Ask Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni - Wednesday, May 15th! discussion

Chitra wrote: "Uma wrote: "Hi Chitra ji,
I read your book Oleander Girl. I liked the part played by her kin that she found, during her marriage. Question remains, could they have played a more prominent role, tak..."

Dear Chitra ji!
Thank you for sharing! I will ask the rest of the question in person, when we can meet!
Regards
Uma

Chitra, my husband is on his way to Vromans now while I am at work (I am very jealous!) and I'm hoping he can pick up an autographed Oleander Girl.

Mallika wrote: "Hi Chitra,

I have read The Conch Bearer and The Mirror of Fire and Dreaming. I really enjoyed both of them! I am planning on reading Shadowland soon. Who are your favorite authors that you have re..."


Hi Mallika, Glad you liked the books. some of my favorite authors are Anita Desai, Tim O Brien, Maxine Hong Kingston and Margaret Atwood.
Children's fantasy: Phillip Pullman; J.K.Rowling, and JRR Tolkien.

Diane D. wrote: "Chitra wrote: "Diane D. wrote: "Hello, Chitra, I was so excited to receive the invite to this group and learn that you have written another book. My name is Diane and I was your author escort at t..."

Diane, we'll have to wait and see about my movie involvement. I'm usually a consultant--they call me when they want advice or clarification.

Uma wrote: "Chitra wrote: "Uma wrote: "Dr. Chitra ji,
I have started a novel more than a decade back, at least 50 pages of A4 size are written. The story I wanted to discuss is also completed, I have not been..."

That might work. Try and see.

Uma wrote: "Chitra wrote: "Uma wrote: "Hi Chitra ji,
I read your book Oleander Girl. I liked the part played by her kin that she found, during her marriage. Question remains, could they have played a more prom..."

Let me get done with the book tour.

Diane D. wrote: "Chitra, my husband is on his way to Vromans now while I am at work (I am very jealous!) and I'm hoping he can pick up an autographed Oleander Girl."

Sounds good to me! I did sign some extra copies when I was at Vroman's.

Chitra wrote: "Tasia wrote: "Hello! This is such a great opportunity, and I'd like to say thank-you for answering questions , and thank-you Goodreads for hosting this!

I completely agree with Yana-- the way you..."

Thank you so much for taking the time to answer my question. I'll push through it!

Dear Chitra, this is Saborna from Sugar Land. Very grateful for this opportunity to talk to you. I have two questions:

(1)Where did the original inspiration for the main character (Karabi)come from ?

(2)You said something about there being several night club scenes and that you had to do research about them. I'd like to know if you actually had to go to these places and what was it like to explore the India you didn't grow up in? Like the culture today has changed. Was it a weird experience for you?

Hi Saborna, good to hear from you!
1. Korobi is imagined. But I was thinking about my favorite young heroine, Elizabeth from Pride and Prejudice. I wanted to make Korobi intelligent and courageous like Elizabeth.

2. Yes, it was a weird experience. I went with friends who live in Kolkata now, but I kept feeling how much things have changed. What was considered "bad" for girls to do is now "OK" for many people.

Thanks Chitra for your response to my question. I just finished reading Oleander Girl last night and have posted a review. It's a very plot-driven book (more so than your other books) and I really enjoyed Korobi's growth from a young, timid girl to a mature, strong woman. However, I felt that Joyoshree could have been a much more powerful and "complex" character. Also, the "hair cutting" episode didn't quite work for me. :) Looking forward to reading more of your books, especially your take on Sita. Thank you for taking the time to do this discussion. Really enjoyed it. Cheers, Adite

Hello, my name is Rachel. I love your writing, even though the only work of yours I've read is One Amazing Thing. It's such a wonderful, beautiful story and is deffinetly one of my favorites of all time! You have a real gift. I was wondering, though, what your take is on what happened to the characters in the end. I know you left it open to debate for a reason, but I'd still really appreciate your take on the matter.
Just one more thing, what is it like to publish something (process, how it feels, etc) and do you think I could or should do it?
Thanks so much,and may you have a wonderful day! I'll be looking forward to reading your new book

Adite wrote: "Thanks Chitra for your response to my question. I just finished reading Oleander Girl last night and have posted a review. It's a very plot-driven book (more so than your other books) and I really ..."

Thanks for your response, Adite. It was a pleasure to chat with you.

Rachel wrote: "Hello, my name is Rachel. I love your writing, even though the only work of yours I've read is One Amazing Thing. It's such a wonderful, beautiful story and is deffinetly one of my favorites of all..."

Hello Rachel, in my mind the ending of One Amazing Thing is a happy one!
The first step to publishing is writing the best possible book you can write. Take your time with that. Along with that, creating a publication history is important. Start publishing short pieces in magazines, journals, etc. The next step is to find an agent. Good luck!

Hello Chitra,

I must confess I read your work the "Palace of Illusions" at my friend's insistence and have not regretted it. I loved that you used Draupadi's point of view to bring a modern twist to the epic story of Mahabharata.

-Usha

Usha wrote: "Hello Chitra,

I must confess I read your work the "Palace of Illusions" at my friend's insistence and have not regretted it. I loved that you used Draupadi's point of view to bring a modern twist ..."

Thank you, Usha!

Good night, everyone. It was great chatting with all of you. Thanks for reading my books. I invite you all to continue the conversation on my Facebook Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/chitradivaka...

Dear Chitraji,

Thank you so much for taking the time to interact with your fans.We are indeed lucky to be in such close proximity to our favorite author!

I am reading Queen of Dreams now, and after Oleander Girl,I found a striking similarity between the two.Both start off with a dream,and the concept of dream is crucial in both all through till the end.Is this a coincidence?

Could you tell us when we can roughly expect the book on Ramayana? I am really excited about it!

Thanks again!
Radhika

Radhika wrote: "Dear Chitraji,

Thank you so much for taking the time to interact with your fans.We are indeed lucky to be in such close proximity to our favorite author!

I am reading Queen of Dreams now, and aft..."

Hi Radhika, thanks for the kind words. You are right, dreams are important in both Queen and Oleander, but they operate in different ways, and the protagonists' relationship to the dream is different.
I'm just starting the novel on Sita. It will take a while, maybe 1 and 1/2 years.

Thanks for the update Chitra. Looking forward to the book on Sita.

Thank you for replying and interacting with us. Looking forward to your latest work!

Chitra, I was able to get a signed copy of Oleander Girl at Vromans, and I'm thrilled. Can't wait to read it. Thanks for chatting with all of us!

Just downloaded Oleander Girl to my Kindle for my flight to Denver tomorrow. Looking forward to reading it.

Laura wrote: "Just downloaded Oleander Girl to my Kindle for my flight to Denver tomorrow. Looking forward to reading it."

Let me know what you think, Laura!

Diane D. wrote: "Chitra, I was able to get a signed copy of Oleander Girl at Vromans, and I'm thrilled. Can't wait to read it. Thanks for chatting with all of us!"

You are welcome. Let me know what you think of the book.

Hello Chitra, Just wanted to let you know that I finished The Palace of Illusions this morning. It was a magical book . Took me a while to read as I had to keep reminding myself of who was who. But, it was such a fantastic book and you are so insightful and clever in the way you convey feelings of your characters within complex psychological situations. I was brimming over by the last page.
Many many thanks ,
Namaste,
Imogen

Thanks very much, Imogen. So glad you connected to the story (it is indeed quite complicated.)