Hello All,

Some good news, Almost Single will be published in French next year. Its an exciting development for the book. And 2009 will also see the release of Almost Single’s US edition as well as it’s Marathi and Hindi translations. All in all a busy year ahead and a whole new journey for the book.

The next book should also release next year. I am hard at work and nearly done, but then again when you are writing a book, you are never quite done - till well, when you are done!! Thank you for your encouraging mails in the past couple of weeks and also pressing me for updates on the new book. It’s been a little hard to be motivated and feel cheerful about writing a funny book in these times. And although I have not really got down to writing anything new, I have worked on what I have already written and its been helping me get back in the zone.

Thank you and God Bless.

advaita

I lost a kid yesterday. That’s what I used to call my trainees as a faculty member of the Management Training Programme at the Taj. He was a young man of immense promise — I remember being the first person to make a welcome call to him and invite him into the company. His cheerful “thank you” still resonates, and the many interactions we had where I calibrated his youthful expectations and then watched him grow over the next two years was a special journey we made. He died sometime on the morning of November 27. The last time his batchmate spoke with him he was making sandwiches for guests who were trapped and hiding out in the kitchen. Some were crying, he said, and they heard gunshots; but they would be fine. Remarkably cheerful, serving his guests, living his lessons, he said he would call back soon. We never heard from him again.The Taj and The Oberoi are institutions of Indian hospitality. In a sense they represent attitudes that Indians are known for around the world for — our hospitality, humility and natural cheer. Today, these two fierce competitors of the past are locked in a shared destiny of terror and grief. As reports emerge of casualties, close to nothing is known of the staff members — at around 10 pm, there would be so many of them at the hotel, moving in and out of shifts. Always in the background, hoteliers are trained to be present but never visible. The same, it seems applies in death as well.

Two days ago, our lives changed forever. We speak to each other over the phone, give strength and hold back tears. We manage for the most part. Till we chance upon a sight of a much-feared hotelier of 40 years’ experience crying like a baby while his hotel burns on television. Or hear of someone losing their life while helping guests escape in those crucial first few hours. People who we have always seen in charge are helpless — a patriarch of a company, who is frequently ailing, has not eaten since the crisis began.

As we watch these two icons — dream beginnings for so many young hoteliers — try and stand up to this violation, life in a “profession of graces” reminds us to say thank you. Thank you for the valiant efforts of the many security personnel who are risking their lives and thank you to the relentless media that gives us glimpses of people we thought were lost. And above all else, we feel for our guests — guests of these hotels and this country. May the day when we welcome you back, be here soon — Atithi Devo Bhava.

By Advaita Kala for the Indian Express.

Hi,

I got some mails about having trouble catching me online - sorry about that. I am not quite sure what’s wrong - but I will chat with Aashish (my website whiz) and try and figure it out. Anyway we are due for a website overhaul and I am sure we will come up with a system that is more complicated (kidding)…but seriously isn’t that what always happens with these upgrade thingys!!

Vinay: Thank you for mailing me, I am not usually on the gmail id on the site - so the best place to catch me would be on the website chat link.

Pearl: Readers Block?? Don’t think I’ve heard of that one before. But I’ll tell you what I have been doing lately - I start books and don’t finish them. I don’t know if there is a term for that??!

On another note, thank you for writing in to me. I apologize for the tardiness in responding, but I will write back. It’s just that when I reply to mails, I like to have the time to think and respond fittingly, rather than use the same standard phrases. Which means sometimes it takes me a little longer. I really do appreciate everyone who takes the time to write in to me - it truly brightens my day But you’re dealing with a person, who has a couple of email accounts, groups on facebook and orkut, an official/work account, a blackberry that beeps constantly and no system to deal with all of this - so don’t be mad at me Also if you have any ideas on how I can pull it together, let me know, its getting kinda desperate!! And to top it all, my boss just gave me a book on how to organize myself…that’s surely not a good sign!!;-)

So I have done a million interviews saying Aisha isn’t me and yet no one believes it. In fact I have made peace with the fact that there are some questions I will always be asked. Here’s a list (in no particular order):

“Am I Aisha?’
“Am I single?”
“Is there a Karan in my life?”
or
“Does Karan actually exist?”
“What do I think of marriage?’

