Interview with Sreelekha Chatterjee - By Smita Salins

She holds a postgraduate degree in science from Calcutta University. Her short stories include ‘Wisdom of the Decision’ in Chicken Soup for the Indian Bride’s Soul (Westland Ltd, India, 2011), ‘Friendship Beyond Rules and Norms’ in Chicken Soup for the Indian Soul: On Friendship (Westland Ltd. India, 2011), ‘The Direct Approach’ in Wisdom of Our Mothers (Familia Books, USA, 2012), ‘A Sense of Sibling Love’ in Chicken Soup for the Indian Soul: Celebrating Brothers and Sisters (Westland Ltd. India, 2012) and ‘Wisdom So Uncommon’ in ‘Hope’: An Anthology of Literary Pieces (Lituminati India, 2014).

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Let us know more about her:

     1. What inspired you to write for Crumpled Voices?

     

      I found the concept of bringing together different voices of atrocities against women in a single volume to be a unique one. It’s perhaps the need of the hour as Pulkit Gupta (Publisher, Gargi Publishers) rightly puts it, and what could be more powerful than penning down the sufferings of the vulnerable gender and raising a protest against the unjust acts of the society. I’m so glad that I could be a part of this great endeavour and my contribution has featured in this collection of short stories. I feel myself privileged that in some way I’ve tried to raise a voice against the brutality that is loaded on women.

     2. Tell us a bit about your story and the main character.

        My story in the anthology—‘The Fatal Pride’—is about an old lady who passes her time in loneliness and desolation. She is haunted by the vulnerability of her old age, burdened by the thought of death. One day a young man visits her in the guise of an insurance agent. She is delighted to receive someone in a long time with whom she can converse. 

       The story weaves around the emotions of this old lady who has nobody beside her in the hour of need and also, about the mental upheaval of the young man who is troubled by financial circumstances. She welcomes her visitor, intrigues him with her imaginary thoughts and usual exaggeration of her wealth, giving unexpected form to his intentions. The next part is about the temptation, the provocation generated in the young man and how the innocent lady reacts to the shocking revelation of his real self.

     3. What do you think about the title of the book?

        The title ‘Crumpled Voices’ is intriguing—something that grabs you instantly and you’re curious to know more about the voices that are locked in the pages of the book.

      4. Is your story fictional or drawn from a real life character?

    Yes, my story is certainly based on real-life incidents reported by media and also, the characters that we get to hear about, meet in person, or read in the newspapers. We come across old people at home, in the neighbourhood, at public places—everywhere—and many a times we also come face to face with their difficulties without being actually able to help them out in any way. My story is about an old lady who is one of them who belong to the group of senior citizens and perhaps her voice needs to be heard through the emotional turmoil of this fictional character. The readers would definitely be able to relate to the story, as it is about someone we know, someone who has been forgotten, someone who needs a touch of love and care from the society.

     5. How do you think can the current situation of our country be changed, in favor of the safety of women?

      There should be more awareness amongst people and one should be able to identify the problems that are being faced by women in our locality, schools, offices, public places and home. The solution will come automatically if one can understand the mental agony and the tortures that a woman or a girl undergoes. The outlook of the society has to be changed by bringing in this kind of consciousness as one would often notice that women are mostly blamed for all the calamities that befall them. For example, if a husband behaves badly with his wife, most of the times, instead of supporting her, the wife’s parents insist that she should spend the rest of her life with him without complaining and not create any kind of trouble for her family members. Their opinion seldom changes till the time they actually lose their daughter, till they pay a price for clinging onto the fake values and norms of the society.

   

     6. Have you always wanted to be a writer?

       I don’t consider myself as a writer. It’s a huge word for me. I’m a narrator of ideas, philosophies, thoughts, realization, fantasies. 

   

     When I was in school, I used to write poems and plays—very influenced by radio drama at the time which dealt with the complexities of human mind. During my holidays, I’d invite friends over to my place and we would enact the fictional characters in the plays written by me. It used be a lot of fun.

