Author Kiran Manral on Writing, Feminism and More..

August 22, 2017

Kiran Manral is a noted author and writer who has more than eight books to her credit. She has written about various themes and is also the Ideas Editor of SheThePeople.TV.

Pune365 caught up with this prolific writer at the Women Writers’ Festival. Read on as she speaks about her writing style, the current literary scenario and shares a few tips for budding writers.

Quite recently, you wrote an essay for Buzzfeed about how the show Pehredaar Piya Ki is normalising predatory relationships. There’s even a petition seeking a ban on the show.

There has been a counter to the ban argument stating that it is dangerous and absurd. And, that we’d rather boycott the show than ban it altogether. How do you respond to this?

We have not asked for a ban of the show. We’ve asked the concerned authorities to see whether it is appropriate for general entertainment screening at a time when children would be exposed to this. There is literature that it totally unsuitable like Lolita, which I wrote about in the essay. But, there is a difference in understanding and perspective when we see or read things as a child and as an adult. I am a mother of a 13-year-old, if he watches Pehredaar Piya Ki, he will understand that it is fiction, but a younger child may not. My argument is that the show normalises what is unacceptable and in our society, there is so much predatory sexual abuse of boys that we don’t talk about. The show depicts a marriage between a young boy and an adult woman which implicates that such a thing is normal. I get the argument that we cannot censor creative content but this is something questionable that is being consumed by people and children across all ages.

You’ve been very vocal about being against period/menstrual leave. But in a way, doesn’t the leave sensitise people about menstruation and give women an option?

There are certain professions where you cannot afford to have such leaves. Women work as fighter pilots, as construction workers and agricultural workers too. We’re speaking from a position of privilege. I completely agree that menstruation is difficult and painful. My point is that where does this end and whom do we bring into the fold of the period leave. We can just have an extended medical leave. I worry that if we start something like this, we might lose the freedom we’ve fought so hard to get.

I don’t want us to go a step back where we get told what to do, or touch, etc. I think this is a non-issue because there are bigger battles to be fought. Self-care is very important but let’s pause and think how we want to go about this.

You have authored books on parenting, romance and horror. What is the process when it comes to writing different genres? Do you feel any different while shifting genres?

I wish I knew! There is no process as such. As a reader, I am very democratic. I think it begins there. I can read a P G Wodehouse or a Stephen King or J K Rowling. I read across genres and authors. It’s like Whitman said, “I contain multitudes”. These are all parts of me. There’s a part of me that’s romantic who’s a chick lit reader and lived that life for a while! There’s a part of me who loves horror stories and who’s fascinated by the paranormal.

I like to express whatever part of me that’s dominant at that point. It’s just the mood of the mind.

As a prolific author and a member on the planning board of the Kumaon Literary Festival, how do you perceive the newer literary talent that is emerging from India now?

We have some fabulous writers coming up right now. There’s a growth in the middle layer of writers. This is the layer of writers who are not writing popular fiction or literary fiction but have good solid writing with interesting stories. I see a growth in this and I find it very encouraging. You have writers like Annie Zaidi and Sukanya Venkatraghavan. It’s very heartening to see this kind of writing which is not very commercial but focuses on relevant and pertinent issues. Some of it may look light and superficial on the surface of it, but the layers are very nuanced and interesting.

What are the challenges that new writers currently face?

The number of books that come out regularly in the Indian market is just overwhelming. So, the first challenge is to get your book noticed. Shelf space is so limited! Getting published these days is difficult of course but there is so much of self-publishing happening which results in a lot of books with questionable quality. In the sense, the book needs some more work before it goes out there. Writers shouldn’t be in a hurry to publish their first book. They key challenges for a first-time writer would be to check whether the manuscript is of a certain level because quality is so variable these days. Secondly, marketing your book has become a bigger challenge. There is so much competition. Social media has made the job much easier and at a minimal cost too. Publishing houses have their constraints but marketing and promoting is very important for the author to do as well.

You’ve written about feminist parenting and feminist marriages. What do you think are the challenges that feminism faces today, especially since it is often sold to consumers as a concept?

We are viewing this from the lens of the urban educated progressive women. In the rural areas, we still have to get our message across to several other women. The basic premise is equality. This premise has been overwritten by militant feminism which has taken over the narrative. The fact that feminism is equality between the sexes needs to be highlighted. We have to reach out to so many more women. But, profiteering from it by selling is not a good idea. I don’t advocate it. Feminism is not a product. A lot of people or women see through the products who try to tell themselves through feminism. It’s filtered through a very narrow lens.