I write on sacred stories, symbols and rituals of all cultures - European, American and Chinese - but my audiences, typically, like me to focus on India.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
I am very interested in human-interest stories emerging from modern India. I get my inspiration and daily dose by reading the 'Hindustan Times.'
I feel as if I can take Indian stories, make them mine and take them to the world.
I like making films about different cultures. I'm interested in things that I've never encountered before. I try to put myself in the audience's position.
India lends itself well to fictionalization, but ultimately, it all depends on the writer's imagination.
I try not to put anything political on the forefront of what I'm trying to do creatively. At the same time, I do think it's wonderful when I hear people say that it's inspirational that I'm an Indian woman on camera. My life is very diverse, and my friends are a diverse group of people.
I don't have doctrinaire views about how we should relate to Asia. But novelists reflect the world they live in, and that world propels you, to some extent. I'm a creature of the British Empire, and of the period of transition from the Empire.
The Indian diaspora is a wonderful place to write from, and I am lucky to be part of it.
I have a pretty good knowledge of the Indian world by virtue of living on several different reservations and being exposed to several different cultures and languages.
At a time when India is going through great changes and, with China, is likely to inherit the world from the West, it is important that writers like me try to highlight the brutal injustices of society.
I usually make sure that my stories are from Africa or my own background so as to highlight the cultural background at the same time as telling the story.