Anupama Jain is an author and educator. She has written several books. Her latest book, When Padma Bani Wifey is a sequel to her first novel, When Padma Bani Paula. You can read more about her Anupama Jain - Readomania
We caught up with her for a chat.
Readomania: Congratulations on the launch of When Padma Bani Wifey, published by Readomania. Padma was such a hit that you had to come up with a sequel. Tell us, how did you conceive the character of Padma.
Anupama: It all started with my writing for a short-story competition in the humour genre. I wrote a 300-word story featuring a singular character named Padma Luxmi, who on a two-minute lift ride suffered multiple encounters and exchanges—some sweet mostly salty. My publisher liked this off-centre short tale so much that he asked me to pen a novel with Padma as the protagonist. That exercise was surely like a magician pulling out a rabbit from a hat. Not satisfied with yanking just one rabbit, I pulled out two! I had the core of an Onion with me and I added chunk and funk to it.
Padma, based on the multiple amazing women who dot the premium condos in the Gaon, was conceived initially as an upscale Gurugrammer who slayed across. A universal template that is very aspirational. As the novel(s) progressed, she had more layers getting added to her, going through life’s rigours spiritedly, failing often but rising nonetheless with absolute chutzpah. Her gritty take on life made her memorable.
Readomania: When Padma Bani Paula dealt with the childhood and youth of Padma till she gets married. In When Padma Bani Wifey, we see her as a wife and mother. How easy or difficult was it to write this story?
Anupama: It was definitely one of the easier tales to pen because around us, so many Padmas abound. Most of the social groups provide enough grist for multiple sequels. The open conversations are such.
All I had to do was to indulge in osmosis, assimilate what I saw, what I went through and what I perceived into Padma’s characterization. It had to be an organic progression of her life from unhitched to committed to mothering.
But Padma being Padma nothing ever was going to be normal.
And we all know normal can be pretty boring and Padma thankfully never settles.
Readomania: Padma’s universe is full of quirky characters. They are all funny and odd yet completely relatable. Did you draw inspiration from you own friends and family or were they created completely from your own imagination?
Anupama: My family with our individual quirks is a writer’s delight. I will never run out of stories to share with our respective penchants to do the exact opposite of what is expected of us. I often tell people around me to not rub me the wrong way. Otherwise, they will find a place of pride in my etching of daily drama.
Padma’s universe is filled with hyperbolic characters culled from my drabber world (in comparison). I had the writer’s license to make them go over the top with palpable love and whims. Like Padma’s family, mine too is strongly behind me albeit constantly advising me about minding my p’s and q’s.
Padma and I have learned to get by, the hard way by managing our families.
Readomania: Humour is your forte. You have the insane ability to infuse humour into stressful scenes too. Do you use humour as a weapon or as a shield?
Anupama: Thank you for the compliment. My heart is full.
I have had a tough life. I have understood that V.P.s could be the flavour of the season but no one wants anything to do with a Weepie! Laugh, the world joins you, cry, you are pretty much on your own. So instead of moping around alone, I went ahead and tried to acquire a personality. Humour became both my weapon and shield protecting me from more unhappiness. Life has become easier to deal with once satire became a chosen weapon of mock derision. Unfortunately, I have been unfriended multiple times over social media sarcasm because people’s sensibilities get hurt easily. Hence I am trying to walk the delicate thin line of kosher humour and thereby ensuring no further damage to my friend list.
Readomania: You come from a technical background. How did the writing bug bite you?
Anupama: After running a mom-pop show with my husband, I, rather unhappily, vegetated in vanilla domesticity, raising my two Jainlets. Around 9 odd years ago, I suffered from a terrible illness and was very low on energy. Social media was just taking off. I coped with my sinking self by commenting rather irreverently on anything and everything that happened around me. Somehow my FB posts found a happy audience and traction. The likes I received gave me my mojo back. From FB posts I graduated to blogging and short story writing. Readomania selected one of my tales for an anthology. I think I got smitten deep and bitten when I went for my first anthology launch. To see my name in print form was something else. I wanted more. So much more. And here I am…
Readomania: Kanakam is such a weirdly funny character. Her equation with Varun brings out the most laughs in this book. How did you envision her?