   

      I once wrote a poem on Mother Teresa and shared it with her. She had sent her blessings and also, asked me to continue writing for giving joy and happiness to people. I believe that was the best compliment that I’d ever received for my work.

  

      Then for a long time I didn’t write anything as I got busy with my studies and then eventually with my work. It’s only a few years ago that I felt the urge to start writing once again. On several occasions, my family, friends and colleagues insisted that I shouldn’t give up writing as it’s something that gives peace and happiness to one’s inner self.

       Writing has always been a hobby for me and would like to keep it that way, as I don’t wish to  entangle the feeling of joy on creating a fiction with any kind of emotional expectations.

      7. What is your favorite genre?

       I love to read all kinds of genre—horror, thriller, comedy, romance, science fiction, drama. I’m always awed by the way writers deal with emotions and actions, keeping the inner meaning prominent yet subtle with their innovative writing styles.

   

      8. Who is your favorite writer?

     My all-time favourite writer is Jeffrey Archer, who is perhaps the greatest storyteller of our time. I admire the enchanting manner in which he weaves a story and leaves a little twist at the end, forcing the reader to crave for more. My other favourite writers are Rabindranth Tagore, Jhumpa Lahiri, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Alice Munro, Tania Hershman, Kankana Basu and Tessa Hadley.

    

       9. Which is the one book that has influenced your life the most?

   

      I believe several books have influenced me and it may be difficult to pinpoint a single one that has made a significant difference in my life. Some of my favourite ones are Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë, The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri, The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown, The Lamplight by Kankana Basu, Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Chromosome 6 by Robin Cook, The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari by Robin Sharma.

        I’d always find myself fascinated by a novel and pose unanswered questions to myself about the characters till another novel or a short story occupied the space and diverted my attention to that one.

  

      10.   What was the hardest part of writing this story? Any challenges?

     The hardest part was to write in the voice of an old woman, narrate the feelings of someone who is fatigued by the journey of a long life and several unsaid emotions. There were possibilities that it could get repetitive while trying to portray the boredom of her gloomy, melancholy life. The character loved to exaggerate about her imaginary wealth, building castles in the air, but at the same time lacked the maturity, the judgement of whether or not to trust an unknown visitor. I hope the readers are able to connect with her emotions and proceed along with her in the journey where the real self of the visitor gets revealed.

       11.  Is there a message in your story that you hope your readers will grasp?

    

       The story narrates a voice of an unheard, burdened soul of our society which, I’m sure, the readers would be able to identify quite easily. Perhaps a little more awareness, a little more care from our side could make a lot of difference to such people all around who deserve a helping hand from us.

      12.  What do you like to do when you are not writing? Hobbies?

  

       I’d learnt Rabindra Sangeet when I was a kid, and you would often find me singing songs of Tagore when I’m sad or happy, even in the middle of writing an interesting story.

      13.  Are you working on something right now, or just taking a break?

     I’m concentrating on short stories at the moment—the best form of fiction through which one can share one’s thoughts, feelings, experiences, delving into the intricacies of human mind.

      14.  Any advice you would like to give to aspiring authors?

       There is this one thing I keep telling myself and would like to share with aspiring authors is that ‘one should never hesitate to pen down one’s true feelings and thoughts’. The fear about what others would think about me—or form an opinion based on the work produced by me—shouldn’t stop me from expressing my ideas freely. The moment we attain this freedom of thought and expression, our work starts gaining appreciation and most importantly, a unique voice. We are a part of this world and our stories would definitely be influenced by real-life characters and most of our imaginations are undoubtedly based on the incidents witnessed or experienced by us.

      15.  Any message that you would like to share with your readers?

      I’d like to thank all my readers for taking out time and reading my story. It’d be great to hear their views and opinion about the story.

       I hope to spread the spirit of happiness, which I personally experience while writing, among my readers through my stories.

     Thank you so much for your time. It was a privilege interviewing you. :)

(This interview was taken by Smita Salins under the internship program by Gargi Publishers)