An Interview With Tanvi Sinha | Evincepub Publishing

Akhila Saroha: What made you write, ‘Dance to my tunes’?

Tanvi Sinha: The stories in ‘Dance to my tunes’ were written over a period of time.  The stories address a wide range of social issues including acid attack, domestic violence, homosexuality, divorce, and adoption. Some stories are about mundane things that happen to a woman,  which nobody considers as an ‘issue’ yet it affects her and is worth talking about.

Akhila Saroha: You are a blogger.  Your articles are non-fiction. But your first book was fiction. What are you more comfortable with?

Tanvi Sinha: I am more comfortable with non-fiction.  It comes naturally to me.  Writing a non-fiction book is easier when you are an expert on something. I am no expert. I do hope to write a memoir someday.  I already have a collection. But I need to build upon it. 

Fiction is a cover I like to hide behind.  It is an escape.  Fiction for me is the truth an author does not wish to own up to. I cannot speak for others but my fiction stories have some amount of truth in them. May not be my reality. But somebody else’s.

Akhila Saroha: ‘Dance to my tunes’ has received good reviews. It was your debut book. How does it make you feel?

Tanvi Sinha: It feels good of course. But I also worry that it raises the bar for my future work!

Akhila Saroha: You recently published another short story, ‘Marriages are made in kitchen.’ It is unlike your other stories. Some would consider it is not so empowering for women.

Tanvi Sinha: Yes.  It ended differently.  I tried to challenge myself as an author.  There are different kinds of adjustments we make as women. Sometimes we choose peace. We choose to lose so that the marriage could win. And we hope that it is our win too.  Sometimes we are fooled by society. Sometimes we like to fool ourselves.  If you read ‘Dance to my tunes’ also, not all stories have rebellion. Ultimately, every woman has to pick her battles.  Also, the premise of ‘Marriages are made in kitchen’ was the lockdown, so it had its limitations. 

Akhila Saroha: How was your journey from being a blogger to an author?

Tanvi Sinha: Being a blogger is easier. I have full control over it.  I can delete things from my blogs. The people who follow it are mostly people who like my writing.  It is my safe place.  But a book is out there for anybody to judge. It is scary.

Akhila Saroha: How do you take criticism?

Tanvi Sinha: As an author, it is important to understand that my writing may not work for everyone. My articles raise uncomfortable questions.  I say things women are forbidden to say.  It makes some people get defensive immediately and accuse me of ‘generalizing.’ People can love it or hate it. That’s perfectly fine. In my honest opinion, any piece of work should elicit an emotional response. What is any writer’s nightmare is an indifferent audience.  Indifference kills passion.

My writing may never appeal to some people. Having said that, there could be some element of truth in every criticism. The author can only hope they are wise enough to know which criticism needs to be incorporated and which one needs to be accepted and ignored.

Akhila Saroha: What would you like to say to budding authors?

Tanvi Sinha: I had written a story when I had just started writing.  I shared it with few people. They told me it was negative and it did not have a structure.   I sent it for publishing anyway.  It became a viral article.

So, my advice would be that ask for people’s opinions but ultimately do what you want to do.  The only thing you have which nobody else has is you. Believe in yourself.  You will have your own graph. And it needs to start somewhere. Your audience will find you.