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Mishi Saran

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On her new book 'The Other Side of Light'

12 questions answered

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What is this book about? Asked by: Anu
Hi Anu -- it's a story about four young women and their adventures, their lives and loves -- there are some dark passages, but I believe in happy endings and romance!
Where can i buy this book? thnx. Asked by: Monty
Hi - the book should be in bookstores by June 25, but you could also try Flipkart. Please do also take a look at my website www.mishisaran.com for more info. Thanks!
What was the ultimate motivation for you to come out with such a book? Asked by: himanshu
Thanks for your question Himanshu -- I had actually started writing a totally different book when I realized that this is the story that was wanting to be born first. There is a description of that very surprising process on my website www.mishisaran.com (click on "The Other Side of Light -- and then go to "backstory"). Hope that will answer your question more fully! Warm regards
I have read your previous book Chasing the Monk's shadow. it was a very interesting book. Where did the thought of this book came from Asked by: molly
Thanks for your question Molly. This is a totally different book -- "Chasing the Monk's Shadow" was a physical journey that took me to many unexplored territories on the Silk Road. "The Other Side of Light" was a journey of the imagination. When I started both journeys, the feeling was eerily similar --- excitement, fear, the feeling of jumping off a cliff and not knowing if I would fly or fall.
Why did you name the book "the other side of light" and with a male picture it depicts a book about a man's emotion.Is it? Asked by: prasad
The title -- and the cover image -- become very clear once you read the book, I promise! :)
Do u have someone in mind when u usually write a book. For eg in this book was Asha a character you knew? Asked by: molly
I have found that fiction writing is a mysterious process, where a whole world of information -- whether experienced, imagined or heard -- is distilled into something new. It's hard to say a particular character is somebody I knew. Rather, there are certainly little bits and pieces that land in surprising places --- more like a photograph of a painting of a collage. Hard to separate what began where.
The protagonist is a photographer here.. do you like doing photography yourself.. apart from writing ofcourse :-) Asked by: Richa
I love the idea of photography, although I am a terrible photographer myself. I am intrigued by the possibility of a photograph in effect stopping time for that moment. This made photography a nice device to examine themes of memory and loss -- which are also places I explore in the novel.
Is your book inspired by some movie ? Asked by: Amber
Maybe the book will inspire a movie!
Any plans of writing a third novel? Asked by: Richa
Yes! I'm actually half way through a new novel that is set in Shanghai in the 1930s. That is the novel I started writing in 2006, when "The Other Side of Light" just took over for a few years. So now I am simply returning to my original story, which I'm very excited about. It involves quite a lot of historical research which has been fascinating to conduct here in Shanghai.
From where did you get the inspiration of writing this book ?Is it based upon a reality which you evidenced personally or its based on our emerging flip side of society ? Asked by: Jatin Singh Negi
The characters slowly developed and dictated what they wanted to be doing and where they wanted to be going. Sometimes I was surprised myself by what was going to happen. I am always interested in writing about non-mainstream groups of people. I like that my characters make unusual choices and react in unexpected ways. But mainly, I believe that a novel (or any piece of writing) should be entertaining -- it should make a reader laugh, and cry, and I hope this novel does both.
If you were to make a movie on "The Other Side of Light" whom would you like to cast in Asha & Kabir's role? Asked by: Puneet
Nice question -- I think it would be a young, up-and-coming, relatively unknown actress, or someone who does interesting films like Konkana Sen. For Kabir, ditto. I really loved the feel of Delhi Belly as a film.
Which form of writing did you find easier--the historical/autobiographical travelogue, or the novel? Which did you enjoy more? Asked by: Kaveri
Hi Kaveri -- Fiction was already nipping at my heels in "Chasing The Monk's Shadow." Although that first book was based on solid historical research, parts of the monk's thoughts and feelings are purely from my imagination. In "The Other Side of Light," the characters are made up entirely. Both were enormously fun. I love history and the research I did, but I loved the freedom of just making stuff up. I think in my third book --- which is historical fiction -- I may find some balance.