Binder1 Inner_JRD

ART & CULTURE
For Sonja Chandrachud, books have always been her lifelong
companion. Her life changed when she turned down a
lucrative MNC offer and instead worked as a copywriter
where she fell in love with the vibrant exciting world of
advertising. The leap from advertising and columnist to
creative writing happened in 2005 with her first novel
Potion of Eternity, the first in the Hilarious Hauntings
Adventure series, that cleverly mixed fantasy and humour
with a unforgettable international cast of characters and
magical locations with a ‘Bollywood’ narrative flavour
earning her the title of ‘Desi Rowling’. Always opting for
the road less travelled, Sonja seeks to be challenged and
inspired by that one idea that would passionately propel the
story within her. After that comes months of scrutinising
data, research and corroborating facts, separating them
from fiction when attempting historical and even fantasy
genres. She strongly believes that characters drive most
stories and so she pays immense attention in making sure
that her characters come alive as the story unfolds.
Her stimulation to write is drawn from her desire to
explore the unknown, discover untold tales and recapture
the lost ethos of the past in a narrative that everyone can
read and enjoy. She is most fond of writing for young
adults as they are the most discerning yet open minded
readers any writer is lucky to write for. As a voracious
reader of historical nonfiction and fiction, her bookshelf
houses writers like Tolstoy, Wilbur Smith, Amitav Ghosh,
and William Darlymple. Books such as, Glimpses of World
History and, Discovery of India by Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru
have introduced her to a myriad of clever narrative styles
that the authors use to tell their brilliant stories. For Sonja
the process of writing its self is a fabulous way of getting
in touch with your innermost self. She compares writing
to climbing a Himalayan peak, charged with the thrill and
excitement of an amazing unforgettable adventure. The
drawbacks of penning 40,000 words in each of novels
means burning the midnight oil, waking up at unearthly
hours, going underground for almost 18 months and,
most importantly finding the time for her loved ones.
To any individual who would want to embark on
the journey of being an author, Sonja suggests one to be
sure for a long, lonely, and arduous, often heart breaking
journey that starts on your laptop and ends on the editor’s
chopping block. Then and only then to start small and
smart with short stories, attend creative writing workshops,
and fine tune your spellings, vocabulary and grammar.
There is no book currently on Sonja’s night stand, as she
is writing her next novel is a historical saga based around
the Peshwas. But, the books she is reading are academic
references by eminent historical writers such as Sardesai,
Parasnis and Duff. But there are a few authors, who have
left a mark on Sonja. Roald Dahl, Shashi Deshpande, Indu
Sundaresan and William Dalrymple have inspired and
influenced Sonja with the clarity and preciseness of their
prose combined with impeccable research that gives life to
their stories.
54 MARCH 2017 www.crememagazine.in