Readers of the Lost Art

Arundhati Roy, the author of `The God of Small Thinghs' which has taken the international publishing world by storm was recently here in Bangalore. Ms Roy has not stopped smiling ever since she was paid a hefty advance for her novel when it was still in typescript. She attributes her success to "luck and magic". This architect-turned-screen writer is very modest and says that she considers herself under-read and under-educated for a writer. Ms Roy was at `Fountainhead' a bookshop here in Bangalore, to sign some books for her fans. The crowd was waiting for this charming, humourous, down-to-earth writer and they were thrilled when she arrived. Clad in jeans and a red T-shirt, sans make-up, petite Ms Roy looked like the `girl next door'. She read a passage from her first novel even though she was not prepared for it and autographed the copies which were bought. She says that she does not wait for inspiration as every single day is a working day for her. Writing comes easily to her and she does not tend to rewrite the language. She worked on her novel on a computer and most of her time was spent on constructing the story. "My fiction is an inextricable mix of experience and imagination," she says. Being the latest darling of the media and the hype she is getting has not made her life smoother. She feels that it is just a passing phase. Of course, she takes the critical reviews also in her stride. She knows that she cannot expect universal adulation. She says her book has become a target because of the publicity. Even in the matter of the cover she was not keen on going in for an exotic cover. But her literary agent, Mr David Godwin says that the cover is wonderful and the book has "full of character life story and vitality". Some of the Bangaloreans were thrilled with the book. One of the couple said "we like the book very much, we share the same world," another couple added. They went on to add that the character of Rahel is as real as the world she lives in. She is honest to the point and very clear about herself. As of now she is not planning to write another book because she feels it has to be within her and right now it isn't there. She says that the hype is not going to last longer but the book will. At the moment Ms Roy is all smiles and we wish that she continues to smile all the way.