Books and Beyond with Bound

Find out how she conducted research for 7 years for her daring nonfiction book. Tara and Michelle talk to Tara Kaushal about her path-breaking nonfiction book, “Why Men Rape: An Indian Undercover Investigation”, published by HarperCollins. She tells us how she was inspired by her personal experiences and the Delhi gang rape case to write about this critical and sensitive issue that affects the liv...

Find out how she explores different languages, characters and places in her writing. Tara and Michelle talk to Anukrti Upadhyay about her latest novel Kintsugi. We chat about Japanese literature and why Indians are fascinated by Japanese stories, including anime and manga! Tara loves how Anukrti has brilliantly captured a foreign culture in her novel, making it a rare book in Indian fiction.  Anuk...

Writing literary fiction about artificial intelligence Tara and Michelle talk to Tanuj Solanki about his latest novel, “The Machine Is Learning”, which was longlisted for the JCB Prize. We chat about why he decided to write about technology and the workplace in this literary format. Tanuj tells us about his childhood in Muzaffarnagar and how his family encouraged his reading habits. He tells us ho...

From migrant workers to British expats, from the hills of Uttaranchal to the heart of Mumbai's metropolis, find out how Udayan captures India's lockdown experience in his timely short story collection. Tara and Michelle talk to Udayan Mukherjee about his short story collection, “Essential Items: Stories from a Land in Lockdown”, recently published by Bloomsbury. Udayan shares how writing...

Find out how she reveals the most private details of her life in this bold and funny celeb memoir. Tara and Michelle talk to Tahira Kashyap, whose memoir “The 12 Commandments Of Being A Woman” is receiving heavy praise from Bollywood celebrities and Indian authors alike. Tahira shares the funniest / most embarrassing moments with us: her first visit to a gynaecologist, how her mother-in-law gifted...

Find out how she explores unfamiliar concepts like polyamorous relationships and the Munchausen syndrome in her literary novel. Tara and Michelle talk to Rheea Mukherjee, whose literary novel “The Body Myth” artfully explores polyamorous relationships, mental illnesses like the Munchaussen syndrome, and how people respond to grief. Her manuscript was rejected 40 times before she finally submitted...

Find out how he balanced research, personal stories, Bollywood masala, and more to write a business book that will change the way we think about work-places. Tara and Michelle talk to Parmesh Shahani, whose latest book “Queeristan: LGBTQ Inclusion in the Indian Workplace” is described as ‘part memoir, part manifesto’. He shares the challenges of writing a book for multiple audiences - queer and st...

Find out how she breaks into the literary thriller genre and reveals Delhi’s seedy underbelly. Tara and Michelle talk to Damyanti Biswas, author of the fascinating literary thriller, 'You Beneath Your Skin'. She tells us about her process of writing this debut novel, which included fifteen drafts! Damyanti spoke to police officers, psychologists, and acid attack survivors to make sure he...

Find out how she created a brand new template for this much-needed book on mental health. Tara and Michelle talk to Sonali Gupta about her book Anxiety: Overcome It and Live without Fear. Sonali tells us about her childhood, and how she became interested in writing and therapy. Michelle shares how journaling has helped her through the years. Tara tells us how she struggles with being labelled as q...

Find out how she is busting the 'chick lit' myth one romance novel at a time. Tara and Michelle talk to Anmol Malik about her recently published romance novel, Three Impossible Wishes. Tara chats about her love for rom-coms and romance novels, and why ‘chick lit’ is underrated. Michelle finds out what a meet-cute is! Anmol explains the nuances of writing books vs scripts and how dialogue...

From comics to superheroes to dystopia: find out how he popularized speculative fiction in India. Tara and Michelle talk to Samit Basu, one of the foremost speculative fiction writers in India. After writing everything from fantasy to science fiction, he has recently published a bestselling dystopian novel Chosen Spirits. Michelle loves that Chosen Spirits is set only ten years into the future. Ta...

Find out how she uses her life experiences in her comedy. And her writing!  Tara and Michelle talk to the wonderful comedian Radhika Vaz about her memoir 'Unladylike'. Radhika felt unladylike while growing up, which inspired the name of her comedy show, which inspired the name of her book! We chat about childhood crushes, body hair, and being unapologetically herself in her tell-all memo...

Find out why she is fascinated by 200-year old women and how she brings them to life in her books. Tara and Michelle speak to Ira Mukhoty, who is known for her fascinating stories about extraordinary women. Ira tells us about her favorite historical figures and how she wants to make history accessible and interesting for everyone. She shares the experience of releasing a book during the pandemic. ...

