Fact and fiction

Himani Dalmia feels comfortable that her debut novel mirrors her own life, she tells Archana Jahagirdar

Himani Dalmia’s debut novel, Life is Perfect, traces the journey of a girl on the cusp of adulthood. Mitali Jatia, the protagonist, hails from a rich Marwari family and lives in Lutyens Delhi. Mitali has it all — wealth, privilege and beauty — yet she has to grapple with contentious family issues before she can live happily ever after.

Is your book more autobiographical than fiction? You also belong to a Marwari business family and live in Lutyens Delhi.
The setting is similar to mine. I thought I had a unique perspective into this kind of a family while writing the book. But the kind of emotional places the characters go to are different from mine. Writing is much more powerful when it is fictionalised.

But the similarities are very striking. Do you feel that the novel will always be judged by that rather than as an independent piece of fiction writing?
I will have to live with people looking for similarities with my life and the book. In fiction, there have been other instances when that has happened. D H Lawrence’s books, for instance, were hugely autobiographical and he was very open about it. If you do have a personal story but are able to remove yourself and put some distance, then that is also a craft. Personally, I would choose fiction writing where I have the power to change, create complexities where none exist.

How has your family reacted to the book?
They have been very supportive. Even if they feel that it is too close to the bone, they have been tactful and supportive. My family is full of writers and academicians who know what a writer goes through. As fellow writers, they would not trespass on my creative freedom at all.

But what about an author’s responsibility of protecting her character’s privacy, especially if they are drawn from real people?
A writer has and should have 100 per cent creative freedom. This is even more applicable when the characters are fictionalised. I would be fine if someone wrote about me in their book.

What gave you the idea to write this book?
When I started writing the novel I was 18 years old and there wasn’t much writing in English which talked about contemporary India. I wanted to write about the emotional fissures that exist in this world. I wanted to go into the emotional landscape.

How did this book change as you worked on it?
I don’t start with an entire book. I start with a character, and as the character moves, the book moves as well. When I started writing this book, it was a light, frothy book — but it went on to become a more serious book. When the plot changed, the style too changed. Earlier, this wasn’t such a dark book.

LIFE IS PERFECT
Author: Himani Dalmia
Publisher: Rupa
Pages: 312
Price: Rs 295