Books and Beyond with Bound - 1.4: Tashan Mehta - Fly into Fantastical Worlds

1.4: Tashan Mehta - Fly into Fantastical Worlds

04/21/20 • 39 min

How do you unleash your imagination? And how do you embrace failure?

Author Tashan Mehta talks to us about all things speculative fiction – from the growth of the genre in India to her favourite works within it. She takes us through her life, describing incidents and stories that changed her worldview on writing and cultivated her love for speculative fiction.

She gushes about the flexibility, lack of rules and the ability of the genre to create experiences, transport the reader to alternate realities and most importantly, make them think. She talks about her struggles writing her first book – working on a single book for 5 years isn’t easy. Neither is rewriting your first draft 52 times. She shares strategies for everything – from inspiration to writer’s block to perseverance – which she’s learned from personal experience, from interacting with her writer friends and from the workshops she’s conducted.

Tune in as we take you on a journey through Tashan’s mind as she tries to put her creative process into words and gives us a glimpse into her imagination.

'Books and Beyond with Bound' is a podcast where Tara Khandelwal and Michelle D'costa of Bound talk to some of the best writers in India and find out what makes them tick.

Tashan Mehta is a novelist whose debut novel, The Liar’s Weave, was published in 2017 and shortlisted for the Prabha Khaitan Woman's Voice Award. She was part of the 2015 Sangam House Writers' Residency and was British Council Writer-in-Residence at Anglia Ruskin University in 2018. In 2019, she participated in FIELDWORK 0.2, a multidisciplinary residency exploring alternative infrastructures for the future. Her short stories have been anthologised in Magical Women and Third Eye.

You can get your copy of her book here-
https://www.amazon.in/Liars-Weave-Tashan-Mehta/dp/938622819X

Tune in every Wednesday for a new episode.

Follow Bound on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter: @boundindia
Follow our podcast on Instagram: @boundpodcasts

You can check out our website at https://www.boundindia.com/podcast/

‘Books and Beyond with Bound’ is the podcast where Tara Khandelwal and Michelle D’costa uncover how their books reflect the realities of our lives and society today. Find out what drives India’s finest authors: from personal experiences to jugaad research methods, insecurities to publishing journeys. Created by Bound, a storytelling company that helps you grow through stories. Follow us @boundindia on all social media platforms.

How do you unleash your imagination? And how do you embrace failure?

Tune in as we take you on a journey through Tashan’s mind as she tries to put her creative process into words and gives us a glimpse into her imagination.

'Books and Beyond with Bound' is a podcast where Tara Khandelwal and Michelle D'costa of Bound talk to some of the best writers in India and find out what makes them tick.

You can get your copy of her book here-
https://www.amazon.in/Liars-Weave-Tashan-Mehta/dp/938622819X

Tune in every Wednesday for a new episode.

Follow Bound on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter: @boundindia
Follow our podcast on Instagram: @boundpodcasts

You can check out our website at https://www.boundindia.com/podcast/

Previous Episode

1.3: Rajat Ubhaykar - Travelling from Kashmir to Kanyakumari in Trucks

What's it like spending your days in trucks without devices to keep you company and how do you make a book out of that?

Tara and Michelle are joined by Rajat Ubhaykar, the author of Truck de India! Did you know he wrote this book after spending months on the road travelling with ‘truckies’ all over India to get a glimpse into their lives? Rajat talks to us about his experience practically hitchhiking across India without a plan, encountering all sorts of different characters and stories, and everything he learned from his experience.

We ask him everything – from what sparked his desire to embark on such an incredible journey to the challenges he faced and what a day on the road was actually like. What did his parents think? Did he ever get bored? How did he deal with the uncertainties and dangers posed by his journey?

We explore Rajat’s unique experiences through hilarious anecdotes, insightful observations and fun facts. We talk about powerful topics like privilege, history and art, the Indian truck economy and Rajat’s favourite travel destinations. From his book deal to his editing process, Rajat tells us everything – like the fact that he doesn’t believe in the concept of drafts, how he chose the right beta readers for his book and the inspiration behind his book cover.

'Books and Beyond with Bound' is a podcast where Tara Khandelwal and Michelle D'costa talk to some of the best writers in India and find out what makes them tick.

Rajat Ubhaykar trained as an electrical engineer at IIT Kanpur and went on to study journalism at the Asian College of Journalism after a stint in management consulting. A recipient of the PoleStar Award in 2016 for his reportage, his work has appeared in publications such as Mint, Outlook Business, Roads & Kingdoms, and Madras Courier. He lives in Mumbai and spends his spare time reviewing books, collecting trivia, and exploring India's archaeological sites. Truck de India is his first book.

You can get your copy of his book here-

https://www.amazon.in/Truck-India-Hitchhikers-guide-Hindustan-ebook/dp/B07Y8R2YXY

Tune in every Wednesday for a new episode.

Follow Bound on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter: @boundindia

Follow our podcast on Instagram: @boundpodcasts

You can check out our website at https://www.boundindia.com/podcast/

Next Episode

1.5: Jane Borges - Bombay’s Hidden Communities

Learn about Bombay’s undiscovered narratives with Jane Borges.

Jane talks about Bombay's open secrets: gems hidden in plain sight. We learn about ‘Cavel’, a small Catholic neighbourhood in South Bombay, which is the focus of her book Bombay Balchão. Her insights into the characters’ lives (Goan and Mangalorean) are very educational and entertaining. And Cavel is just a stone's throw away from co-host Tara's residence and we never knew of it until we read the book!

Jane also talks about co-writing Mafia Queens of Mumbai with the veteran writer Hussain Zaidi. One of the stories from the book will soon be adapted by Sanjay Leela Bhansali into a movie and guess who’s starring in it? Alia Bhatt! One of our favourite Bollywood actresses.

She talks about why Bombay feels so unforgettably like home to her and serves as the setting for both her books. We talk about purposeful storytelling that makes a difference, that informs people, that shapes ideas. She gets real with us about every step of her writing journey and why she even almost abandoned her book. We talk about history, conflict and stereotypes – and what fueled her passion to write about these topics.

'Books and Beyond with Bound' is the podcast where Tara Khandelwal and Michelle D'costa of Bound talk to some of the best writers in India and find out what makes them tick.

Jane Borges is a Mumbai-based journalist. She writes on books, heritage and urban planning for Sunday mid-day, the weekend edition of mid-day newspaper. Bombay Balchão, which is set in a Catholic neighbourhood in the city, is her first novel. She has also co-authored Mafia Queens of Mumbai: Stories of Women from the Ganglands with S. Hussain Zaidi, which released in 2011.

You can get your copy of her books here:

https://www.amazon.in/Bombay-Balchao-Jane-Borges/dp/9388754751/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=bombay+balchao&qid=1582366011&s=books&sr=1-2

Tune in every Wednesday for a new episode.

Follow Bound on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter: @boundindia

Follow our podcast on Instagram: @boundpodcasts

You can check out our website at https://www.boundindia.com/podcast/