AUTHOR’S BIO :
Rohini Paranjpe Sathe studied and trained to be an economist, completing her graduation with an Economics major from Fergusson College, Pune University. She later did her Masters (Economics) followed by an M. Phil, from The Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics, also then under Pune University, choosing for her thesis the study of expectations theories, focussing primarily on the Rational Expectations Hypothesis and its macroeconomic implications. She worked as a research assistant for a brief period at the Gokhale Institute, co-authoring a paper entitled “Keynesian, Monetarist and New Classical Economics and Short-run Dynamics of Output and Inflation in India” published in the economic journal, Prajnan.
Rohini returned to her first and enduring love, the pursuit of Hindustani classical music (vocal), re-schooling herself under the intensive tutelage of her Guru, Smt Madhuri Joshi, herself an accomplished classical vocalist. She imbibed the tenets of the Agra-Jaipur gharana and became obsessed with the khayal and its inherent leisurely unfolding and exposition of the underlying Ragas. She is also a composer of bandishes both in the pure classical and semi classical formats.
She has been writing regularly since the past eight years, her articles comprising her reflections on topical as well as personal subjects, having been published by Talking Cranes on their website. She still continues to blog (www.rohiniparanjpesathe.com), adding to this stream of articles and writing book and film reviews as well. She gravitated towards fiction, her stories centring around the emotional flux that individuals undergo in response to life’s intermittent challenges. Her collection of stories, Of Swans and Songs, was published in 2019. Her first novel, Being Good Enough, has been recently published.
Apart from attending concerts, a natural requisite and extension of her profile as singer, she loves watching and reviewing films, and reading and discussing books. She enjoys travelling across the world and then sharing her experiences gathered from exposure to different cultures, peoples, heritages, ideologies, art, architecture and cuisines.
She lives in Pune with her husband, Shireesh. Her daughter, Urmila, lives and works in the United States with her husband, Sumit.
1. Who and what inspired you to write?
A school friend, Lila Ravichandran, and my music Guru, Dr Madhuritai Joshi, were convinced I could and should write and they had in turn tried to convince me. But I would shrug it off. Then it so happened that a medical problem brought a several-months-long hiatus in my daily riyaz, and as a means to fill the ensuing vacuum, I turned to writing. Words literally came to my rescue. All the emotional churning that is music poured itself out in the form of articles and stories.
I revel in the complexities of human thought and emotion. Love, lust, longing, greed, ambition, piety, mercy, compassion, honesty, deceit, there is so much that makes us the humans we are. It’s all extremely fascinating, an abundance of food for thought and material to write, inspiring my stories.
2. What challenges did you face while writing and getting published?
So far writing per se hasn’t presented many challenges. Yes, there are days when the story doesn’t move forward or I am unhappy with what I’ve written, with the style or the substance or both, but that’s okay. Art cannot be manufactured at will, creativity doesn’t flow from a tap, I accept that, and I wait. During the waiting, oftentimes ideas that were nebulous become clearer, new angles or dimensions to plot and characters present themselves, and then the block melts away and I’m hammering away again at my computer. On occasion, I have had to do an extra spot of research, checking details that feature in the manuscript, and that can take time and/or more effort than I had bargained for. But I enjoy that. I look at it as a learning opportunity and I am the richer for it.
Getting published is extremely hard. Sending your author and book résumé to publishers and then getting either rejected or neglected, that simply batters your self-esteem. Then you pick yourself up and do it all over again until some brave person, Suhail Mathur in my case, puts their faith in you and in the quality of your writing. Sunny days, after that!
3. How did you come to know about the literary agency THE BOOK BAKERS?
Through my editor, Samarpita Mukherjee Sharma. She is one amazingly helpful person who stepped up beyond her role of manuscript editor. She brought me names of whom I could send my publication proposal to. Suhail Mathur’s The Book Bakers came from her.
4. How did THE BOOK BAKERS help you and what would you like to say about them ?
From day one, I was assured that they would do their best to see my book through and that I would get a good publishing contract within the stipulated period. That made me breathe easy. I was spared the entire agony of doing publishers’ rounds, spared the fear of rejection looming large behind every door I may knock.
And they delivered! And how! Everything was just smooth sailing.
Also, The Book Bakers designed the cover of Being Good Enough. That process was also smooth. All I did was to tell them what I had in mind, what I did and didn’t like, and voila! My cover was ready! It’s beautiful, exactly how I wanted it. Not judging a book by its cover is all very well, but in today’s world, first impressions count a lot. And it has been hugely appreciated.
5. How supportive is your publisher of your work?
Oh, Locksley Hall Publishing accepted it entirely. They intermittently post about my book, either through a trailer or a banner, and that keeps my book out there for all to notice, piquing reader curiosity, encouraging sales and readership. I am happy.
6. How do you see literary success for yourself?
See, I write what I know, what I feel. If the reader feels that too when they read my words, if they connect with where I’m coming from and accept it, I have succeeded.
Yes, I would like more and more people to read my work. But I also want the reading to be fruitful. My words should encourage them towards an acceptance that there are all sorts of people and emotions and experiences, and that the boundaries of our own individual realities should not limit our understanding of the world out there.
7. When can we expect your next book?
Well, I am writing it. So hopefully, soon! It is a novel and inspired by my love of music.
8. How has your experience being working with Locksley Hall Publishing ?
Hassle-free, smooth, marked by trust and respect.
9. Any message or tips for aspiring authors?
The same that I tell myself every time I write: be honest. Write what you know, don’t pretend. And, breathe. Writing is pure joy. Feel that joy, cherish it.
BOOK NAME : BEING GOOD ENOUGH
PUBLISHER : LOCKSLEY HALL PUBLISHING
BOOK SYNOPSIS/BLURB :
Jyoti lives a hard life in Mumbai, hiding from her turbulent past, and struggling to give her son the best future possible.
That past, however, inexorably catches up with her.
And thus her life unfolds: her promiscuous youth, the religious divides and patriarchal dictates that she had flouted, the cruel price they exact. Leaping from one impetuous choice to another, she learns to survive, rebuilding her life time and again.
But will peace ever be hers? Will she secure her son’s future? She despairs, though she has lowered her bar of expectations from the good to the good enough. And the resilient optimist in her hopes again…
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