Short and simple: Anupa Mehta

Columnist, writer, art curator... Anupa Mehta has many skills to boast of. But this soft-spoken author keeps to herself unless talked-to. So much so that many fans would actually think that they may be intruding even while praising her work. Her recent short stories book Unseasonal Rain has garnered much appreciation. Her tacit replies to many questions shows that she likes to do more than talk. Here are excerpts from an interview with the author...

What is more difficult to write? Novel or short stories?
Both forms have their own charms. I don't find it difficult to write either. Writing is fulfilling, albeit demanding. Both forms demand their own discipline. The short story is more challenging given the short span of it's canvas.

What's your routine of writing?
I write in bursts and starts. I try to go away for a few weeks and hole up somewhere, especially while editing.

When did you think about turning a writer?
I started out as a journalist right after college. Newspaper columns, magazine editing, catalogs... and then fiction. My first novel was out in 2007, along with a book of interviews with leading Indian artists.

What do you think about the future of publishing industry in the age of ebooks and audio books?
It's a difficult space for sure. But people still buy books. And the market is booming for some genres...

Why do you think readership of especially book going down among young readers?
The younger generation lives in a world filled with distractions. Reading requires devotion, attention and time. Guess youngsters don't have that much time to spare.

What are the difficulties of art curators these days?
Space. Funds. Inspiring idioms....

What are you reading these days?
Pico Iyer's Falling off the Map, House as a Mirror of Self by Claire Cooper Marcus and Fatima Bhutto's The Shadow of the Crescent Moon, Night Haunts by Sukhdev Sandhu. Also, some poems (in translation) of Jalaluddin Rumi, and a book on Sufi healing traditions

Who are your favourite writers?
Haruki Murakami, Orhan Pamuk, Jhumpa Lahiri, Anne Beattie, Pablo Neruda (poetry), Pico Iyer...and so many more...

What do your fans have in store?
I have a new novel in the pipeline and am also working on a humorous, self help sort of series...

What advice you would like to give to a novice writer?
Write. Write every day. Just keep writing. And editing.