Let’s get down to brass tacks. Why do you write?
I write because I imagine, dream, feel, love and reciprocate.
And because I have a story to extract from my interactions, from my emotions, whether in imagination or reality and turn it into a fictitious reality.
I want to create a world of my own and enjoy the trials and tribulations of the journey and finally when it is done, sit back and let the world see my creation.
I write because I want to create memories, because I want to learn, explore and live many lives and travel with many characters to lands known and unknown. To feel fulfilled, to remind myself how blessed I am. . . .
I write because that’s what I can do . . . …and love to do!
What advice would you give your younger writing self?
First and foremost, I would tell my younger self that she was right. That feeling that she had all along as a child that she was born to be a writer was completely justified. I would like to congratulate her on her success and persistence. As advice I would tell her to be ready for challenges, be patient and learn to take rejections as opportunities to do better. I would tell her to be more competitive in today’s world and go all out and shout out her achievements. I would tell her to go wild, travel more, love more, absorb more and create more. I would tell her to be more in touch with reality as well as fantasy, experiment more and get out of her comfort zone of writing. I would just want her to live every moment to the fullest so that writing would come inspired, faster and better.
How did publishing your first book change your process of writing?
As a child I wrote for myself, content in the art of creation and heedless to public consumption. As I grew older, I realized that it wouldn’t matter if someone read my work. In fact it would be great if others did. That’s when I published my first novel ‘A Symphony of Hearts’ in 1994.
Over the years, I’ve written and published books, and the need to reach out to more and more readers has increased. Mostly because publishing a book takes it out of your inner, controlled circle and exhibits it to a world of readers with varied views, opinions and backgrounds. Great feedback from readers is one of the biggest rewards of writing!
The equation of writing for ‘self’has now changed to writing for ‘us’ – for my readers and I. I still create plots that excite me and characters that speak to me but they carry a vision that I want readers to grasp and understand and emulate.
So publishing my book hasn’t changed so much the process of writing, as the need for visibility and exposure to it. Now marketing and promotion also take a big chunk of my time and attention.
What was your greatest writing challenge?
Actually, each of my books has posed a challenge. The Cosmic Clues and The Astral Alibi or Stellar Signs were about a lady detective who solves cases with the help of Astrology. So a lot of research went into choosing the right plots and solving them using Astrology in a systematic scientific manner, and not as a superstitious, magic wand. Similarly, The Cavansite Conspiracy takes place in 48 hours and the protagonist travels from Pune, to Hamburg, to the Isle of Sylt and to London in a matter of so many hours. Matching the time-differences and flight timings was a huge challenge. Finally, my latest thriller The Trail of Four takes place entirely in Salzburg and is about non-Indian characters, taking Re, the investigative journalist on a trail set 75 years ago. The biggest challenge was writing the novel like an insider, and combining history with a contemporary plotline. Having said that, I have enjoyed writing each of these novels.
What’s your idea of literary success?
I write so that people will read, enjoy the product of my imagination and take away something from it. When books sell, the monetary gain enables you to be at peace to write some more. So it helps. It is practical. But I would like to go beyond this materialistic gain . . . to grasp and capture something that is more ephemeral and transient. Memories. For me literary success would be when readers carry me in their memories forever, in the form of my books, characters, stories or messages. When I freeze into their memories, I would feel that I have touched that peak of success as an author and have attained virtual immortality.
What’s your idea of bliss?
My idea of bliss is complex. I want a world where every dog has a home – which means the world is compassionate enough to understand that ‘lives’ matter. It spells peace and love.
I also want a world where each being is treated with respect and love and given the freedom and choice to live his/her own life.
And finally, on a more personal note, my idea of bliss is to travel with my loved ones including my dogs, from country to country, absorbing new cultures, making new friends, writing and filming about it and more, and in the process collecting answers from the Universe and unravelling the mystery called ‘life’.
Your latest novel, The Trail of Four, is set in Salzburg, Austria. As an Indian author, what inspired you to set your story here? Did you feel compelled to make Re, the protagonist, a person of Indian origin?
I have often wondered what the lure of the foreign books is for the Indian reader. Even today, I believe that books by foreign authors are read more than by Indian authors. And I think it is mostly to do with habit. I grew up reading books by British/American authors and I knew that I was totally fascinated by the milieu and culture and language. Now, after having written 8 books that are based in India but which pop in and out of some parts of the world, I felt this need to explore foreign horizons and move out of my comfort zone. And that is why The Trail of Four is based entirely in Salzburg with Non-Indian characters. However, the Indian in me needed to be satisfied too, so I made Re half-Indian, but alienated from his Indian roots.
But what really inspired me was a visit to the Palace Leopoldskron and Salzburg. I fell in love with them both. I knew way back, when I first set eyes on the Schloss that one day I would set a novel here. I think I was destined to write this novel. Incidents unfolded in such a manner, rather mysteriously and everything aligned perfectly for me to write The Trail of Four. I think the novel ‘happened’ to me. It got itself written. I simply followed a pre-destined path to accomplish this feat.
When did you first realize the power of the written word?
Speaking from an author’s point of view – My childhood was complete and content as I grew up reading Enid Blyton books and lost myself in the world of mystery, adventure and fun. I believe that those books laid the foundation for my career because I knew at a very young age that I wanted to be a writer and create such worlds which offered hope and joy to every reader. Personally for me, that was the first impact of the power of the word.
Later, as I matured and my reading habits encompassed more serious work, my belief in the written word was only strengthened. A good piece of writing, whether fiction or non-fiction is like a living, breathing entity. It can hook on to your brain and either mess up your thinking or create patterns of thought that can change the world. Either way, the effect can be stunning.
What makes you angry, and I mean all-out-smash-the-china raving mad?
I get furious when I see dogs or other animals being abused or see nature getting destroyed. I feel that taking care of street dogs is the answer to world peace. I have a philosophy called my ‘Dogtrine of Peace’. Destroying nature is like destroying ourselves. When you cut down trees, encroach into hills and the sea, all you are doing is cutting into the lifetime of your generations. Sooner or later, the consequences will rise like a Tsunami, sweeping off races.
Other than that I get furious when people lie, and are manipulative, are ungrateful, take advantage of the weak and tons of other things. I am basically an angry woman 
Describe your life philosophy. In a sentence.
Kindness and love make a difference. Do your bit. . . .
About the Author:
Dr. Manjiri Prabhu is an independent film-maker for Television, a Writer/ Novelist in English and also the Founder/ Director of Pune International Literary Festival. Having authored 9 books published by Penguin, Bloomsbury, Random House USA and Jaico Books, Prabhu has been acknowledged as a pioneer in India among women writers of mystery fiction. She is also the first female mystery Author to be published outside India and has been labelled as the ‘Desi Agatha Christie’. She has been invited to reputed International Literature Festivals like The Agatha Christie Festival, UK and International Women’s Fiction Festival, Matera, Italy.
Her novel The Cosmic Clues was selected as a Killer Book, by Independent Mystery Booksellers of America and The Astral Alibi was honoured as a ‘Notable Book’ in the Kiriyama Prize. Her unpublished psychological thriller novel was adapted into a Hindi feature film by NFDC, titled
“Kuchh Dil Ne Kaha”. Her thesis-cum-book, titled Roles: Reel and Real, has become a rare reference book for students of Hindi cinema.
Recently chosen as one of 50 Inspiring Women of Maharashtra, she was awarded for “Excellence in Writing” by ERTC Global Herald, in Mumbai. She has also been awarded the Rex Karmaveer Gold Medal Award.
This review is published in Kitaab
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