I spoke to author Sujata Rajpal, the author of the book The Other End of the Corridor over the phone. 

Sujata’s debut novel earned accolades as soon as it was launched in 2015. An MNC professional, a wife, and a mother of two showed me what it was like to go after your passion. We walked through the corridors of her life in a brief chat.

Me: If you had to give a review of your novel by the cover, what would it be like?

Sujata: The cover of my novel, The Other End of the Corridor, shows a middle-class society in the background & a girl wearing a Patiala & juttis, moving ahead in a particular direction, towards a mission. This is what the book is about. About Leela, who in spite of the difficulties in her life, is moving ahead, towards her dream. They say “don’t judge a book by its cover.” With my book, go ahead, unleash yourself.

Me:  What has the protagonist Leela taught you? Was there any real person behind her creation?

Sujata: Behind all my characters, whether it is Leela, Jai or anybody else, there is a real person. All are inspired by real people & are very relatable. Regarding Leela, she belongs to a poor family and doesn’t have anything that can be considered good or beautiful by the society. But she still has a dream, and she is so focused on making it a reality that ultimately she overcomes all difficulties and achieves it. Well, this is what she teaches me, that no amount of challenges should be enough to stop you. You should always move ahead and see what life has to offer you.

Me: You’ve started working on your next novel… so what are the mistakes you don’t want to repeat in this novel?

Sujata: There are definitely some mistakes I don’t want to repeat. Like in my first novel, I had done lots of editing and then I presented it to the publisher who again suggested various changes. So all this had taken a lot of time, and I wish I had sent them a copy of the draft instead… because you know as an author, you just can’t edit your own novel. You’ll always see it from a different perspective. Beta readers help you a lot in this case. Secondly, the entire plot line should be clear to you. That was not the case with me when I was writing my first novel. I just went with the flow. This again led to wastage of time.

Me: But you know all mistakes are not bad. There must be a mistake you would want to repeat in your next novel.

Sujata: Well, yes you’re right. And contrary to the statement I made earlier, I actually like the output of not having a clear plot line. I wrote the story from the bottom of my heart, and it does look like that. Sometimes I actually stepped in Leela’s shoes and thought about how I would have reacted if I was in her place…and, so the story took unexpected turns from time to time.

Me: When you decided to quit your job to become an author, you must’ve had faced some discouragement from your closed ones…what was your reaction to it?

Sujata: I worked in an IT MNC two years back and that time I had been practicing writing just as a hobby. I used to write short humorous stories and articles for newspapers. I never thought of writing as a career. I was doing pretty well in my job… but then gradually I realized that my heart was no longer in it, and I had found a new profound love for writing. I decided to pursue my passion, and my family was actually glad that I was going to do something I was really passionate about. And as for others, well yes, they did discourage my idea of leaving the MNC after 13 years of working there but were happy and supportive when they saw the success my book got.

Me: There’s as such no discipline in the life of an author…but still, there must be some methods in which you try to discipline yourself?

Sujata: Yes I do. For example, I fix a period and decide not to get up from the chair during that time even if I don’t write anything. Sometimes, I also fix deadlines like within this week I have to write these many pages at any cost.

*something I do when Exams are approaching*

Me: Your novel focuses on issues like gender inequality. How do you think we can make this movement more inclusive?

Sujata: It’s right when they say “charity begins at home.” There is no use of preaching gender equality in interviews and seminars when you don’t even follow it. So, I think to face this issue, one should start working at home. I have two grown-up sons, and I have never really expected anything different from them as I would expect from a girl. I have never allowed them to do something because they are “boys;“ and I think that’s what one should do.

Me: As a reputed author, you get a lot of followers on social media. What kind of followers would you not allow to enter beyond the corridor of your heart?

Sujata: Well, I wouldn’t want to connect with followers who are not interested in my work and instead focus their attention on saying things like “I love your outfit in XYZ event” or “how sexy you look in this picture.”

Me: What kind of books are you hunting for now?

Sujata: I especially read books which have got negative reviews, so that I don’t make the same mistakes.

Me: What is one décor item we will find in your corridor?

Sujata: I love collecting masks. So you can definitely find one in my corridor.

I’ll not be surprised to hear some Bollywood movie director announcing their next movie on Sujata’s book…in fact, I think one should already announce it!

Order the book here!

Photos Source: Sujata’s Facebook