FEASTS AND FASTS

Shobhaa De’s new book crackles with her infectious zeal for life

- MANDIRA NAYAR

Shobhaa De has lost her voice. Literally, not metaphorically. And De—usually outspoken, often outrageous, with no filters, but with a dollop of the De earthiness—has had to cancel a lit fest appearance and sit at home quietly. “I have never been voiceless before,’’ she says. “In all these years of being a writer and a columnist, to be voiceless, in physical terms, is doubly painful.”

Insatiable—My Hunger for Life is an addition to her list of bestselling memoirs at various milestones in her life. At 75, De continues to be dauntingly prolific. But more than that, she continues to be relevant. There have been memoirs before—when she turned 60, and then again at 70. Will 80 bring another edition? “That would be an excess,’’ she says with a laugh. “Now, one year at a time. I don’t even want to think that far ahead. I want to give myself enough space inside my head and heart to just switch off for a while, even from thinking about the next book. Though I have to admit shamefacedly that I have started thinking about it. But that is just me being insatiable. I can’t seem to stop. I suppose, why should I? I remember Pablo Picasso saying in his 90s that it takes a person a very long time to actually become young. And it sounds like a contradiction in terms. But it isn’t.’’