Cocktail of emotions and themes

Her tongue-in-cheek narratives with deft twists and turns struck a chord with the contemporary reader. She is also the author of the books Arms and the Woman and Deeparadhana. While the former is a light hearted take at the life of an army officer’s wife, the second is a collection of witty poems. Her third and the most recent book, Shadow in the Mirror, however, is quite distinctively different from her earlier works. 

A thriller that begins with the death of a character, Nita, who falls off her balcony, the story revolves around the repercussions that this incident has on other characters, whose lives are intertwined with hers. There are myriad themes that work as the backbone of the book — significance of friendship, love, guilt, envy and so on. The book, interestingly, also has several experiences from Deepti’s life. 

“However, that does not mean that this book is autobiographical. This book is purely a work of fiction with certain inputs from real life. Having said that, the characters are immensely relatable. The narrative deals with how the unfortunate death of an individual casts a shadow on their loved ones and in this case, how they eventually get to the bottom of it. From intimate diary entries and letters to bantering over a meal and sharing memories over spring cleaning sessions; this novel presents a kaleidoscope of personalities, emotions and experiences,” explains Deepti. 

Apart from attempting a new genre, time was also one of the biggest challenges whilst writing this book, says Deepti. “The book was twelve years in the writing, mainly because, after I finished the first draft, I had to put it away as I had many other roles to play – that of an army wife, a teacher and a journalist.  It took me a number of years to reopen my manuscript and bring it back to life, which thankfully, I was able to do with the help of my brilliant publisher, Dipankar Mukherjee of Readomania, and my discerning editor, Vaijyanti Ghosh,” muses Deepti. 

Apart from their own experiences, writers are mostly influenced by things happening around them, and Deepti is no different. Speaking about what forms the source of inspiration for her writings, she says, “Life inspires me. I could walk around the park and overhear a conversation, that could stay in my head. Or it could be moonlight shining on a pool of water, a riveting incident that a friend has narrated, a piece of music or even a clipping from the newspaper. Also, most of my humorous pieces come from observing people around me, a fact which surprisingly, does not amuse them in the least.”