Anupama: Envisaging Kanakam is my ‘waking dream wish fulfillment’ moment. She is the sort a woman should have in her team, to ace the race. Fiercely loyal, loving and dependable! What else one could ask?
Easier to pen and flesh out her sort than to find such a tribe especially, in the Gaon!
Someday I will bump into a Kanakam. I have faith. Till then I am happy I gave wings to my deepest desire. At least on paper, I had the best help.
Plus the house-help and the Man-of-the-Manor always have difficult interactions. The woman has to choose wisely!
Readomania: Your writing style is not exactly in the chaste King’s English. You mostly use conversational English. You are a master of creating fusion words and you also use a lot of Gen-Z terminology. Is that a conscious decision?
Anupama: In spite of having a mother who graduated in English literature and wrote three grammar books and a father who thinks no free space should be left without a book, I wrote in an exam that Ms X was noble and promiscuous (which I thought was a weighty word, not realizing its true intent!). Almost immediately I was presented with a vocabulary-building book. My training in King’s English stopped at that though for my baguette and European Butter I teach the Bard to restless teenagers. This is one of the career pivots after training to be a programmer. I guess this proclivity for creating fusion words stems from multiple exposures to diverse verticals.
Plus, I am fascinated by Gen-Z terminology. Their lexicon is gobsmacking. As writer I would like to be approved and read across ages hence I weave in a lot of my daughter’s terminology. Imagine, someone saying about me—‘She ate and left no crumbs!’ ‘Being Dank’ is aspirational, alright!
Readomania: Padma is a character who is not lovable all the time. She can be moody, judgmental, selfish…yet, she is very entertaining. Do you think her flaws make her more believable and relatable?
Anupama: Rather than pure white and complete black, it is the middling hue of grey that is more alluring. It is next to impossible to find a perfect human being. Our foibles and our feeble attempts to be alphas while most often we could end up as mere betas make us appealing.
Padma is often faulty and fault-ridden yet is preserved well. Padma’s coping mechanisms in her challenges make her relatable. Padma’s story is much like our own but peppered with her quirky take. That makes her entertaining. No stopping her!
Readomania: We already have two books in the Padma franchise. Will you be blessing us with Padma’s third outing soon?
Anupama: Are you listening, Mr Publisher?
Your words are the sweetest music to my ears, dear Indrani. It will be akin to pulling three rabbits from the hat then. Hopefully the hat will still hold!
It would be an interesting exercise to write about Padma’s mothering challenges with her grown-up daughter while her ageing mother closely monitors Padma’s Motherness meter. Will history repeat and Padma tamed as the sandwiched generation? Time and ‘When Padma Bani Mommy’ will tell.
Someday I hope to pen the third slice of Padma’s life.
Till then I fervently hope the second outing of Padma finds many a loving home and library.
Because this is a story that deserves a reader’s eyeballs and attention!
Readomania: Your association with Readomania is long and fruitful. Tell us about your publishing journey with Readomania.
Anupama: My association with Readomania is truly long and fruitful. I have been mentored with much patience and been given leeway to tell my stories. My editor has been top-notch and absolutely spot-on be it suggestions or guidance.
I have donned the avatar of an author due to Readomania. I have found purpose, fulfilment and satiety by writing stories and to see them in print form is contentment for me.
I have published 4 books (3 paperback and 1 Kindle book) and 11 anthologies with Readomania so far. When Padma Bani Wifey would be my 5th book.
What does the future entail? I do not know. I am keeping my fingers crossed wishing for a beautiful, continued relationship between the author, editor and the publishing house.
Readomania: Thank you Anupama for this wonderful chat.
Her latest book is available on Amazon. Buy When Padma Bani Wifey
Her other books can be bought from Amazon from this link: Buy Books
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