Binder1 Inner_JRD

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
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