Interestingly it’s not just the media who asks me these questions; I have been asked these by
1) School kids
2) Fellow book shoppers at my book store
3) My new dentist
4) Aunties
5) Casual run ins
6) Over the phone - when I have called as part of my job and introduced myself
6) Online chats and emails etc etc

So what should I do - get a T shirt?? (Kidding)

Sample this conversation…an online chat:

Reader: Are you really Advaita?
Me: Yes, who do you think it is?
Reader: I don’t know, am so surprised to be chatting with you. This is pretty awesome…I love your book. etc etc
Me: Thank You
Reader: So when is your next book out, what’s it called….
(Conversation warms up)
Reader (conspiratorial now): So tell me about “HIM”
Me: “Him”?
Reader: Yeah…”Him” (as in duh!) - Karan
Me: What about him?
(Dumb author still not catching on, thinking reader is looking for a preview into the sequel)
Reader: So did you get married?
Me: Oh
(Finally catching on)
Reader: Never mind
Me: No, no its not like (author still typing trying to figure out a suitable non evasive response)
Reader: Let it be… too personal. So do you still work there?
Author with attention span of three year old stops typing and is distracted
Me: Where?
Reader: The hotel
(Now author decides to right one misconception at a time)
Me: You do the know the story is fiction
Reader: ?
Me: Its not true
Reader: Some of it must be nah?
Author thinking…..
Reader: Nah???
Author is a sucker for persistence - total push over
Author: Yes, some of it is true
Reader: Ok (Big Smiley face)…. now tell me which bits
And then the internet connection kicks me out!

(The purpose of providing a transcript to this conversation is to prove that it really is me online. And it’s also to prove in some measure, that Aisha isn’t me - yeah we know how effective my attempts at the latter have been!!)
So till the next time we bump into each other …. LA DOLCE VITA

The Groupie tour continues. THE CURE - my favourite band of all time, who I followed to three concert locations on their WILD MOOD SWINGS TOUR - (this for someone who is skittish about crowds) - is releasing another album. And I am so happy - 4:13 Dreams. I am practically delirious with anticipation.

Sample this from Switch:

“I’m sick of being alone with myself

And I’m sick of being with someone else”

Classic CURE Lyrics!!

 My biggest regret - I could have gone and seen them live in Istanbul, a couple of years ago. And then I didn’t…oh well.

Here’s one of my all time favourite CURE  songs - Just Like Heaven - http://in.youtube.com/watch?v=ORc5Td_T6og

As for Robert Smith, what can I say. what can I say….!! Don’t just hear him sing, read his lyrics…

Hi

 I left the chat icon ON - on the website and missed a couple of people online - my apologies, truly. I read all your comments….but a little too late - but thank you. Also my internet’s been acting up so I keep getting booted off. In a bit I’m going to shut the site down for an overhaul, so hopefully - some things will get sorted. As for my scattiness, that’s going to take another lifetime

Hey All,

Its been a while since I last wrote, just been very busy. Its been one of those strange months, where you always seem to have something to do. But when you reflect on all you have done, it doesnt seem like much at all.

Anyway this being one of my favourite times of the year, wanted to share my favorite “love poem ” with you.

“Sweet Talk” by Billy Collins 

You are not the Mona Lisa

 with that relentless look.

Or Venus borne over the froth

of waves on a pink half shell.

Or an odalisque by Delacroix,

veils lapping at your nakedness.

You are more like the sunlight

of Edward Hopper,

especially when it slants

against the eastern side

of a white clapboard house

in the early hours of the morning,

with no figure standing

at a window in a violet bathrobe,

just the sunlight,

the columns of the front porch,

and the long shadows

they throw down

upon the dark green lawn, baby.

It’s even better when he reads it out - if you have a moment listen to it at http://in.youtube.com/watch?v=B0yn7nS_wuc - the end with the “baby”, always makes me laugh. It commences with all these beautiful and “almost poetic” artistic references only to end in the vein of the standard pick up line. If you’ve ever been called “baby” - you will get it. I think he’s awesome and just so funny.

