Washington — Delhi-born engineer Monica Saigal left behind a successful corporate career after the sudden death of a close friend prompted her to pursue a lifelong passion for writing. Today, the 57-year-old Northern Virginia author has published 14 books, ranging from cookbooks and children’s literature to stories exploring personal loss, caregiving and reinvention.
“I always wanted to write since I was about five years old,” Saigal said in an interview.
Growing up in what she described as a conservative Punjabi household in Delhi, however, meant choosing a traditional career path.
“Our choices were doctor, lawyer, engineer, or marry rich,” she recalled.
“So I always like to say I’m one of the original three idiots. I became the engineer with two master’s degrees,” she said.
Born in Delhi, Saigal moved with her family to Bahrain at age six, where they lived for nearly three decades. She later returned to India and earned an engineering degree from BMS in Bangalore.
In 1991, she moved to the United States for graduate studies, attending Lynchburg College in Virginia before continuing her education at George Washington University.
Her arrival in Virginia during a freezing January was a cultural shock. Having never experienced snow, she found the quiet surroundings dramatically different from the constant activity of India.
With no Indian grocery store in Lynchburg, she recalled borrowing cardamom from the wife of the only Indian professor on campus.
Saigal eventually built a corporate career, working at Ernst & Young and Hewitt Associates in Northern Virginia.
Although she had long dreamed of becoming a writer, she repeatedly postponed the idea, telling a close German American friend in Cleveland that she would pursue writing after retirement.
That changed when the friend died unexpectedly at age 35 after falling on a sidewalk and suffering a fatal head injury.
“Her question kept ringing in my mind, you know, what makes you think you’re going to be old enough to retire?” Saigal recalled.
“So I quit my full-time job, cutting the family income by half and started to write. And I haven’t looked back since.”
The transition was financially challenging. Saigal earned just $5,000 during her first year as a food writer, a significant departure from her previous six-figure corporate salary.
Her food writing eventually led to cookbooks, including Modern Spice, published by Simon & Schuster.
She later expanded into children’s literature with Papa’s Butter Chicken, a book inspired by cooking alongside her father. She pitched the project directly to Random House without a literary agent.
The book holds particular significance following her father’s recent death.
When he first received a copy, Saigal recalled, “he looked so awkward, but he looked so proud.”
Some of her most personal writing has emerged from difficult family experiences.
When her former husband became seriously ill, Saigal spent time caring for him in an intensive care unit. The experience inspired a journal-style book designed to help other ICU caregivers navigate the emotional and physical demands of supporting seriously ill loved ones.
She said copies have been donated to visitors at Inova Fairfax Hospital in Northern Virginia.
“Caregiving, I think, is one of the hardest acts of love that you can perform for someone,” she said. “And it’s also one of those that’s so, so, so exhausting. We don’t talk about that.”
Her latest book, The Lotus Blooms Twice, explores the lives of women navigating later adulthood through a collection of short stories.
The book examines questions of identity, independence and finding new purpose after major life transitions.
“At a certain age in life, the labels start going away,” Saigal said. “Like, unfortunately, I’ve lost my parents. I’m no longer married. My children are now independent. So when all the labels go away, who are you?”
The title draws inspiration from the lotus flower, which closes at night and opens again with the morning sunlight.
Saigal said she hopes women can approach new chapters of their lives with joy and confidence rather than viewing hardship and endurance as defining characteristics.
“Why can’t we be joyful and feminine and filled with ease, with the sisterhood supporting us instead of, wow, life is hard,” she said.
Many of the stories deliberately avoid conventional endings, encouraging readers to reflect on the characters’ choices and discuss their experiences.
“I have succeeded in annoying the reader, which was my goal,” she joked. “But I’ve also succeeded in opening up discussions.”
Saigal also expressed optimism about the growing market for Indian literature in English, noting that bookstores in India now offer a much wider selection of books by Indian authors.
“Now you go to an Indian bookstore in India and you are spoiled for choices,” she said, adding that the country continues to have a strong reading culture.
For aspiring authors, her advice is straightforward.
“Sit and write. You cannot edit a blank page and you cannot sell an idea,” she said.
Although leaving a financially rewarding career has occasionally brought moments of doubt, Saigal said the personal fulfillment she has found through writing outweighs the sacrifices.
“There are days. Don’t get me wrong,” she said when asked whether she misses her former salary. “I feel very satisfied and I feel very much at peace, and I think that’s priceless.”
“Many of these arts are not a profession. It’s a calling,” she added. “And if you don’t answer that calling, it’s not going to leave you alone.” (Source: IANS)
