TPF: I am happy to host author Ritu Bhathal on my blog for the first time. We’ve known each other through our blogs for the last ten years. Hi, Ritu, and thank you for joining me on The Phil Factor to talk about your books. Your current book, Straight as a Jalebi, is the second in the Rishtay series. Could you tell us a little about Marriage Unarranged, book 1 in the series?
Ritu: Hi Phil! Thank you for inviting me over! Yes, so Marriage Unarranged started out as a stand-alone novel over 20 years ago. It was the novel I felt was that one book they say is within each and every one of us. I love writing about my culture and topics close to my heart. It just happened that when I began it, I was planning my own wedding, so a story based loosely around marriage felt apt. In the book, which bears no resemblance to my own experiences – you’d be surprised how many people ask me if it is based on reality – Aashi, the main character, is getting ready for her dream wedding to Ravi. But she discovers he has been cheating on her, and this sparks a chain of events that leads to her discovering more about herself on a trip to India, with her two brothers and best friend. Aashi grows as a person, and we learn more about her brothers and best friend, and another person who becomes a part of their travelling group while out there. He may or may not allow her to believe in relationships again.
TPF: Your second book in the series, Straight as a Jalebi, focuses on a character struggling with the possibility of a non-traditional relationship that his very traditional British-Asian family may not understand. In both of your books, your characters struggle with the challenge of facing stigmas from family and friends. Are those feelings and fears something that would be very real in England today?
Ritu: It does, indeed. As I mentioned before, this was never a planned series. In fact, I totally pantsed the plot of the first book, so when I finished, the other characters kept on talking to me. They wanted more of their stories to be explored, and the seed of a storyline had planted itself in Marriage Unarranged, which was natural to explore further.
This time the story centers around Sunny, Aashi’s older brother, and him dealing with alien feelings for someone he shouldn’t be thinking of in that manner. The story is set in the early 2000s, so there was even less acceptance and openness regarding sexuality.
I never set out to write moral-challenging books, but as I wrote, these issues that are so common in my culture cropped up and I decided it would be good to write more openly about them.
Much thinking has changed over the years with the younger generations but there are still stigmas in the older generations regarding so much, like broken engagements, children out of wedlock, sexuality and much more. They are felt in India and England, absolutely.
TPF: As an aside, if you don’t know what jalebi is, which I didn’t until I looked it up, it is a popular sweet snack popular in India, south and west Asia, Africa, and Mauritius. And this is what it looks like:
TPF: Your books have had nothing but great reviews. Have you faced any negative feedback related to the somewhat controversial subjects?
Ritu: Thank you for saying that, Phil! I have been thrilled with the feedback so far. You give so much of yourself when you write, so the reviews are the icing on the cake. The only mildly negative reviews I had with Marriage Unarranged were from Indian Nationals who hadn’t read the book description properly and thought I was writing about modern-day India, not the early 2000s. There has been much progression there, which many know, but back then, things were much like what I wrote about. I visited India in those years, so the descriptions I wrote about attitudes, and the areas the scenes are set, were true to that time. Some I was able to explain. Some I didn’t bother with!
TPF: Your current day job is as a teacher. Do your students know that you’re a famous author?
Ritu: I do love my students! They are very young, so the books I write wouldn’t register with them. However, my colleagues know and some parents who have even read the books are extremely supportive!
TPF: Your Rishtay series has been very well received. Is there a book 3 in the works?
Ritu: There is, indeed! It will have Bali, Aashis younger brother and best friend at the forefront. and, yes, there is another stigma surrounding the issue at the forefront! This time I will be exploring infertility. and who knows… there may be more. There is plenty to keep writing about!
TPF: Ritu, thank you for visiting The Phil Factor and congratulations on the success of your new book. For all my readers who are interested in learning more about Ritu and her books, you can find her at:
Ritu Bhathal – Author, Poet, Storyteller
And you should definitely follow her blog which is linked to at her website!
Thanks for reading, and Happy Monday! ~Phil
