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@Ramya
Ramya V
@Ramya · 1:27

The Heart Asks Pleasure First - A Conversation with Karuna Parikh.

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Set in 2001, the protagonists Daya and Aftab form an indelible bond in a new world and Karuna's compelling words take us along their journey of love and self discovery. Hello, Karuna. Welcome to swell. It's wonderful to have you join me today in this conversation

#authorinterview 1. How had the initial idea of the novel changed when you actually got around to writing it?

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@karunaezara
Karuna Parikh
@karunaezara · 2:06
And I think the simple answer is that I began writing this book when I was much younger. And though I had a book deal at the time and I could have published it at that time, something, I suppose you can call it instinct or circumstances well, prevented that and prevented me from having that happen. And I put it away for many years in the middle
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@Ramya
Ramya V
@Ramya · 0:58

2. About the theme of friendship that runs deep in the novel

Thank you so much for sharing that. Karuna the book has friendship as one of the central themes, and in several places the writing made me ponder over how friendships, even childhood ones, are sometimes motivated and driven by belief systems. And some of these belief systems are, in the end, political. I was wondering, Ring, if you think there's something about our cultural moment that has made it urgent for us to perhaps reassess the meaning of friendship
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@Swell
Swell Team
@Swell · 0:15

Welcome to Swell!

@karunaezara
Karuna Parikh
@karunaezara · 4:00

@Ramya

Once again, speaking of the emotional aspect of these friendships, well, what I really like about the characters and sometimes characters do things on their own. You think you're in charge as an author, but sometimes I think they take on a life of their own. And one of the things my characters did or ended up doing was turning to each other for really deep emotional support. And I thought, wow, you can't just make them family and not expect them to do that
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@Ramya
Ramya V
@Ramya · 1:17

3. Experimenting with style & structure

I think this is a response that I'm going to be revisiting even after we wrap up this interview. The very idea that you talk about friendship across borders, especially conflicted borders, is something that hasn't been explored much in literature. I totally agree with you. So moving on. Karuna, your novel pushes the boundaries of form and genre, which is one aspect of the book that I so loved
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@karunaezara
Karuna Parikh
@karunaezara · 3:26

@Ramya

So I just wrote I wrote in a style that felt most natural to me, and it clearly developed into something that I think was different and spoke for itself, because readers like you so kindly bring it up and point out that it is very different and unique, and I appreciate that so much. And to me, it says that writing in a style that feels true to you is possibly the correct way forward. Right
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@Ramya
Ramya V
@Ramya · 0:50

4. The central theme of identity and the idea of 'home'

Thank you so much. I will leave you with one final question. Karuna the book sifts through several topics of friendship, of love, language, aspirations, religion, ideologies, borders in a very nonlinear sort of pattern, as you just mentioned with so many layers to it that provoked this very central question what is identity? In several places, I felt myself interrogating my own internalized biases wondering what they meant emotionally and intellectually
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@karunaezara
Karuna Parikh
@karunaezara · 4:19

@Ramya

That's a great question. It's interesting you say that you found yourself interrogating your own ideas of bias, because my book writing actually began from that point. You know, I was very young, I was 17 years old when I encountered this group of Pakistani boys who have made their way intervene characters in this book. And I had no knowledge of Pakistan. And I found it so interesting that I had met people from Spain and France and Poland and Sri Lanka and Nepal
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@Ramya
Ramya V
@Ramya · 0:53

The Heart Asks Pleasure First https://amzn.eu/d/2dt5wBw

It does make for a very uplifting read. If you do have a question for Karuna, feel free to drop them here as a reply. And you could also follow her work on Instagram where she's quite active under her handy, Karuna ezra so once again, thank you, Karuna, for being a part of this conversation. And thank you everyone, for listening in
article image placeholderThe Heart Asks Pleasure First
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