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Q & A |
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A
Conversation with Bapsy Jain |
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Q. |
Vikram and his
mother/aunt attribute many of the
problems in their marriage to the fact
that Lucky is Parsi rather than Rajput.
How important is the caste system in
modern India? |
A. |
Vikram and Lucky’s marriage is an
inter-community marriage. They belong to
different religious communities. That is
different from the caste system, which
is based on a hierarchy of castes within
one religion, Hinduism. Still, both the
caste system and inter-community
relations share some commonalities. The
caste system has been in existence in
India through many centuries of history,
and to some extent the remnants exist
even today. But here let’s look at
Vikram and Lucky’s inter-community
marriage. There’s a vast difference
between attitudes toward inter-community
marriages in different parts of India.
For example, in a traditional rural
setting, issues of religion and caste
are still hide bound. In the vast urban
areas where there are multi communities,
multi castes and multi cultures all
sharing the same environment, there is
less emphasis on a person’s traditional
background, and Western values do come
into play. Many young people of
different religious backgrounds meet in
college and have relationships that may
eventually lead to marriage. Yes,
grandparents may “object” initially, but
they are usually won over.
The system does still affect lives
though it is losing ground to modern
realities and conditions.
My aim in the novel, however, is to show
how the caste system stems in a way from
an aspect of human nature: a possessive
mother who wants to be in the center and
in control of her son’s life and so
resents an independent daughter-in-law.
Had Vikram married as per Geeta’s wishes
she would have completely dominated her
daughter-in-law who would have had to
tow her mother-in-law’s line. This
relationship, this upmanship between
mother-in-law and daughter-in-law is
relevant even in today’s society. |
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Q. |
What are there
major differences between contemporary
Indian novels and American novels? Who
are some of your favorite writers of any
period and in any language and why?
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A. |
I think contemporary Indian novels
generally reflect an extremely complex
society that has shaken off the
struggles of colonial experience but now
has to find its moral voice. America’s
history is more recent, and perhaps
contemporary American novels reflect the
success of America as a nation and the
creation of an individualist culture,
where people are fiercely proud of their
freedom. At the same time there seems to
be a search for greater meaning that
often plays out in personal
relationships.
The other differences between
contemporary Indian and American novels
is one of style and tone. The style and
tone tend to reflect the culture and
background of the novelist. The theme
and point of view are generally far
apart because of the different exposures
and influences of the novelist.
Similarly characterization and plot
differ again on account of different
thinking and circumstances.
The Indian author does dwell in some way
on basics and philosophy as this is a
poorer country where people lay emphasis
on traditional and religious beliefs as
an antidote to their powerlessness,
whereas American novels deal more with
emotions and conditions and sometimes
the emptiness of materialism that relate
to America.
I like and read a variety of novels, and
Eckhart Tolle, Khalil Gibran, Poulo
Coehlo, Khalid Hussein, Elizabeth
Gilbert, Amitav Ghosh, and V. S. Naipal
are among my favorites. I find we share
a common spirituality and essence which
appeals. |
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Q. |
How much of Lucky
if any is based on you?
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A. |
Lucky is a woman who shares my history
as a Parsi. Like any woman we struggle
to find who we are, what are our values
and beliefs, and what is free will and
destiny. I may have reacted differently
if I had experienced what she does, but
sharing her story has given me
tremendous courage. I have always felt
her presence within myself, and the
decisions she takes instinctively come
out of a sense of that presence. On the
level of the immediate plot and events,
I studied for chartered accountancy in
London and base her professional life on
my own experience. I also enjoyed
practicing yoga for several years. |
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Q. |
You live in
Singapore, Bombay, and Dubai, yet your
rendering of New York City is faultless.
Have you spent much time there?
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A. |
Yes, I have lived and worked in
Manhattan and visit the US frequently. I
have a lot of close ties in the way of
family and friends in the US. |
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Q. |
Lucky Everyday
transcends many genres and offers a
truly unique heroine. What was your
inspiration?
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A. |
I’ve come to the conclusion that
there are many layers to our
experiences. And that’s what I wanted to
relate to in Lucky Everyday. On one
hand, Lucky could be victimized by the
way she is treated by Vicki’s family.
And this would ring true with women in
India. But that’s not the end of it.
Setbacks can be turned around. They
leave their mark on Lucky, but she
refuses to let them destroy her. Again,
this is something that grew from within
as I captured her thoughts and actions
in words. In the end, Lucky lives and is
empowered as we, women, are empowered by
experiencing similar struggles.
What inspired me to write was the belief
that Lucky Everyday could open minds to
a new perspective, which could change
thoughts, actions and lives. |
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Q. |
Although this
novel was originally published in India,
you wrote it in English why? Will it be
translated into any Indian languages?
How do you think it will be received?
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A. |
I grew up speaking English and for
me it is my first language. Though I do
speak other languages I do not possess
the fluency to write a novel in any
other language.
Penguin India has been my primary
publisher. I am pleased that the novel
will be published and distributed by
Penguin worldwide because this novel has
universal appeal and draws on cultures
of the East and West. In today’s world
many people can relate to this in their
own lives. I’m sure it will be
translated into other languages later.
The novel has been well received in
India in English |
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Q. |
It is incredibly
brave of you to show your main character
having an abortion. What is the
prevalent attitude towards abortion in
India and what do you think of the
controversy it arouses in the United
States?
