ART & CULTURE They are the storytellers, the wordsmiths, the vagabonds of literature. They are skilful and have a way with words. They write to voice the untold story within, to inspire, to educate and to masterfully crave a place in a reader’s life. They are the Authors of Pune and they are all women, this Women’s Day we celebrate these magnificent writers, their ability to live and breathe through words and for making readers feel that we are not particularly alone through their stories 52 MARCH 2017 www.crememagazine.in
ART & CULTURE Gouri Dange started off as a copy editor and writing columns and opinion and feature articles for acclaimed publications. It wasn’t till 2008 that she penned her first novel, 3 Zakia Mansion. What followed were five more literary creations from the wordsmith. When it comes to narrowing down her creative process every time she writes a book, she proclaims herself as a scribbler. “The conscious as well as unconscious mind throws up so many ideas and impressions, and it is very important to note them down, even as just a phrase or sentence or even just a word,” she says. Being inspired right from mundane tasks like driving, or watching a movie, when that eureka moment strikes, she tends to jot them down only to develop the idea later. In order to find real life inspiration she looks at human struggle to the sums right. The world around her is constantly inspiring her. Music, art, great literature, nature, dogs, birds, human interactions; all this finds its way, processed in different ways, into her writing. Penning a book is no easy feat. Like everything in life, this too has its own set of pros and cons. Amongst the pros, Gouri receives sheer joy and the sense of actualisation from synthesising what she observes, feels and imagines. Her pros also include looking inward to reach yourself and outwards to people which opens up a world of creative people to you other writers, readers, illustrators, photographers and designers. The cons include the whole business of marketing, sales, distribution, etc, that every writer is simply forced to get involved with, given the rather patchy support by publishers. Amongst famous authors whom she adores, the darkness and discernment in the way Graham Greene writes is something that appeals to her. In the world around us she enjoys the non-fiction writing of Paromita Vohra, the fiction of Manu Joseph and is currently reading two history-based books, Dr Uday Kulkarni’s The Era of Bajirao and Alan Duff ’s Sikkim: Requiem for a Himalayan Kingdom. She is not done yet, she does have new found interest in material for standup comedy. The combination of savage humour, subtle innuendo and sheer performance has inspired her to try her hand at it with a stand-up routine called ‘So you want to be published, huh?’ To budding writers, Gouri suggests to write every day. Literally, every day. At least 500 words and to reread and go over your work many times. She also urges to write across genres and not pick sides to quickly (fiction OR non-fiction). She also urges them to read vicariously, not to copy anyone’s style or content, but to understand the craft better, to enjoy the sheer power of a good narrative, to get a sense of all the wonderful writing going on all around you and the great writers across ages. MARCH 2017 53
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