By Somrita Ghosh
New Delhi– For Ruchita Misra, writing about love comes automatically because nothing in this world is more precious and pure than love. And, what could have been better than a story of two opposites who finally realise that they are made for each other?
In her fourth book, “Someone to Love” (HarperCollins, Rs 175, pp 248) Misra delves deep into the hard facts of a relationship, explores the compatibility of two opposites and writes more about love more as she thinks that “love can never go out of books”.
“It is the purest form of feeling. And what could have been better than writing about love? A lot of people spend their whole life looking out for their love, not everyone gets true love; the Universe gives it to very few people,” Misra, 32, who now lives in London, told IANS in an interview during a visit here.
She didn’t have to construct the story, the concept “simply grew in my mind”. According to her, she had seen different aspects of relationship and this inspired her to pen it down.
“I was very enamoured by how our relationships evolve with time. The inspiration for writing the book came from my introspection of my surroundings, understanding love and its complications. The idea suddenly clicked in my mind and then I went with the flow,” said the author, who was honoured by the Uttar Pradesh government with its Awadh Samman award in 2012.
Herself being a die-hard romantic, writing about love was never the toughest part as she believes “loving is easy” but penning down about the romance was certainly tough.
“Romance and love are not the same but interchangeable. Love is confusing, love is painful but it is also the most beautiful thing, it is rather easy while romance is complicated,” Misra, who took a year to complete the book, pointed out.
She started writing the book when her son, her first child, was just two months old and had to manage time between her consulancy work in a private firm, family and her writing.
“The book was extremely difficult for me to write. I used to write when my kid would fall asleep or during the one hour journey in the tube in London on my way to office,” the author said, adding: “As happened in the past, when I finished the book, I again lost my Apple phone (laughs)”.
For her, Atharv and Koyal, the protagonists of the book are more than just two fictional characters, rather they replicate how couples are in the real world.
“They are very real; they are not perfect because we are not perfect. I enjoy exploring the imperfections of people and how two imperfect makes great couple. Koyal is impulsive and Atharv is calm and composed. And when one is impulsive and the other is not, there is bound to be noise,” Misra noted.
Misra said she wasn’t insecure about her contemporaries who are into the romantic genre.
“Best-selling is great, but for me it is more important to connect with the readers. I do write for readership but I only write stories that I feel about. For me, it is an emotional process where I go into the depth of my heart, mind and soul and write, which is why a lot of people can connect with my books. It comes without the trappings or insecurity of what other authors are doing,” the author replied.
What of her next work?
“It will be a romantic one, a little different, more mature and serious and will look into the various layers of any serious relationship,” Misra noted.
