My wife has been misunderstood: Pradip Krishen

He is a prominent environmentalist and she is a leading author and activist. We are talking about Pradip Krishen and his wife, Booker Prize winner Arundhati Roy.

Krishen says their marriage is not a ‘conservative’ one as they stay apart for most part of the year. “It’s not a marriage that you envisage in the conservative sense of the term," he says. "We are both busy in our respective professions and stay in different locations most of the time.

"But we don’t let the distance put a strain on our relationship. It’s how we spend the time with each other that counts.”

Both of them are into their second marriage. Says Krishen, “My daughters from my earlier marriage have never complained about my absence. I make sure that I am always available to them when they need me.”

Roy has been labelled by many as a Maoist sympathiser. Asked about this, Krishen says he doesn’t know enough about the Maoists to agree or disagree with his wife's views.

But he adds, “My wife has been misunderstood and some of her views on the Maoists are largely misinterpreted.

"It has been widely reported that she said Maoists are ‘Gandhians with guns’. That quote was pulled out of context.

"I know how she is and that is why I hate to see a different public perception of her being created.”

Though the couple is rarely seen together in public, they mingle a lot within their social circles.

“I prefer not to be seen at a Page 3 party," says the environmentalist. "We are comfortable in our own spaces and I wouldn’t want it to be any other way.”