Compulsive writer takes young readers on Euro trip

A conversation with Vibha is quite a delight. Loaded with good humour and opinions on everything under the sun, talking to her is like catching up with an old friend. There’s no wonder that her new book Euro Trip leaves a smile on the reader’s face.

Speaking about the book, which is her first for kids in the age group of 10 to 12, she says, “I’m a compulsive writer. Each time I finish writing a book, the withdrawal symptoms are severe. The only way I could get over it is by writing, that’s right, another book. Also, I love travelling and writing about it. That’s how Euro Trip came about.”

The book is about Rohan, a tween who goes on a trip to Europe, with his folks and a bunch of strangers. “It’s one heck of a rollercoaster with loads of surprises — some nice, some not so nice. All Rohan wants to do is click as many awesome pictures as he can because he wants to win the Summer Photo Essay Contest back at school. But one day, his camera goes missing. Does he find his camera? Does he go on to win the contest? Euro Trip encompasses all this and more,” muses Batra whose grandfather, Vishnu Kant Shastri, was an academician, Sanskrit scholar and prolific writer. Batra’s book is published by Mango Books (an imprint of DC Books).

Batra, who has written books like the Reluctant Capitalist that garnered rave reviews, to the spicy Glitter and Gloss, says writing for kids came quite naturally to her.

“I’m not so Jurassic either. Besides, I think of myself as a young adult. And as my

 husband says too often, I act like one too. So, it was very organic,” she muses. Poetry is another of her interests, and she has published a collection of poetry and been featured in anthologies. 

“Poetry or prose, the biggest challenge is to fight the allure of social media. Once you shut that Wi-Fi down, half the battle is won,” she adds.