Srinath Rao in Conversation around his book - 'Meow Meow - The Incredible True Story of Baby Patankar'
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You have talked about how Baby Patankar' story is your favorite crime story. One that you reported in obsessive detail and which became quite personal at times. Could you tell us a little about the time when the big story of her arrest broke out? Also, what was it about Baby Patankar's story that made you want to base an entire book around it?
srinath rao
@srinathrao · 3:37
Don't, don't let anyone steal a much ahead on you on this. Don't let this book, which you know, don't let the story, which you know so much about, I mean, get out of your grasp. This is basically just that I didn't want anyone else to do it
Thank you for that Srinath. That was indeed interesting. Your book is an expansion on the expertise you've built from deeply reporting on the baby patankar' story that blends reporting, a bit of research and personal experiences into the narrative. As a journalist who has just published your first nonfiction book, how different was writing a book from journalistic reporting?
Swell Team
@Swell · 0:15
srinath rao
@srinathrao · 3:49
Thanks. I think the main difference I found was in the I mean, I could be a lot more expansive with the writing, bring in a lot of try to be a bit inventive, which obviously you can't do in daily news reports. There's a space thing for of all which a book allows you to be free of thinking about space, to be concise and to the point, but also be a bit expansive and add in a lot more description. And I was pretty clear
So in this context, the rise and fall of Baby Patankar's empire definitely fits the bill and as with any book that is about real people and events, the process of crafting a good true crime story also requires lengthy and proper research and may also come with some legal challenges. What were some of the challenges that you faced while writing this book?
srinath rao
@srinathrao · 3:40
Because on the other hand also writing about I've written about serving police officers, I mean people who have lending careers ahead of them and there was no way then to write even anything that could be considered was erroneous. I mean these kind of things have ramifications on people's lives and careers. So that was the main thing in the back of my head throughout this night. I could not afford to make any mistake anymore
srinath rao
@srinathrao · 3:48
But if I had to venture, I guess, possibly is I guess I can understand why people would be fascinated to know the sort of the unexplained aspect that unites a lot of violent or mysterious crime, these kind of incidents. There's always so many things you want to know which maybe reporting at that time is not able to answer. In some cases even a trial is not able to answer
For those of you listening in, I've included the book's Amazon link in the description for you to check out. Srinath's book on the life and crimes of Baby Patankar', Mumbai's infamous drug dealer sure makes for a gripping read. So do check it out. And thank you so much for tuning in. Cheers
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