Her father’s a banker. Her husband is an engineer. And the lady in referral, Aditi Krishnakumar chose to pursue a Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics, Physics and Computer Science. So when her debut novel makes its appearance on book stands in Landmark, Nungambakkam – one has to wonder – where does the literature gene come from? “Actually I’ve known that I wanted to write a book since I was 11 or 12,” smiles the Mumbaiite brightly. With all of her family residing in Chennai though, it seemed only appropriate to launch her first book here. And judging from the full house of support, not to mention, not a vacant chair in sight, she made the right choice. A Whole Summer Long that was launched on Friday is a tale woven with high drama and humour, set around the lives of ordinary people.
The book tells the story of Sowmya, a newlywed who thinks she has life well in hand, until her brother-in-law Raghu announces that he is (to the disapprobation of his family) in love with her sister Alamelu - a woman who remains beautiful, brilliant, and utterly indifferent. Meanwhile Sowmya’s husband gets in a sticky situation with his new boss. And she is quite content to laugh at them both, until circumstances get out of hand, threatening to dampen her peace of mind. Says the 27-year-old author, “I can’t think of anything in particular that inspired the plot.” Although in retrospect, she recalls, “One day when I was watching My Fair Lady, I remember thinking, ‘I’ve got to write a book’.” Why, she has no idea. After all, the film’s narrative bears no resemblance to her own. But oddly enough, for a while, Aditi’s creation-in-the-making was fancifully code-named, ‘The Eliza Project.’
Apparently, the book itself took only a month-and-a-half to write. Quite an impressive time frame, given the expected one-year margin that most authors reveal when a new title comes out. “Oh it (the story) just flowed,” the IIM Ahmedabad graduate smiles.”And it was ‘the whole’ one month,” she modestly adds. “I took some time off from my job to finish it properly.” Currently working in finance, it seems a penchant for math and English at the same time may not be a myth after all.
However, despite of her evident affinity for multiple subjects, the soft spoken author chose to take the stage only for a few moments. “This is such a big day,” she states, “I even brought Shakespeare along for luck!” Her bold navy blue painted finger nails tap gently on her handbag. “I brought along A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” she smiles, just as another couple of well wishers arrive to offer congratulations. So, are there plans book number two just yet? “Actually, I have notes for three plots that I’m working on already,” Aditi responds. “I just have to pick one to pursue first.” Whether it will be another family story may be a little early to tell at this point. But she does leave us with this. “I would definitely like to pen some epic poetry,” she pauses, “or maybe a piece in the fantasy genre – Terry Pratchette-style.” For the time being though, she sighs, “It’s back to the office next week.”
(A Whole Summer Long is available in all leading bookstores and is priced at Rs 225)
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