I am originally of Indian heritage, though my parents grew up in East Africa. I was born and raised in South London. My husband and I lived in Berlin and London for a few years and are now in Geneva, where we live with our two children. I have a huge family and am the eldest grandchild on both sides. Family get-togethers are always a noisy affair, which mainly end up involving impromptu singing and spoons being used as makeshift instruments.
My family and writing of all kinds are what get me up in the morning. That, and understanding what makes people tick. I love words, especially written ones. I love the way the sound, and the way they look on a page, handwritten or typed. I hoard books. They are the first thing I unpack when I am somewhere new. As a child that I would often be told off for sneakily reading under the covers with a torch after bedtime.
At university I studied English and German literature, followed by an MA in European Politics and Society. My working life has been about advising senior figures, building relationships and communication. Whilst writing effectively for business needs is a huge part of my day job and writing has always been a default tool to process my thoughts, I sidelined my dream of writing fiction. I’m now working on a collection of short stories and my first novel, and it feels great. With fiction we can document endless variations of what we know and explore the unknown. We can walk in someone else’s shoes and broaden our horizons by stealth…from our own beds if we want! In a world of increasing self-interest and polarisation, I can’t think of anything more wonderful.
This blog is simply my way to share this magical, maddening, beautiful writing journey with you. I will be writing a new post every week. Sometimes it will be a personal essay, and at other times you can expect poetry, flash fiction, a short story or collaborations with other writers. I’ll bare my thoughts to you and I’d love you to share your stories with me too.
