Professor Vinita Dhondiyal Bhatnagar shares the personal inspirations behind her novel ZAIRA and reflects on her journey from literature scholar to published author

What inspired you to write Zaira? Were there any personal experiences or specific events that sparked the idea for this novel?

Zaira was inspired by many events and incidents. I saw a terrible accident on a flyover near my office. The young man was hurled across the parapet and crashed onto the road below. The blood was trickling from his head like a rivulet. This scene has stayed with me and informs one of the most pivotal moments in the plot.

The awareness as a mother and as a college teacher about the vulnerability of our young population also played a part. This is the age of experimentation and exploration, which is fantastic. But they should not fall prey to addictions or to habits that endanger their lives and their futures. This inspired me to write about the cynical, profiteering men who might make a fortune by luring people into consuming drugs.

Can you share your journey as a writer? What were some of the key moments or turning points that led you to become a published author?

I have been studying literature since 1985 and have a Phd in literary studies. So I have a long history of reading. It took guts to jump into writing especially because in my mind I kept comparing myself to the literary greats I had studied. I kept writing and kept getting rejected. Part of the problem was that my characters were not gripping enough. My father passed away in 2010 and his last words to me were not to give up. I am going to keep to that. The publishing industry has changed drastically in the last few years. Maybe my time was now. My editor friend, Kaneez, told me of Book Bakers, my literary agent and they helped place my book.

How do you balance your roles as a professor and a writer? Do you find that your academic work and storytelling complement each other?

In my fantasies I would have been a full time writer, locked up in a room with my thoughts for company. In reality I am juggling a home, and a job in which I have seventy young people in a classroom and they come from far off places and with distinctive personalities and life stories of their own. I now recognise this as strength. It may give me less time to write but it gives me deeper compassion and understanding. I teach communication skills and my purpose in writing is primarily to communicate rather than impress. My book has been written primarily for the type of people I teach.

The characters in Zaira are richly detailed and complex. Can you share your process for developing characters like Zaira, Rajyawardhan and Jai? Did any of them change significantly from your initial concept?

Thank you! As you know characterization is what I have struggled with the most. So your words are a healing balm to my soul. Frankly, Zaira is based on a friend of mine who is like a daughter to me. The story is not hers. The character is. I asked her at points “What would you wear to this?”or “What would you eat? “Since I understood her well I could imagine what her responses might be in certain circumstances. Rajyawardhan is based partially on my favorite film star. I saw him on VIP road in Bhopal and I said to myself, “This man will be a legend.” I think he is on his way to becoming one. I won’t say more or I might be sued! With Jai I was thinking of the migration of the Sindhis to Bairagarh near Bhopal after partition. A character carries the history of his people and I hope some of that is reflected in Jai’s story. What changed significantly throughout the course of the writing was the relationship outcome of Jai and Zaira’s story. I was so keen to write a romance. Alas!

Zaira is filled with unexpected twists and suspenseful moments. How do you approach plotting a story to maintain tension and keep readers engaged?

My professor Malashri Lal suggested I start storytelling to live audiences. It’s a very difficult art. Listeners get restless and children are bound to say “I am bored” when They are bored. That gives my writing urgency. I don’t want to bore you. I don’t want to waste your precious time and attention.

The book touches on serious issues like drug trafficking and personal trauma. What kind of research did you conduct to ensure these aspects were portrayed accurately and sensitively?

I didn’t do specific research on these topics but I have always stayed aware of these issues in society. I listened to ex-drug addicts speak about the fear of slipping back into the habit and of the humiliating lives they had led when they were in the grip of addiction. I knew a fantastic young man who just slipped away. It makes me sad. It makes me angry. We are letting our younger generations down if we don’t do enough to protect and inform them. I was in the process of losing my mother as I wrote the book. I didn’t know it then at a conscious level. But at a subconscious level, something inside me was preparing to let go. That rawness, that vulnerability and ache found itself on to the pages.

Fyodor Dostoevsky works often explore deep psychological and moral issues. How Has Dostoevsky influenced your writing, particularly in Zaira? Are there specific aspects of his work that resonate with you?

During my MPhil days at Delhi University, I attended a seminar course of Russian Literature. (I must tell you the first four years of my life were spent in Russia. They believed then that the only privileged class should be children and I was treated accordingly.) I think I am obsessed with him because my uncle once dismissed somebody else’s writing as “He is no Dostoevsky” Since then he has become my standard of good writing!

As a storyteller, are there any elements of Fyodor Dostoevsky’s work that have influenced your writing, particularly in Zaira?

Ha Ha! I am arrogant enough to really crave that comparison. Dostoevsky doesn’t bother with facts as much as with states of mind. I find it difficult to add irrelevant details just to enhance the literariness of the language or story. He explores the two radically opposing sides of a character or situation. When I read his morally ambiguous characters I feel “This could be me, I could respond like this in this situation.” I am hoping readers will feel the same way about my work.

You’ve mentioned that no change is possible unless the story touches the hearts of its readers. How do you ensure your stories have this emotional impact?

Even as a teacher I am aware miracles can happen and mountains can move if you can touch the hearts of your students. I do have a worldview, an urgent sense of how I think things should be. If I wrote them in a pamphlet it would be thrown away. So I weave a story. One of my favourite writers just revealed that he cried through the writing of his book. He knew the reader could feel the emotion because he felt it first.That is my greatest challenge. Years of struggling with literacy issues of theme, character, plot and conflict means I have a head first approach. I have to get in touch with my own heart to write. When we communicate heart to heart, we understand each other better. That’s all I am going for.

What do you hope readers will feel or think about after finishing Zaira? Is there a particular message or feeling you want to leave them with?

I am hoping they will feel energised and empowered. Mistakes happen. So what? Why be afraid of heartbreak and betrayal to an extent where we forget to live? There are possibilities and opportunities all around us. We have a story to live. Let’s make it grand!