Former ad man, columnist and now the CEO of a branding consultancy Santosh Desai sheds light on his continued obsession with the great Indian middle class and its many quirks in his new book

For Desai likes to dig deeper into matters as simple as to why we insist on the bhajiwala giving us free dhaniya and mirchi with every purchase or why our fathers still insist that the crease on their trousers should be stiffly ironed.
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In his book Mother Pious Lady, a culmination of many years of writing for a newspaper column, Desai has an opinion on everything under the sun.
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An alumnus ofu00a0 the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad and former president of advertising agency McCann Erickson India, Desai draws on that one powerful emotion that can make a victim out of any of us: nostalgia, a throwback into a past when life was simple and joyous.

He also makes insightful commentaries on the present right from cricket to religion to politics to flyovers to inflation to Bollywood. In a telephone chat from Delhi, he tells the Guide more about Mother Pious Lady.

What made you want to turn your column City City Bang Bang into the book?
This book was ready to be brought out almost ten years back by another publisher. The material for it was ready but somehow it didn't work out. Writing this column for so many years for a national daily came about purely by accident. Originally, I was supposed to write about everyday India in a five-part series. But somehow this column grew organically and became a long running thing.

What was the inspiration behind writing your column?
City City Bang Bang deals with vignettes about everyday India. It is an extensive patchwork, a series that tries to capture urban India, urban issues and concerns, an account of middle class existence in India along with the larger issues of economy, polity and society.

Why did you choose to name your book Mother Pious Lady?
The title tries to capture a whimsical and quirky aspect of India. The title is taken from a typical classified ad that comes out in matrimonial columns. The mother of the groom mind you, not the bride's, is always described as Mother, Pious Lady. A mother-in-law who will spend all her time being engaged in various religious activties than thinking evil thoughts of burning her daughter-in-law might be the sense behind this reference. It is as if it's the only qualification that's worth putting for the groom's mother.

Why have you gone back to the past about what we were once upon a time? Do you think your book will resonate with today's generation?
Three things come to mind. Firstly, change cannot be meaningfully defined without a point of origin. We cannot describe a certain change in society without having something to compare it with. Secondly, our's is a continuing civilization. We are constantly changing, what is new and cool now will soon become the past tomorrow. So our past is an important frame of reference for our presence. Thirdly, I think from the relevance point of view, this book hits home because even today's generation would like to know about and make sense of who and how their parents were and where they came from.

How do you mine for insights while writing? Is it instinct,u00a0 experience or observation?
I think it is a combination of all three. When you look for an insight, nothing is trivial, nothing is obvious. An insight usually comes from already established thoughts and ideas. Seeing the old in a completely new way is an insight. Secondly, there has to be a cross connect between the old and the new across diverse areas. A connection has to be made, for example, eating a thali is a common phenomena across all of India

Why does middle class India fascinate you? Does it relate back to your growing up experiences in a similar kind of setting?
I grew up in a Gujarati family. Even though we were a nuclear family, we were highly interconnected with the larger network of the family.u00a0 My growing up experiences definitely helped me in making observations about the little things in life. It is only through the filter of what was not there, throughu00a0 scarce times, did we learn to appreciate the simple joys of life. Though I was an MBA by qualification, I was always interested in advertising. Advertising is another field that has taught me to look for insights. It allows you to pretend that you are a student for life. There is a peculiar seductive charm about this profession.

Mother Pious Lady: Making Sense of Everyday India
Published byu00a0 Harper Collins
For Rs 399
Available at all leading bookstores

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