Interview: Ankita Chadha

And today I have on my blog Ankita Chadha, author of Anything Else But Love which is I reviewed a few days ago. Welcome, Ankita!

1. I'd like to begin this interview by asking you what kind of books are there on your bookshelf? What books are you reading right now? Which genre of books do you generally read? Which books do you re-read again and again?

Thank you Sakhi for interviewing me!

My bookshelf is filled with numerous philosophy books (Mostly written by Osho), and romance books. ‘The mystic rose’ written by Osho is my favourite.

I am currently reading ‘The devil and miss prym’ by Paulo Coelho.

I generally read philosophy and romance. And even though I love philosophy, it is romance I mostly pick.

Any book that touches my heart and leaves me with a wow feeling is re-read by me, not once, but as many times I want to. I have re-read Harry Potter series three times till date.  

2. Tell us something about your work before "Anything Else But Love"?

My first work is ‘Little things in life’, a book based on philosophy. It’s about the journey of a teenage girl who delves into the anonymity of life and wants to understand the depth and the beauty of it.

The book hasn’t been released yet, since much work is pending on it, and I do not plan to release it anytime before one year or so. Hence, ‘Anything else but love’ remains my debut novel.

3. Did you always want to be a writer? How did you get into writing? What inspired you to write "Anything Else But Love"?

A person never becomes a writer – either he is, by default, or he is not. He only becomes aware of his writing ability. And I was aware since my school days. I wrote poems mostly, and it was in my ninth standard that I first thought of writing a novel.

Around ten months ago I was working on some other book, when I saw this dream.  A couple was dressed in white, and there was radiating whiteness around them, almost celestial. They were at some workplace, and the guy was standing close to this simple traditional girl, resting his face near her ear, muttering something. And the girl was blushing incessantly. I could in fact see her going beetroot red, and the guy adoring his blushing beauty with a plastered smiled etched across his face. Then the dream ended.

I was so determined then. I knew that no matter what, this is the love story I have to write, because you don’t get to see such eternal, beautiful, and ethereal couples anymore.

4. What kind of people do you think this book will reach out to?

People who still believe in a kind of romance where you enter into a timeless zone, you lose yourself to a person, only to never get yourself back again. You do not walk anymore; rather bounce with each step that you take. Everything around you becomes infinitely slow, beautiful and divine.

So, anyone who has cherished such emotions, or wants to, will definitely pick up this book.

5. What is your favourite thing about books and reading? How have books made an impact on your life?

The best part about books is that they have the anything-is-possible element in them. Reading makes me forget reality for sometime and I am taken into a whole new world of vividness and imagination. I visit places, cast spells, meet riveting creatures, and engage into all sorts of adventure – all without leaving home at all!

Books have always allowed me to delve into things and emotions I would have otherwise overlooked. They have instilled more patience in me.

6. Quick take. Answer the following with the first words/phrase that comes to your mind, in five words or less:

- Love – an extremely beautiful feeling

- Life – a very precious gift

-  Struggles in love – makes the relationship stronger

- Avi (the character) – an adorable loving soul

- Books – a boon to humanity

Anything Else But Love by Ankita Chadha

Anything Else But Love is a bollywood-esque love story.

If you're a fan of that kind of romance, then I would definitely recommend this book to you...in fact, many of my friends have already asked to borrow this book from me. Its a classic boy-meets-girl, conflicts happens and happily-ever-after type of story, with quite a few twists and turns, drama on airports, loads of true love, a lot of misunderstandings, great supporting cast and a lot of plain old fun. The situations are really dramatized, as are the characters, which all adds to the kind of story it is. Its very clear, not every one will like this book, but people who actually do enjoy movies like Dil Waale Dulhaniya Le Jaenge, or Kuch Kuch Hota Hein should definitely consider this book as it is likely to be really enjoyable for them to read. 

I think the star of this book is Avi, the main guy. He's adorable, sweet, kind, flirty and FUN, which the female lead, Shewali, the 'teacher' lacks. Also, the thing about Shewali is that's she really good-good, and traditional, and pretty, and perfect, and all those things that I wont ever be, which is why I can emphasise more with Avi, whose pain and love and family issues and flirtiness are all really well-written and not too angsty. Also, I dont like Shewali's decisions through a majority of the book, she's over-dramatized at parts and at parts she just plain acts stupid, like the end, but Avi is just a great foil for her, and he makes the whole book seem a lot better. I think Avi - and Tia (Shevali's sweet best friend), Shabeer (Avi's very sweet and serious brother), and Sonnel (Shewali's kick-ass sister), are the reason you should be reading this book. Of course by the end of the book you cant ever hate Shewali, who's very kind and gentle and all, and eventually you grow to like her too. 

A few things in the book didnt exactly agree with me - I wasnt too fond of the writing style (but then, this is a pretty personal opinion) but it didnt gel with me much, and I didnt like some scenes which were a little nuts (though honestly, in the story they were in, it made perfect sense to put them, but still...). However, what I did like was that it was a quick and zippy read, 300 + pages go  by like a breeze. Moreover, this is the kind of book that warms your heart, pushes your buttons, makes you smile, and finally go 'aww' which is a pretty fun sensation once in a while. 

Final thoughts: Anything Else But Love is about nothing else but love. A fun, sweet, bollywood-esque read, recommended for all lovers of the genre. 

Other thoughts: This is another book for the Book Reading Challenge 2011! Also, author Ankita Chadha's going to make an appearance on my blog soon. Watch this space. 

(Financial disclosure: Book source was the author.)