Hear from the main protagonists of the podcast. Tara and Michelle are back to give you a sneak-peek into Season 2 and into their lives! You know Tara and Michelle as co-workers and co-hosts. But did you know that they are also very good friends?  Dive deeper into their lives. How does Michelle find the time to write? Why does Tara love Michelle’s mom? How does Michelle feel about her move to Bomba...

Find Out How Amrita Dealt With Manuscript Rejections, How She Drew Inspiration From Life For The Plot Of Milk Teeth And Much More... This week on Books and Beyond with Bound, we are joined by Amrita Mahale, aerospace-engineer-turned-author of the JCB-longlisted Milk Teeth . We talk about Mumbai, the backdrop of her debut novel, and everything that makes the city home. Amrita tells us why she finds...

Find Out How He Wrote His Deeply Personal Memoir, The Books That Shaped Him and What’s His Writing Routine Like… Author of So Now You Know: A Memoir of Growing Up Gay in India , Vivek Tejuja, opens up to us about his insecurities while writing his first book.  From worrying about society’s reaction to such a sensitive and personal subject to being critical of rejection in all aspects of life, he t...

Find Out How He Manages To Read And Write Poetry, Fiction and Non-Fiction! Tara and Michelle talk to Suhit Kelkar, author of the poetry chapbook The Centaur Chronicles . From stand-up comedy to mythology, Suhit gushes about everything he’s passionate about. We talk ideas, influences and inspiration. We talk about childhood stories and the moment the idea for his first book struck. We discuss persp...

Find Out How She Does It all: Crime Thrillers, Biographies, Children's Fiction, Journalism and More Tara and Michelle speak to Deepanjana Pal, author of Hush a Bye Baby, a thriller about a murderous gynaecologist. She is also the author of the biography of artist Ravi Verma. And to top it off, she is a journalist who also writes children’s fiction. She tells us why she thinks genre is a made-...

Find Out Why The Ramayana Has Fascinated Her For Over Three Decades. Tara and Michelle speak to Arshia Sattar – writer, translator, editor and founder of Sangam House, a writing residency. We talk about mythology, religion and narrative. We discuss perspective, retellings and originality. We discuss our favourite characters, the importance of perspective and its modern-day implications.  We discus...

 7 years. 8 drafts. Find out why she rewrote her award-winning manuscript again and again. Tara and Michelle chat with Avni Doshi,  author of the award-winning Girl in White Cotton. It's about a twisted-mother daughter relationship, and the famous Osho ashram even has a role to play! Avni talks to us about new methods of writing, including a concept called sense writing. We discuss unconsciou...

Learn how to get your comics published and develop your storytelling and artistic skills. Tara and Michelle are joined by graphic novelist Abhijeet Kini, a comic book creator, illustrator and founder of his own design studio. We take a trip down memory lane by reminiscing over our favourite comics like Tinkle and what we loved about them. Abhijeet talks to us about his childhood love for comics an...

 Learn about Bombay’s undiscovered narratives with Jane Borges. Jane talks about Bombay's open secrets: gems hidden in plain sight. We learn about ‘Cavel’, a small Catholic neighbourhood in South Bombay, which is the focus of her book Bombay Balchão . Her insights into the characters’ lives (Goan and Mangalorean) are very educational and entertaining. And Cavel is just a stone's throw aw...

How do you unleash your imagination? And how do you embrace failure?  Author Tashan Mehta talks to us about all things speculative fiction – from the growth of the genre in India to her favourite works within it. She takes us through her life, describing incidents and stories that changed her worldview on writing and cultivated her love for speculative fiction.  She gushes about the flexibility, l...

What's it like spending your days in trucks without devices to keep you company and how do you make a book out of that?   Tara and Michelle are joined by Rajat Ubhaykar, the author of Truck de India! Did you know he wrote this book after spending months on the road travelling with ‘truckies’ all over India to get a glimpse into their lives? Rajat talks to us about his experience practically h...

Lisa defines herself as a writer, not an actress or model. Tara and Michelle are joined by author Lisa Ray, a former model, actress and TV personality.  She reveals the dark side of the entertainment industry, especially the rampant stereotyping and typecasting, and talks about her attempts to break free from it. As a victim of labelling, she tells us how her book Close to the Bone was her attempt...