My autobiography? Kaiku?
Updated On: 21 July, 2024 06:53 AM IST | Mumbai | Meenakshi Shedde
What have I done to deserve a book? But if I ask a man, he’ll immediately say, “Sure. I already have a draft that I can polish up. Should I send it by hard copy or email?”
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Illustration/Uday Mohite
A couple of years ago, I had published my mother, Indu Shedde’s autobiography as a 95th birthday gift to her. It took me three years to put it together—to write it, research the text and photos, get it designed, find a publisher. This was in 2022, when COVID had made everything tougher, but I had to do it for Amma: if not at 95, when, was my motto. I had asked my friend Jerry Pinto for advice on how I could get the book published. Jerry Pinto, of course, is celebrated author, translator and winner of the Windham-Campbell Prize and Sahitya Akademi Award. He insisted that I should write my autobiography. Whaaat, I said, what’s the big deal about my life?
“If a woman or youngster from a small town reads about your life, what you have achieved can be very inspiring. Not everyone has accomplished what you have,” he said. Umm, I guess so, I mumbled, not fully convinced--still, it would look like vanity publishing, na? “That’s a typical woman’s response,” Jerry snorted. “If I ask any woman to write a book about her life, she’ll say, ‘Kya kiya hai maine?’ What have I done to deserve a book? But if I ask a man, he’ll immediately say, “Sure. I already have a draft that I can polish up. Should I send it by hard copy or email?”
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