Speaking of favourites, I went to a little writers party last week and realised just how small the world is. I read a lot and there are some writers that really move me to “groupie” like ecstacy. One of them is the author of a book called - The Attack. The author a man, who writes under a female pseudonym - Yasmina Khadra, is friends with someone I know well. So obviously the rest of the evening went in discussing him and his book and how I can get him on the email. Even though he speaks and writes in French…so anyway, it was all very exciting and I have been drafting in my head the email I will write him, in very poor and borrowed French. Any tips?

Speaking of favourite authors, I met Ruskin Bond in Mussoorie. I actually stayed back to meet with him and do the groupie routine again. Ruskin Bond is more of a childhood connect actually. I remember being sent to boarding school in the fourth grade  (Dehradun) and the only thing that got me through it was being told that Rukin Bond lives up in the hills “just over there”.  To finally meet him and give him my book was so amazing. Interestingly that morning the newspaper carried an interview of mine where I had mentioned him, and he said - “Thank You for mentioning me”. He really is adorable and he sort of reminded me of Santa Claus, and I told him so! He had this never ending que of kids coming up to him with their books and getting pictures taken (Guess who else did - yes Me!! Still going on nine).

Hello All,

Up next is the Mussorie Writers Festival in October, being my home town, there will be lots of relatives and of-course the Aarti at Haridwar, which I go to every time I am in those parts. It’s by far one of the most powerful experiences to be sitting by the shores of the Ganges, and to hear the commencement of the aarti and the clanging of  large symbols (?), haven’t figured that out, when the aarti is brought in. Its stunning!! And I look forward to it every time that I find myself there. Which according to the panditji is not often enough.

But back to the fest, its an annual event hosted by Woodstock School and managed by Steve Alter. It’ s a really casual affair, and is supposed to be great fun with lots of old mountain evenings - the kind that if you are a hill person you understand instantly and yet are hard pressed to explain. Its been nearly a year since I was last in Mussoorie and am so looking forward to it. I always believed that I was not a hill person although I am part “pahari” - what changed things for me was a nine month work stint in Simla. It was possibly one of the loneliest times in my life, but also one in which I fell in love with the mountains and in a sense my roots. Its hard to explain what the mountains mean to me, most often I have thought of them as inhospitable and the weather always too cold. But as I grow older they change for me in many ways.

I was born in a valley - Doon; lived in one for five years - Kathmandu and studied at the foothills of the Appalachians for another four years. Yet I never claimed the mountains as my own. The screen saver in my mind was always the beach or some exotic ruin in a faraway land. The latter, I have to say still holds great appeal. It was in Simla and many of those mountain evenings later, that I began to commune with the hills. I had a wonderful friend as well, Manoj Biswas, who is an enviable combination of historian, naturalist and race car driver, who “educated” me about the hills and the history of Simla in particular. If anyone goes to those parts, try doing the six degrees experiment to get to Manoj or just stay at Wildflower Hall - he still works there. A naturalised mountain boy, he can name every tree you pass and has a tale to tell about every old colonial building you step into!! I wish, wish he would write a book and maybe one day he will.

So here I am off to the mountains - how 1920s’ …. but honestly looking forward to it. I think the little girl who whined about the cold and the breathless trek up the side of a hill with no end or purpose in sight - has grown up. So here she is, off to the hills.

Hello All,

It’s been great chatting with you all - my online pals for the day - Mithu, Awantika, Anish and Jas!!

Only problem, I have a very moody internet connection, which keeps bouncing me out. Hence all my virtual chats end much too abruptly. I cant say it wont happen again, but I hope that through this post - my apologies are accepted. And as for the next time it happens - you now know why!!

Best Wishes and keep pinging me!!

Advaita�

Every once in a while, a book moves you from the very first page. It’s a rare treat and in my opinion a wonderful gift, when the storyteller disarms you with the simplicity of every day words. I am yet to complete the book - it’s just been released and has me very excited. It’s a debut novel and promises to be very powerful, more on it later.

The story commences with the parting of a mother and child in war torn Sudan, here are the lines towards the end of the short two and a half page introduction…

“Let’s make a promise to each other”, she said in a soft breaking voice, the silent tears rolling down her cheeks.

“Let’s make a promise that we will always be like this wherever we are”. She wove her fingers between mine and bowed her head to kiss my hand. 

