“India went through a dramatic revolution after the '90s when our economy started opening up for the first time and Indians were now experiencing the Western life, if you will. Drugs and sex and a lot of those influences came in as the economy stabilized, and we were growing up and experiencing that. The Indian writing market was very small at that time. Our literature was very attuned to what Western audiences were interested in, so everybody was writing about the slums in India and magic realism or stories about Hindus and Muslims and partition.” IfsWritingFirstsStoriesLiteratureSexAudienceEconomyGrowing UpGrowingMagicInfluenceRevolutionDrugFirst TimeIndiaWesternOpeningIndianDramaticRealismOpening UpSlumsPartitionMagic Realism Author:Karan Bajaj
“What helped me a lot was that I chose an American lead protagonist, because that liberated a lot from my own knowledge. If I had approached it from the perspective of an Indian main character, I think I would have assumed a lot of knowledge and I would have resented the presence of the author.” IfsThinkingCharacterMy OwnPerspectiveIndianLiberatedProtagonistsMain Characters Author:Karan Bajaj
“Journeys become very good metaphors. They always have the character put into circumstances that reveal him. If I had based my characters in New York and had them just sitting and thinking about life, it would be like what contemporary U.S. fiction is about. That is very heavy, literally, for me. It doesn't become mainstream enough because the pages don't turn themselves.” IfsThinkingEnoughCharacterWould BeTurnsFictionJourneyNew YorkCircumstancesPagesSittingVery GoodMetaphorHeavyContemporaryMainstreamThinking About Life Author:Karan Bajaj
“I don't know if there is really an objective truth about either. I liken this to what Buddhism says about the individual, that change starts with the individual. I think it is really about purifying your own actions, and I have seen that in my own life.” IfsThinkingKnowsActionIndividualMy OwnBuddhismObjectivesMy Own LifePurifyingObjective Truth Author:Karan Bajaj
“If I was a complete slacker who was just doing nothing but traveling, I don't know if I would have the discipline to be productive and create this job, and on the other hand, if I was always disciplined and productive, I don't think I would have that mystical connection that lead to great work.” IfsThinkingKnowsHandsJobsDisciplineConnectionsProductiveMysticalGreat WorkDoing NothingSlacker Author:Karan Bajaj
“I am just diving into life again. I just have nothing new to offer right now as an idea for a book. I feel like if I were to write something, I would probably repeat the same idea in a different story.” IfsFeelsWritingBookIdeasDifferentStoriesRight NowOffersRepeatsDivingNothing New Author:Karan Bajaj
