Twinkle Khanna says the author in her, with all its quirky humour, will always show resilience in the face of fear irrespective of who she’s up against
Navneet Vyasan (HINDUSTAN TIMES; February 13, 2020)

"I read across genres, a lot of it as purely research into structure, style and narrative. Alice Munro, Rohinton Mistry are some of my heroes," says author Twinkle Khanna. And why not, her humour, that has made her a bestselling author, can be found across genres irrespective of the theme. Mistry, whose novels are laden with realism, and Nobel Prize-winner Munro, who revolutionised short stories, have inspired generations. Khanna, who penned Mrs Funnybones, The Legend Of Lakshmi Prasad and, most recently, Pyjamas Are Forgiving, has slowly but steadily built a strong fan base.

When did your inclination towards reading begin?
My mother (Dimple Kapadia) claims that I could read by the time I was three, which seems hard to believe but I use this apocryphal tale around my childhood to tease my sister mercilessly because apparently she was all of five when she started reading. Today, I think she reads even more than me, though we prefer different genres. I honestly don’t remember a specific time when I discovered the joy of books so to speak, but my boarding school friends claim that I would even skip meals because I was reading. Considering I was the roundest girl in my class, I find it unlikely, though I suppose I do have hazy memories of eating with one hand, while holding my book with another and invariably dropping some food on the pages. Yes, I am one of those sinners, who folds down corners, drops things and writes in the margins. My relationship with books is probably like my relationship with God, I am grateful to have both in my life but my devotion is strictly devoid of any rituals. After all, Saraswati does not come to visit you if you worship books, she drops in occasionally when you turn the pages.

Who were your favourite authors growing up? And who do you enjoy reading now?
I have always read a lot of science fiction, Asimov, Philip K Dick, and I used to read a lot of horror as well — all the Stephen Kings and Dean Koontzs I could find. Now, I have stopped reading about demons but am sticking to my beloved aliens. I read a lot of contemporary sci-fi authors now, N K Jemisin, and Paolo Bacigalupi along with the masters like Atwood and Gaiman. Science fiction is my version of the calorie laden dessert. But I have a tendency of sounding like a boring fart when it comes to talking about the authors I love.

Granted, that we’ve had numerous Booker and Pulitzer Prize winners, what do you make of the fanfare reading had when you were young compared to now?
In the history of mankind, there has never been a time like this with so many things competing for an individual’s attention. We also don’t allow ourselves to be bored anymore. Taking out the time to read, to be still in a world that is always whirling may be more challenging but I don’t think books are anywhere close to being extinct because there really is no replacement for a medium where you are building worlds completely within your head. Like Douglas Adams once told Gaiman ‘Books are sharks. There were sharks before there were dinosaurs, and the reason sharks are still in the ocean is that nothing is better at being a shark than a shark’.

Sharing the stage with Sudha Murthy must have been quite an experience...
Mrs Murthy is someone I admire the most for her sheer lack of pretentiousness. I do know her on a personal level but got to know her further when I interviewed her for my website, and her books are exactly like her — honest and relatable.

What do you make of your contemporaries like Madhuri Vijay?
I have been meaning to get my hands on her book, The Far Field, as I have heard so much about it but I haven’t had a chance yet. I did read Milk Teeth by Amrita Mahale, Meena Kandasamy’s When I Hit You, Eating Wasps by Anita Nair, and they all made it to multiple lists of book recommendations that I jot down regularly for my readers. Contrary to popular belief, I think it’s a wonderful time to be a writer today, only because the best work is never created in a stable environment but always in the midst of uncertainty.

An author’s words might just offend someone. Does that make him/her turn towards self-censorship? Is it an unfortunate solution?
I have been writing for over eight years now and in the last few years, I feel that you can sense an increasing amount of pressure, especially when you write about politics. Each creative person is an individual and has the agency to decide to succumb, temporarily or permanently. Or, even to be subversive or not to adapt at all. I don’t see a demarcation between filmmakers and writers as much as I see it as individual decisions. Personally, I feel that with the platform that I have been given, I do have the responsibility to present a narrative that does not transform or get skewed because of fear.