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SUJATA PARASHAR
BRIEF PROFILE OF THE AUTHOR:
Sujata Parashar is a best-selling Indian novelist, short-story
writer, poet and founder of a talk-therapy based platform to encourage
emotional well-being, called the “Talk - it – Out Express”. She has written nine
books so far, including a non-fiction, which is scheduled to be published by
the end of 2019. Her latest fiction titled, “The Temple Bar Woman”, is a
revenge story. She holds a Master’s degree in Human Rights and has a rich and
diverse experience in the development sector.
She is the recipient of the “100 Women Faces 2018” award, for her
contribution to literature and the development sector. This award is instituted
by Womennovator and Confederation of Women Entrepreneurs (COWE). In 2016 she
was also presented the prestigious “Karamaveer Chakra Award”, instituted by
iCongo (supported by UN), conferred to individuals who bring about positive
social impact in the lives of the people and the planet.
Website: www.sujataparashar.in
Website: http://www.tioe.in/
Facebook: www.facebook.com/sujatavidu
Facebook TiO: www.facebook.com/TalkTiO/
Twitter: twitter.com/sujatavidu
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/sujataparashar/
Q Are you a professional writer? How many of your books have been
published so far?
As an author, I am skillful, competent and established since
2009 (and I do get royalty for my books - even if the amount is best not
mentioned). I hope that qualifies as being called a “Professional writer”. I
have written nine books so far, including a book of short stories, three poetry
collections and a non-fiction, which is scheduled to come out by end of 2019.
Currently, I am writing my tenth book.
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Q What is your specific field of writing?
I started off as a fiction-writer and as mentioned above, went
on to experiment with other forms of writing, including short stories and
poetry.
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Q Are there any specific reasons, for choosing this particular
field?
I am a chance writer. I was a voracious reader as a child, but
had no intention of becoming a writer, till I decided to approach a few known
publishers for my first book, (which was initially being written for self-consumption).
Luckily, it was picked up by Rupa and co. and became an instant bestseller.
However, it was only after the release of my second book that I took the title
of being called a fiction writer seriously.
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Q What has been the general assessment of the reviewers and readers
for your books?
Most have been favourable. I would like to give half the credit
to the time-period when my books were released, starting from my first book, “In
Pursuit of infidelity”, which catapulted me into the writing world in the first
place. That was the time when Indian readers were opening up to the idea of
reading different kinds of books and the readership was growing. More
importantly, thanks to Chetan Bhagat and a few other writers, the Indian youth
became more receptive to reading Indian fiction. So, I was lucky, in a way.
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Q Which particular book of yours, do you consider as the best so
far, and why?
All my books are special to me for different reasons. However,
my latest, “The Temple Bar Woman” slotted as a socio – political thriller and
published in Jan 2018 was the most difficult to write. It is a powerful story
of female fortitude and gumption, where the aim was to show the immense
strength a woman carries within. The story is dedicated to the fearless
survivors of sexual assault and rape. This was the first time, I attempted to
write in a genre, I knew nothing about and so there was a point in time, when I
had almost, but given up writing it. I was delighted when it finally came out
and was received well.
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Q Did you receive appreciation/recognition & adequate sales for
this book, or any other book, in the world?
After almost ten years, all my books (starting from my first)
are still in the market and being read by readers. What could be a better
recognition than that? A couple of my fictions are being taught as a part of
English Lit curriculum in some of the prestigious colleges of the country, is
another form of appreciation for which I am immensely grateful. I have also
received the “100 Women Faces 2018 Award” (instituted by Womennovator and
Confederation of Women Entrepreneurs) for my novel, “The Temple Bar Woman,” dedicated
to the fearless survivors of sexual assault and rape, as well as, for my work
in the bleeding disorders community with focus on their mental health.
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Q Who is your role model?
From Gandhi ji for his wonderful book, “My Experiments with
Truth,” to Kamala Das for her fearless writing, and Elizabeth Gilbert for her
honest recounting of her own journey, to Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay for his
portrayal of powerful women characters, I have been influenced by many writers.
I have also much enjoyed reading the English classic romance writers like Jane
Austen, Bronte Sisters, DH Lawrence et al.
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Q Which other author’s books, do you feel, come close to your style
of writing?
I think writers have their own unique styles. It is rare to find
two writers having similar style of storytelling or writing. I have not come
across anyone who writes like me.
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Q When & how do you get the ideas & do you immediately note
them down in a diary or elsewhere?
The trigger or seed idea for most of my books can come to me
from anywhere. However, most of them have happened while I had specific
questions in my mind, to which there were no immediate solutions.
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Q On an average, how many months do you take to complete one book,
in all respects?
It depends on the story. So far, I have taken six months (for my
first book) to 4 years (for my latest book) to complete the first draft.
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Q You have mentioned that you are the founder
of a talk-therapy based platform to encourage emotional well-being,
called the “Talk-it-Out-Express”. Could you kindly provide its
brief details, links and the procedure to join it, since it is considered
that it is a very interesting and useful platform and will benefit the readers
a lot?
Thank you for asking me this question. My talk
therapy based platform, “Talk-it-Out-Express”, was initiated in 2017. During my
work in the social sector as a psychosocial trainer, I realized that there was
a gap in the kind of emotions people readily showed to the world, and that they
suppressed within. I initiated the platform to encourage people to have
meaningful conversations and talk about emotions which mattered a lot, but
remained ignored or neglected due to stigma or social conditioning. In these
couple of years, TiOE has completed more than a dozen workshops (nationally and
internationally) to help people recognize, understand and positively express
their unresolved emotions. The unique aspect of these workshops is that it
caters to people of all age groups, different backgrounds and work profiles. We
develop our modules based on the need of a specific group. To know more about
TiOE, readers can visit our website- www.tioe.in and if interested, they can
also join our Facebook page.
---------------vijaiksharma
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