I DON’T HATE MEN’
Nearing sixty, Shobhaa De is completely in love with life. And the eclipse. And words. And motor bike rides...
PAARTH JOSHI
They say she’s one of India’s best selling English authors. Why wouldn’t she be? For when you sit next to her to listen to her tales, she talks about everything: From sex to raising children, surviving men and marriage. And no, it’s not the numerological power that keeps her going — the extra ‘a’ in her name is for visual appeal. “I don’t know what the extra ‘a’ adds or subtracts, I just find my name’s visual more interesting that way,” says De.
Instead, what keeps her going is “my romance with life. There are so many tastes, smells and sounds still to be experienced. I haven’t done white water rafting and bungee jumping yet! It’s the hunger for life.” But what keeps those looks intact? “If I were SRK, I would’ve taken a ‘dooh-daah’ soap’s name! But it’s just personal care,” she chuckles.
Apart from men’s egos, she also loves to play with words. And certain words, she holds very close to herself. With finger movements in the air, she shows how ‘flabbergasted’ resonates very well, while ‘serendipity’ has a magical connotation.
Gender inequality and differences, is one area where De has ruffled a lot of feathers but she maintains her stand. “I am not apologetic about my work. Nobody compelled anybody at gunpoint to read what I write,” she says. But does her shift from tips on surviving men to truth about marriage suggest a narrowing of the male-female (or the femalemale) divide? “There are some differences between the two genders which will never cease to exist, and thank God for that. But when it comes to social issues, I believe there is definitely a better understanding between them these days,” she says. And adds that when she says, “I don’t hate men,” the statement is definitely for keeps. “I don’t blame men for everything. They behave as if they’re God’s gifts because they are conditioned that way since countless centuries!”
Coming back to words, she reveals that she doesn’t really think tongue-in-cheek writing is gaining popularity. On the contrary, she feels the audience is overestimated when one assumes that. “To understand satire and parody, one needs to be well informed. The audience demand for shorter columns and slapstick humour only reflects a mediocre intelligence level,” she adds.
So does everything finally go in an autobiography? “That depends on how interesting the next 15 years of my life are,” she signs off.
Nearing sixty, Shobhaa De is completely in love with life. And the eclipse. And words. And motor bike rides...
PAARTH JOSHI
They say she’s one of India’s best selling English authors. Why wouldn’t she be? For when you sit next to her to listen to her tales, she talks about everything: From sex to raising children, surviving men and marriage. And no, it’s not the numerological power that keeps her going — the extra ‘a’ in her name is for visual appeal. “I don’t know what the extra ‘a’ adds or subtracts, I just find my name’s visual more interesting that way,” says De.
Instead, what keeps her going is “my romance with life. There are so many tastes, smells and sounds still to be experienced. I haven’t done white water rafting and bungee jumping yet! It’s the hunger for life.” But what keeps those looks intact? “If I were SRK, I would’ve taken a ‘dooh-daah’ soap’s name! But it’s just personal care,” she chuckles.
Apart from men’s egos, she also loves to play with words. And certain words, she holds very close to herself. With finger movements in the air, she shows how ‘flabbergasted’ resonates very well, while ‘serendipity’ has a magical connotation.
Gender inequality and differences, is one area where De has ruffled a lot of feathers but she maintains her stand. “I am not apologetic about my work. Nobody compelled anybody at gunpoint to read what I write,” she says. But does her shift from tips on surviving men to truth about marriage suggest a narrowing of the male-female (or the femalemale) divide? “There are some differences between the two genders which will never cease to exist, and thank God for that. But when it comes to social issues, I believe there is definitely a better understanding between them these days,” she says. And adds that when she says, “I don’t hate men,” the statement is definitely for keeps. “I don’t blame men for everything. They behave as if they’re God’s gifts because they are conditioned that way since countless centuries!”
Coming back to words, she reveals that she doesn’t really think tongue-in-cheek writing is gaining popularity. On the contrary, she feels the audience is overestimated when one assumes that. “To understand satire and parody, one needs to be well informed. The audience demand for shorter columns and slapstick humour only reflects a mediocre intelligence level,” she adds.
So does everything finally go in an autobiography? “That depends on how interesting the next 15 years of my life are,” she signs off.
posted by couldnt-find-a-name at 9:32 AM
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