New Delhi, July 10 Everything in our lives warps and unravels with the passage of time, says P.A. Chawla, a fan of T.S. Eliot, which explains her nom de plume, of her new book, "The Slow Disappearing" – part memoir and three parts fiction that suggests fading relationships as well as a fading memory – the writing of which she describes as a "wonderfully cathartic experience".
"The title suggests that everything warps and unravels with the passage of time. What are we if not our memories? We wrap our friends, our families, our achievements about us, only to find them slowly disappearing," Chawla told in an interview.
Born in Mumbai, after a whirlwind romance and marriage four decades ago, she moved to the US, where she lives in New Jersey with her husband of 33 years and two beautiful children.
Quite naturally, the book, published by Locksley Hall, has parallel themes. For example, the protagonist moves abroad, and her country, as well as her family, disappears.
"From Indian to resident alien can be a torturous transformation. The title also suggests fading relationships as well as a fading memory," Chawla explained.
"The Slow Disappearing" has been a "wonderfully cathartic experience for me. It is one-part memoir, three parts fiction. I wrote it after I quit work to be at home with my ageing mom-in-law. I was lonely. After the busyness of corporate life, to suddenly find myself at home rolling out rotis and dispensing care was exhausting, emotionally draining, and mentally crippling. At some point, I started writing my thoughts and the book appeared", Chawla elaborated.
This is the author's third book and for her, writing was a natural progression for someone who began reading Rabindranath Tagore, John Steinbeck, and later J.D. Salinger at age eight and was "also certain" that she could "write like them too".
"My dad was a writer and a lexicographer. He was utterly devoted to his work and spent a good part of the day and night, reading, researching, and writing. He passed his love for words to me, I guess; although, I am more a storyteller and certainly not as erudite.
"I have always been an avid reader – when I read the works of Tagore, Steinbeck, and later J.D. Salinger, starting at age eight or thereabouts, I was enthralled. I was also certain
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