The Home of British Asian Writing
Curry enthusiasts will be delighted by TV Chef Anjum Anand’s latest book treat, I Love Curry. Amongst the 50 easy to follow curry recipes are mouth watering images – enough to tempt anyone to have a go! If you’re a fan of Madhu Jaffrey’s fine cookery books you will find this a joy! It has an …
Could you please tell us a bit about yourself and how you got into writing? I am a writer one way or the other. I worked as a magazine journalist under Singapore editors, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia for several years in the Nineties before I gave up mainstream life to travel to obscure places. I …
The Asian Writer meets Hema Macherla
STARBUCKS, near the corner of Albert Square is crowded with people taking a break from their office work; smart men and women reading a book or a newspaper. There were many strangely named coffees and at the beginning I was confused; espresso, cappuccino, caramel macchiato- all expensively priced. The cups would be too big for …
You’re the youngest published writer to be featured on The Asian Writer – do you consider yourself as a young writer? And what perception do people have of you? Of course I do. I think it’s a bit of a shock for whoever has heard of the book. Also they assume that I’m really smart which is …
Tell us a bit about your journey as a writer so far? I was born in Bombay into quite a bookish environment and with many fervent adults around. I grew up there for a few years and then in England, and always wrote stories and other things. When I was fourteen I had a …
We’ve been here several times before discussing your writing. What’s happened since we last spoke? Now, I actually have a book out, Coconut Unlimited. It’s out in October on Quartet Books. Since we last spoke, I’ve signed a book deal, started developing a sitcom for a TV channel, eaten my bodyweight in idlis, now I’ve …
When did you start writing poetry? I started writing poetry when I was about 18. What was the first poem that you wrote, that you thought was good? My first poem that I thought was good (and published in the Sunday Supplement of a local Bengali newspaper) was titled ‘Bhanga chair’, (broken chair), a raw …
When did you start writing poetry? I started writing poetry in my early teens. What was the first poem you wrote that you thought was good? I can’t really remember the first poem I wrote which I thought was good as I started writing quite young and my standards have changed dramatically since then. However …
When did you start writing poetry? I want to say when I was in my pre-teens. Growing up, I always liked collecting diaries and scribbling in them, but I formally started dabbling in poetry when I joined my boarding school in Mussoorie, India. Of course, over the years, my voice and style (impacted by my …