Who is a "Karol-Bagh-type"? Ask writer Anuja Chauhan who coined the term in her first book - The Zoya Factor - a rollicking romance published 16 years ago. "When all the snooty ad-people think Karol-Bagh-type, they imagine a pushy wannabe in a chamkeela salwar-kameez with everything matching-matching," says Anuja's 27-year-old, chubby-cheeked heroine Zoya in the book. "Someone who says 'anyways' instead of anyway, 'grands' instead of grand and 'butts' instead of butt. (As in: She has no butts, earns twenty grands a month and lives in Karol Bagh. Who does she think she is, anyways?)"
There is something endearing about Zoya's fear of being tagged as a 'Karol-Bagh-type'. The humour in Anuja's writing is evident (very Bridget Jones minus the self-pity), but the heart in it lies hidden, waiting to be discovered. Other than being fun and frothy, that is what she loves about writing romance, says Anuja. Because she can insert her social commentary, or what she calls "my sneaky agendas", within the romance. "While the reader stays for the romance, I can explore any themes I want - war, politics or family disputes - through it," she says. There is gravitas beneath the lightness of her writing, but she camouflages it so skilfully that many miss it.
The subtext is more obvious in her daughter Nayantara Violet Alva's first book, Liberal Hearts, the rags-meets-riches love story of Namya and Vir.
Whether it is her insecurity about her looks, her anxiety to fit in with the tequila-swigging, socialism-spouting crowd in the posh college where she studies, or her conflicting feelings about the hypocrisy of her fellow students, Namya wears her heart on her privileged sleeve. Nayantara, 26, has not yet perfected that blend of sass and sincerity that is so typical in Anuja's writing, but she makes up for it in authenticity. Her characters are genuine, her writing is unpretentious and her story, very readable.
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