Richa Gupta writes under the pen name of Arti Chugpai, an anagram. She is the author of the inspirational book, Phoenix: A Novel. She has to her credit 27 years of experience in English language teaching and corporate training. Along with teaching English, she has also dabbled in instructional design, project management and various pre-sales activities. She is a huge fan of Veronica Henry and Kamila Shamsie. We, at bookGeeks, got a chance to speak to the talented lady about her debut book and about her views on patriarchy and the deeply entrenched gender bias in the Indian society.
| bookGeeks: | Tell us something about Arti as a person. |
| Richa: | Arti Chugpai is actually a pseudonym I adopted for publishing my first novel. I will publish my subsequent novels under my real name, Richa Gupta. I am quite a lot like Sonam in the novel and have been involved for 27 years in teaching English to Senior School students, technical editing and instructional design for corporate training. I have stayed mostly in Delhi and am passionate about travelling, reading, painting, creative writing, meaningful experiences and connecting with people. |
| bookGeeks: | Your latest book, Phoenix: A Novel is an inspiring tale. Tell us something about it. |
| Richa: | The novel attempts to depict the prevalent ethos in Indian society: the dichotomy that exists between a deep-rooted mindset that women should conform to male expectations and the technologically advanced milieu that places a premium on knowledge and skills. There is a deeply entrenched gender bias in the Indian mindset despite education and so-called liberation. A woman is considered a liability if she is unsupported by a male as her family fears she will become a financial burden on them. She becomes an outcast; and the battle to establish her self-worth is difficult because she is pushing back against family members whom she loves, respects and relies on. The novel depicts a woman’s raw pain and unspoken wounds in family relationships in contrast to her superior skills in a technological society. |
| bookGeeks: | The book, Phoenix tells us about the struggles of a woman who went against society to choose her own path. Is the story inspired from some real-life incident or person? |
| Richa: | In Indian society, when a woman faces serious problems in her marriage and needs the support of her family and friends most, she is abandoned by them. It is considered a virtue and a tribute to womanhood to tolerate emotional and psychological and sometimes even physical harassment. And it doesn’t happen only with uneducated women from the economically weaker section of society; privileged women face it too. She then has the choice to either be suffused by a sense of worthlessness or wage a solitary struggle against all odds to vindicate herself. This is what I have seen happening around me, especially in the year 1983 when the protagonist Sonam walks out of her marriage. The novel is inspired by my own life and the lives of those around me, and writing it has been a catharsis of sorts. |
| bookGeeks: | If your book were to be made into a Bollywood movie, who will you cast for the character of Sonam Aggarwal? |
| Richa: | I would love to see my characters on the silver screen. I think Deepika Padukone brought a rare realism to her role in Piku, and she would do justice to the character. |
| bookGeeks: | If you had a chance to collaborate with a foreign writer for writing a novel, who will it be? |
| Richa: | I recently read two delightful books by foreign writers: ‘The Forever House’ by Veronica Henry and ‘Home Fire’ by Kamila Shamsie. I love the writing of many other foreign writers, but these are the most recent ones that come to mind. I’d love to collaborate with either of them. |
| bookGeeks: | This might sound a bit personal, but, do you mind if we ask you about your happiest moment in life? |
| Richa: | I think the birth of my son, Utsav, was the happiest moment in my life. |
| bookGeeks: | Any new projects that you are currently working on? |
| Richa: | I have finished writing my second novel titled ‘Skeins’ and have started working on my third novel. |
| bookGeeks: | What are your other interests apart from writing? |
| Richa: | I love travelling, reading and spending time with my friends. I used to paint earlier, chiefly portraits, but it’s been a long time now. |
| bookGeeks: | Which book has been your most inspiring read till date? |
| Richa: | I was totally enthralled by ‘The Agony and the Ecstasy’ by Irving Stone on the life of Michelangelo, which I read when I was just 14 or 15 years old. When I went to Italy and Vatican City years later and saw the fresco of The Last Judgement and The Creation of Adam in the Sistine Chapel, St. Peter’s Basilica and the statues of David and the Pietà, I could recall vividly what I had read in the book about Michelangelo’s passion for sculpture, architecture and painting so many years later. This is a tribute to the writer. |
| bookGeeks: | Would you like to share a few words of wisdom for aspiring writers? |
| Richa: | Until I publish some more books, I wonder if I am entitled to advise others. However, in order to relate to our readers, we need to combine passion and craft, that is, fine-tune both our emotional sensibilities and the mechanics of writing. |
Phoenix: A Novel on Facebook
Richa Gupta’s Goodreads Account
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