“For someone like me that has recently begun her journey as a writer, it is an extremely empowering and encouraging time to exist and grow.”- Varunika Rajput (Indian Author) 

Team Kitaab is in conversation with Indian author Varunika Rajput as a part of the South Asian Women Writers Feature.

For the whole of March, we will be featuring South Asian Women Writers on Kitaab for the whole of March. You can read the editor’s note to know more about this.

Today, we are featuring, Indian author Varunika Rajput. Varunika lives in the city of Mumbai with her two gregarious girls and her husband and is happy taking care of her nest. In a parallel universe, Varunika is the author of the book Women and Their World: Tales of love, loss, and survival, a heart-warming short story collection. She is also the co-author of an anthology Stories from India, Vol 3. She has also written an E-book The Road to Redemption available on Amazon Kindle. 

She frequently pens her thoughts through her personal blogging site The Lotus Flower Diary. Varunika is also a popular blogger at the renowned platform of Momspresso and has earned for herself a special spot there, through her simple and soulful write ups. 

Born and brought up in the quaint and picturesque town of Nainital, she has had a splendid and blissful childhood playing under the shade of Deodar and Pine trees, frolicking around the lake. That part of her childhood always finds a place in her stories. 

Varunika holds a degree in Agriculture and a Post Graduate Diploma in Management. She bid adieu to the corporate life early in her career and chose the field of education. She has worked closely with several educational institutions both as a management faculty and a communication and life skills trainer.

It is motherhood, however, which taught her the most. While she chases her kids like a phantom mother throughout the week, she enjoys her weekend in the company of a good book, her camaraderie with pen and the smell of freshly baked cakes in her oven. 

She will be thrilled to hear from you at:  https://thelotusflowerdiary.com/

Team Kitaab: How did writing happen to you?

Varunika Rajput: They say our life is a sojourn from randomness to randomness. Finding a sense of purpose in this randomness, never featured in the great grand scheme of things in my life, until I stumbled upon my first blog, in 2020. I was lucky to have begun my journey with a huge platform like MOMSPRESSO. One blog after another, a lot of learning and writing opportunities came my way. I think the timing was right. And destiny played its part as well. But the most important factor I feel is the joy I found in creating stories.

Publishing your work is serious business and a lot of work.

varunika rajput

I connected with my inner self when the connection with the outside world was cut during the pandemic. In a world wrecked by trolls and cynicism I just wanted to bring in some smiles and some perspective through my writing. From blogs to participating in contests, one thing led to another. From a helicopter mom to a blogger to a co- author to a published author, it’s been a fabulous journey of self-discovery!   

Team Kitaab: If you had to introduce someone to your work/s, which books of yours would you ask them to start with?

Varunika Rajput: 1. Women & Their World: Tales of love loss and survival. (Debut short story collection available on Amazon/ Flipkart/Amazon Kindle)

2. Kingdom of dreams – (A short story published in the anthology collection- Stories from India Vol. 3)

Link – https://www.flipkart.com/stories-india-volume-iii/p/itm7549982a76c36

3. The Road to Redemption – (Available on Amazon -Kindle)

Team Kitaab: Share five reads you would recommend from your region/ country.

Varunika Rajput: All the works mentioned below are in English and by Indian women. There are many book recommendations I would like to make but here are five that I can think of now. 

– All the lives we never lived by Anuradha Roy 

– Sandstorms Summer rains by Asha Iyer Kumar

– The Mother I never Knew by Sudha Murthy

– The Palace of Illusions by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni

–  Legends of Pensam by Mamang Dai

Team Kitaab: Your thoughts on Women Writing as a genre. 

Varunika Rajput: I grew up in a small hill station of Uttarakhand, and never really got to read too many literary pieces written by women. Apart from the masterpieces better known as the Classics by Anne frank, Jane Austin there weren’t many books that we were offered from our kind. And the works of Virginia Wolf or Sylvia path seemed too tough to develop a liking for at least in the 90’s. There seemed to be a huge chasm and tremendous scope for Women Writing to flourish. But it’s all changed now and how!

Sudha Murthy is easily the most revered writer of our times. So are Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni, Jhumpa Lahiri and Anita Nair. I am happy to see Women Writing flourishing as a genre. For someone like me that has recently begun her journey as a writer, it is an extremely empowering and encouraging time to exist and grow. 

Team Kitaab: Please talk a bit about your publishing journey.

Varunika Rajput: I think the biggest challenge was the battleground that I carried within me. Publishing your work is serious business and a lot of work. And then there is a small quaint corner of your heart that hopes for validation from the readers. So, the quality of work to be published was my biggest concern and I think that was also a great motivational factor for me. To be able to convince my own self that what I have written is worth another person’s time, money, and energy; it was my biggest inhibition. I am glad I overcame that. 

Apart from that, being new to the publishing world and writing in general, it did take a while to gauge the way ahead. I wanted to do it right. Because even when I am gone from this world, a part of my soul shall endure death by way of my book. The book better be good! 

To be able to convince my own self that what I have written is worth another person’s time, money, and energy; it was my biggest inhibition.

varunika rajput

And so, I enrolled myself into a creative writing course at the age of 38! Attended plenty of workshops from industry experts regarding book publishing. Continued blogging. And the motherhood mayhem was my constant companion in this journey. All said and done, I think it’s this hustle that has made this journey more meaningful. 

If there is one person whose writing and guidance I absolutely value, it is Asha Iyer Kumar. She’s an author par excellence, a popular columnist in a Dubai Daily, and a prolific blogger. Above all, she is a torchbearer to many, including me.

Team Kitaab: How do you deal with Writer’s Block?

Varunika Rajput: I think a writer’s block is a luxury that a newcomer like me cannot afford. Honestly, I haven’t really faced it but often other priorities like my kids, their upbringing, and their health, scream for my attention. I tend to lose focus then. So, I just take a break.

I leave it at that and don’t obsess about what couldn’t be written. Once I am done with whatever it was that caught my attention I come back to the desk. Committed and with more focus.  

Disclaimer: All pictures are copyright of the author/s unless otherwise.