I would be gratified if the stories have given the reader a sense of the complex world of music-making, and the many challenges and struggles faced by artistes
Shubha Mudgal, musician
I have been writing about Indian music for over a decade, and while it is only more recently that I attempted fiction; I would not call it a turning point in my life. Having said that, the process of writing fiction and getting published has been hugely exciting. I have spent most of my life studying Indian music and performing, and am therefore familiar with the discipline and rigour of riyaaz. In the process of writing Looking for Miss Sargam (Speaking Tiger), I got a sense of the riyaaz required for writing, too.
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I write late into the night, because my day is usually jam-packed. So, it is well past dinnertime, when I prefer to sit down to gather my thoughts. That's also why my neighbours have accorded me the status of a friendly neighbourhood Martian. That might not have been the case had I written during the day and made music through the night!
It took me several years to write Miss Sargam — a collection of short stories — because along with writing, I continued with my regular music routine, teaching and listening. I had most of the stories in my head, but to put them down in detail, to give each of the characters names, faces, voices, mannerisms was a process that could not be hurried. Of course, I had several apprehensions — would anyone want to read my stories? Would they make sense to the reader? Would they relate to the tragic lives of some of the characters, even though they were camouflaged with comic details? I would be gratified if the stories have given the reader a sense of the complex world of music-making, and the many challenges and struggles faced by artistes.
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