The smugglers made their final call for our departure. I hugged my mother and her oil lamp fell to the ground, lighting her red shoes in the darkening night.

As the camels started walking, I looked up at her face. I wanted to see it for the last time. But the light at her feet died slowly and my mother disappeared from view”.

Its the seventh month of the year, which squarely puts us in the second half of the year…..it’s gone a bit faster than I imagined. I still don’t feel like I got enough done this year, the next book is coming along and so is the edit. I guess it’s just being in the midst of things that are far from complete that makes me feel this way. We have been going back and forth on the cover for the US edition and it should be finalised soon, it’s very different from the one here - in concept, look everything, I will put it up here when I can.

I wanted to also repond to certain readers who wrote in:

Sumana wants to know about the sequel and what happens to Karan?

Well dont we all!! I still dont know what happens to him, I have an idea but am yet to get to it. It’s there swimming in my head right now. But here’s a bit of trivia - the name Karan is an abridgement of someone’s name - and for all of you who have asked me if he exists (I am ready to reveal) - It’s Fiction!!

Nisha: Who will play the lead role if a movie is made on the book and she thinks the guy in Aamir will make a good Karan.

I have the attention span of a three year old, so am one of those strange creatures who hardly if ever watch movies, except when I travel and am confined to a space. Now that people are expressing an  interest in optioning the movie rights for the book - I have decided to educate myself. So now I go to the movies every weekend. Don’t ask me which movies I have seen, since it’s only been two weeks and I have already missed one weekend, post this resolution. But it’s a start just not a great one. Anyhow coming to the question, I am not sure who will fit the role of Aisha. There are tons of beautiful actresses in the movies, it’s just that Aisha needs to have something more. So if you have any suggestions keep them coming in, the time may be here sooner than we imagine.  

Aparna says’ that whenever she is down in the dumps she picks up Almost Single and it cheers her up.

Ok, that is the coolest feedback I have received about the book. People can say a whole bunch of stuff about the book but when they say it cheers them up or makes them laugh - it’s the biggest compliment ever. Because quite simply that’s why I wrote the book, nothing more to it. I am glad Almost Single has been a friend to you in your “down time”, it was a friend to me when I wrote it

Arti wrote in about moving town and relocating after a bitter break up and how she just needed to get away and how a Misha like friend suggested the book to her…

Well Arti, we all need a Misha like friend in our lives, I know I couldn’t do without mine. Only she now lives in Singapore and is way too far away for us to be “spontaneously silly”, so I envy you . About your break up, relocation etc - I just have one thing to say - “Always remember super sonic jets don’t have rear view windows”

On that note ladies -  have a great second half of 2008 !!

Ah, I am back to being a reader, the best place to be. After the Almost Single Party, it feels good to be back in a familiar place - reading and writing my next book. So what better place to start then to go to the book reading and discussion of a master story teller. The reading was held at Teen Murti House - the auditorium there. It was quite naturally packed to capacity and started “nearly” on time, which as per my recent experience is pretty darn good. Mr. Ghosh started the evening of conversation with a reading (as promised) and then the floor was open to some very interesting conversation. For a young novelist, it was a pretty amazing experience - to be in the midst (even among about 300 people) of such a wonderful story teller. I think its extremely courageous for a writer to go beyond their realm of understanding and experience to tell a story  (that were it not for this book would remain untold). I think there is a certain intellectual vigor that is necessary and essential to be able to tell such stories. It’s rather unfashionable to say so, but I have also come to believe that a great novelist must be able to balance that vigour with empathy. Dare I say, even be an empath. The clarity, the decisiveness with which Mr. Ghosh spoke of the lives of opium workers was moving and this book is most certainly a portal into that world. More on this book, when I finish reading it.

Presently I am reading The Elephanta Suite by Paul Theroux, three novellas, outlining the expat experience in modern day India. Sometimes, I wonder why it takes me so long to get to certain books and I have no good answer except that I guess you read a book when you are ready for it. There is an underlying disenchantment that outlines the stories Mr. Theroux tells. It’s disturbing because it challenges ones perception of what this new world of opportunity can mean to the outsider. There is an exploitation and manipulation that swings both ways. It makes you laugh at times and then in some places these stories speak of the moral depravity and deprivation that we are so good at avoiding. And yet at no point are you overwhelmed. The characters in the book don’t leave you feeling too strongly about them either, which is interesting - was that the author’s intention? Because there are instances that make one cringe at the act but not the perpetrator. Sort of in a “hate the sin not the sinner kind of way”. In conclusion all I can say is that there is an amazing balance that the author strikes, like a good wine.

