ‘Grandma’s Bag of Stories’.