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A. |
In India, abortion is regarded as a
personal decision. It is not the subject
of public discourse or the subject of
religious or political controversy. In
Lucky’s circumstances it’s a complex
decision. She wants to protect Amay, who
remained loyal to her even though she
had hurt him before. She feels that it
would throw a loop in his life, which is
too great a price for him and his family
to pay. There’s something in her that
reaches out intuitively to shield him
even though she knows she will not marry
him. She also grapples with the issue of
the quality of life she can offer a
child who is born with severe physical
challenges. The potential physical and
emotional suffering for the child and
for Amay and herself weigh into her
decision.
In the United States, abortion is a
publicly controversial and decisive
issue. But I feel that abortion is a
very personal and deeply felt decision
for a woman to make. It should be based
on her own and her family’s views and
circumstances. Rights and responsibility
go hand in hand and it doesn’t seem
right for anyone to impose their views
or judgment on any woman. |
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Q. |
What is the most
important aspect of the novel that you
fear an American audience may miss?
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A. |
The symbolism in the novel. The
message the novel transmits to the
readers is that it is internal
engineering that gives happiness not
external trappings. The novel symbolizes
in many ways that we do not choose this
kind of life our family, our
circumstances, and in many cases, the
outcomes of our decisions. This kind of
life “chooses you…” It does this at
various levels, and the audience may not
comprehend this at all its levels. The
story of the blind pilgrim embodies
this. He searches futilely and yet in
the end, the search is what he blindly
sought.
Lucky’s choices are hers, but buried
somewhere in those choices are
circumstances that are far beyond her
choice or control. Examples would be her
marriage of choice but she has no choice
in the influences that change the values
of her husband; again her choice of
joining Mike in business and the
deception she faces as a result of that
choice. This shows we do not choose our
kind of life.
I hope that an American audience will
see Lucky Everyday as a story on many
levels. This is a story about women’s
experiences anywhere. It could be India
or America. The American audience must
see this as more than just a glimpse of
a woman from another culture. It’s her
realization and understanding of being
removed from her experiences, looking at
them, and moving growing along with them
that is the heart of the story. |
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Q. |
Has there been a
Shanti in your life?
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A. |
Almost unconsciously, Shanti in my
life has been a force that came from
people I grew up around. When I picture
her within, as a person, in terms of her
physical being, she is based on my dear
maidservant, Janki, who looked after me
from childhood until I was about 12
years old. But it’s not that she
expressed to me verbally things that
Shanti says to Lucky. It was part of the
way she lived. She struggled without any
outward display of struggle and she had
a sense of detached acceptance that I
really understood only years later in my
adult life. There have been other people
I grew up around, whose lives and
actions have touched me and a part of
them are woven into Shanti.
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Q. |
What do you like
about standing on your head?
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.A. |
Standing on my head allows a
different view, a different perspective
of circumstances and events. One has to
flow in tune and along with life and if
your world is turning upside down you
also need to stand on your head to get
the right view! |
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Q. |
Your novel has an
incredible surprise ending. One would be
hard-pressed to call it “happy” but
unlike many novels’ pat endings it is
extremely satisfying. Did you initially
intend for Lucky’s journey to end this
way?
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A. |
I did intend for the novel to end
this way. To me Lucky does not die; she
is empowered and will be able to face
life with vigour as she is no longer
sees herself as a victim. She is able to
live her life and is not drawn into it,
she witnesses her life from a distance
and can see things as they are events
that come and go.
After all she goes through in the novel,
it was just not true to arrive at a
place where Lucky lived “happily ever
after.” Again, the ending came to me as
a place that the reader has to be a part
of. They have journeyed with Lucky and
shared her inmost turmoils. And she
holds on to something inside her in the
end. But in the real world that is the
something we all seek; an understanding
that leads to happiness within despite
happenings on the periphery. All of us
inwardly hope to find joy amid sorrow!
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Q. |
What are you
working on now?
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A. |
I am working on a sequel,
Night Vision. |
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Questions for Discussion |
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Are mixed marriages
whether they be Parsi and Rajput or
Christian and Muslim or Chinese and
Mexican more likely to be plagued by
troubles than homogenous pairings?
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Did Lucky make the wrong
decision in throwing over Amay for Viki?
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What does Lucky’s
encounter with Jerry Freed the prison’s
African-American assistant warden teach
her?
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It would have been
easier for Lucky to carry on an affair
with Amay if she had never met his wife
or if she had cause to dislike her. Yet,
Lucky not only meets Laila but likes her
immediately. Does this affect your
opinion of Lucky?
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When Dr. Das Gupta tells
Lucky that she is infertile, she feels
as if it is her fault. Why do so many
women feel this way when they have no
control over it?
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Does Vikram know that he
is the one unable to have children or is
his family hiding it from him?
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Discuss the parable of
the blind pilgrim in relation to Lucky’s
(mis)adventures.
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Cite three incidents in
the novel in which karma is at work. Do
you believe in karma?
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What do you think about
Lucky’s decision to have an abortion?
Should she have told Amay first even
though she had his best interests at
heart?
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Describe a time in your
life when you like Lucky felt beset from
all sides. How did you handle it? What
might you have done differently had you
had Shanti’s guidance?
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The novel’s ending is a
blur of images and thoughts. How do you
interpret what happens to Lucky?
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Towards the end of the
novel, Lucky considers the possibility
that her life are for her evolution and
evolving the next generation, through
the son she is to adopt. (“Page 297 the
culmination……) If you move on to a
higher plane how does this affect the
next generation and those around you?
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