So back to the reading, there was a virtual stampede getting to Mr. Ghosh and I soon realised that I was the only one trying to follow a que!! Prodding from the impatient gang behind me had me nudging my way forward to get my copy signed. In Delhi, frankly I have only seen such stampedes at “All you can eat buffets”!! And yeah at the Bar at the Almost Single Party - which the Week has described rather charmingly in their latest issue, along with a rather flattering caricature of me - which frankly looks better than I do!! I wonder what that says for self image when you feel your caricature looks better than you do…don’t mean to get all Aisha on you all, but its worth pondering. That’s why I never read my press unless I stumble upon it

Well more later and thank you for reading. The more I understand the world of writers the more I realise its all about the readers. So this one’s to you.

 Cheers,

Advaita

Hello All,

Am back after two weeks in a village in Chattisgarh, it was hot beyond belief and even beat the levels of heat that I have experienced in Rajasthan. However, it was a wonderful visit and I am so completely charmed by the hospitality of the local people. It’s got me kicking into high gear and personally inviting people to the book party on Thursday. Yes, the oft mentioned book party is finally upon us and the invites are in the mail. However I am as always filled with this uneasy feeling that there is someone that I have missed out on or yet another who would expect me to call them personally. I have made lists and phone calls and sent text messages and tried to be as organised about it as possible, but incase I have goofed, do forgive me - and come anyway :-).

The travel coupled with a bit of a workload this month has made it hard for me to focus on things in full measure but anyhow I hope it all works out. The month of June has me doing a book reading in Gurgaon, the details on which I shall update at another point.

Meanwhile Almost Single has a confirmed release date of March 24th 2009 in the US and I shall start work on the edit soon. The Dutch Magazine Alt fer Damerne, carried an interview of mine which I will post shortly. Rest I guess is “AS IS” - summer is upon us and like how - wear that sun block and eat those mangoes and I’ll be seeing you soon!!

Take Care

ak

Hello All

The Almost Single Readers Event has been confirmed for the 29th of April at TGIF, Connaught Place at 1930 hours.

Please contact Ratna Joshi for invites to the event at HarperCollins, India.

Contact Number: 0120 - 4044819

By: Dhanyasree M

Link: http://living.oneindia.in/celebrity/celebrity-interviews/2008/advaita-kala-210508.html

Your first novel Almost Single is widely accepted by the readers. As a writer how do you feel now?
It’s wonderful every time one’s efforts are recognized. Having said that, when I was writing and editing the book, its success in the market was furthest from my mind, so it’s all a bonus. Almost Single is releasing in the US next summer and again, how it does there is very open ended, so I really don’t focus on it and analyse it. I am at work on my next book and that is the happiest place for me to be at.

Is there something common between Aisha Bhatia and Advaita Kala?
There are bits here and there, that are in common but it’s mostly fiction. Having said that, I like Aisha and I could most certainly be a friend with some one like her, she’s fun.

How was your beginning into literature?
I have always written, it was mostly for personal pleasure – nothing formal at all. A break in career allowed me to indulge in this passion for writing and it resulted in Almost Single.

How long did it take to finish Almost Single?
Well the first draft was eight months of writing full time and then post that it was the editing, reworking bits etc. I don’t have much of a life when I write so I try and space it out and live a little in the middle.

Have you published any of your literary creations prior to Almost Single?
No, never had anything published before Almost Single, although post it I have been approached by various publications to write articles – which I do when I feel strongly enough to write about something. So I have since contributed to Vogue, Man’s World, Hindustan Times, Times of India, The Hindu – to name a few.

Who is your favourite author?
That is one of the toughest questions to answer, there are so many. I am a voracious reader and get into phases when I read all books of one author or read extensively about a particular subject. Nowadays I am reading light, as I am busy at work on my next book.

