THE NEXT CHAPTER

In an exclusive interview, Vikram Seth, 71, chats about the 30th anniversary of A Suitable Boy, and the much-awaited sequel and attendant novellas he's busy penning

- Amit Dixit

Q. Of all your many books, A Suitable Boy is certainly among those that have endured in the reading imagination. What would you attribute its timeless appeal to-the plot, the characters, the sheer sweep of the story, the fact that it is the great Indian novel?

Let's leave 'timeless' and 'great' out of this. A Suitable Boy will have to endure for a good deal longer than 30 years to merit that. But, yes, the book has remained popular-far longer than I expected. I think (at least from what readers tell me) that it's the characters who do it, especially the affectionate but all-encompassing Mrs Rupa Mehra, who was based on my own Nani, one of the three dedicatees of the book (the other two are my parents).

As for the effect on readers of the 'sweep of the story', one reader told me that at the end of the book, she flung it across the room in annoyance. And another that it made her propose at once to her somewhat timid boyfriend.

Q. Did you feel audacious writing such a big book and, indeed, did you set out consciously to do so?

It evolved. I had no intention of writing such a tome when I began. My publishers in India were Penguin. David Davidar, though perhaps alarmed by the length of the book, encouraged me hugely, read the first draft, and made very useful suggestions. Because the typesetting was going slowly, I decided one morning to camp in his flat for a month to ensure that it got done. He was too shocked to demur.