How does your family support your endeavors?
They are tremendously supportive and unquestioning in my need to write full time – writing is at most times an accidental career, because you are never quite certain if a book will work and sustain you. So their support and understanding has been tremendous.

Can you tell us about your next work?
Well, I don’t really talk much about anything I am working on presently, the most I can say is that it is a follow up to Almost Single and alongside I am working on the edit of Almost Single before it comes out in the summer next year in the US.

What is the fondest dream that you still strive to realize?
I live in the moment, its hard for me to enunciate a dream as such, I take it as it comes and I try and stay positive about whatever life has to offer. I am a rather content person and I don’t have too many demands of life or people. Before you think that’s too idealistic a statement – I must also add that limiting my demands is most certainly a conscious decision and I strive towards that every day

What are your other passions apart from literature?
 I love the world of food and hotels – it’s very interesting to me and is the one thing that appeals to all the senses. It’s a hugely creative area and is forever getting redefined. I am not a great cook, but I have lots of great friends who are chefs – so it usually works out. (Laughs)

In this technology-driven age, even literature undergoes a face-lift. Mita Kapur says, while the sub-genres may remain the same, the ubiquitous novel will have to run with the world.

Pretty much ‘done in’ I’d say – all this talk about the future of the novel. Why not leave such worries to the big daddies like Naipaul to proclaim whether it’s dead, or will die, stagnate or just simply live on. The instinct to tell stories is pre-mordial, it’s never going to die as long as we live so the future of the novel is where it was, like the past of the novel. We’ve heard folks cluck and talk gravely of the ‘rise of non-fiction’. But in a world of lateral co-existences, different genres do different things, serve different needs, have different goals and provoke different reactions. The spin-off spins off another spin-off, like chips of coloured glass in a kaleidoscope.

So what will the novel be in the future? Sci-fi, detective, reality fiction, adventure yarns, fantasy? The sub-genres will remain like they have in the past. Only that the novel will fine tune itself, in order to escape being dated. It will belt up to run with the world, for change is the order of the day. Even if the publishing trend is tilted towards non-fiction today, “a good story will find its way in the world. Someone said, all good fiction is like gossip, as long as people enjoy that fiction will survive. I look forward to reading great stories, rooted in places and cultures that are still a mystery to me,” said Advaita Kala, author of Almost Single.

Periods of great change have always been periods of great literature and we are seeing it already in an increase in Indians writing in English about the Indian /urban /middle class experience. “People are a lot more willing to read stories that have aspirations invested in their own personal experiences and trials,” she said.

For the entire article follow this link - http://www.deccanherald.com/Content/May182008/artic2008051768463.asp

Since Publishers Marketplace has already listed this as a deal - here is an update. Almost Single was auctioned last week for US Rights and Random House, USA shall be publishing the book in March, 2009.

Cheers,

Advaita

I have been getting queries on the contest, but it is unfortunately closed now.  You can send a mail to the publisher - HarperCollins India for details.

Also the book party has been scheduled for the 29th of May, it couldn’t come at a better timand nudge them into opening it up again. They are rather nudge-friendly e. I just found out (today) that Almost Single is going into it’s fifth reprint. Not bad for eight months. Again, please write to Harper about details and invites, if you would like to join the celebrations - I would love to have more readers there. And I promise there will be no speeches!!

I hope to see lots of you there, and keep writing in. I promise to update more often as some people have suggested.

Bye for now,

ak.�

Hey All,

Thank you for the many wishes, comments, feedback that pour in through this website, Facebook and Orkut. It’s been overwhelming!! I am often asked about the next book, so here’s some news, I am in the midst of writing it and am going to skip town for a bit later this month - to spend time writing. Yeah do the writer’s thing - since I so rarely do what is expected, I thought this time I must subscribe to the stereotype and try and see if it fits. I must be getting older : )

But I wont be completely incommunicado, the article I mentioned earlier is due out in Man’s World next month instead of May and then there is a piece I did for Platform Magazine, which is on stands now. Also I have written a couple of articles for a daily which will be out in a couple of weeks, so you will be hearing from me. If I have access to the Internet, which is sporadic where I am going, I will post them on this site, once they are out.

Thanks and do keep writing in.

Bye for now!!