Right from school, Reema Moudgil knew she wanted to be a novelist. The only problem was that the girls in her close-knit neighbourhood in Patiala, mostly studied till the 10th standard, and typically got married. Doing a post-graduate degree was a dream that looked distant, let alone becoming an established journalist, editor and a novelist. All the things that she eventually managed to do, encouraged by her parents and with heaps of grit, the special kind that’s full of heart, but treats limitations with brutal sternness.

Moudgil’s book Perfect Eight traces protagonist Ira’s journey, which begins even before she’s born, as her mother flees Lahore and moves to India during the Partition. In a newly-divided country, despite belonging to the ‘right’ religion she doesn’t belong. A sense of displacement inherited by Ira, who is destined to feel like a refooji wherever she goes.

Literary critics have commended Perfect Eight for being “the story of all of us women who are vulnerable and strong, who are contemporary and traditional and who have lived through happy and unhappy times at the same time” (Mridula Murgai), for its “powerful writing, evocative imagery, gripping prose” (Rasheeda Bhagat).

Meet Reema Moudgil, journalist, author, radio jockey, editor and co-founder of unboxedwriters.com, a collective of writers, and newly, a teacher of media studies.

Childhood, they say, shapes a novelist’s point of view in crucial ways. What were the key lessons from your years growing up in Patiala?

Where I grew up there were no external distractions. Most of what we learnt was from life, family and books. Education was very important, and that was the ticket out of the challenges we went through in life.
I completed my M.A., thanks to my parents who encouraged me to study and also instilled in me a sense of self-worth. That you have to believe in yourself and never sell yourself cheap. I have always negotiated for respect if nothing else…money comes and goes. A lot of people think that if you’re from a relatively smaller town, you don’t have what it takes to come to a big city and gel with the culture. In fact, people who migrate, work hard, study with limited resources have far more passion to make it, wherever they go.

What was the inspiration for your book Perfect Eight?

Well, primarily my life in Patiala, the idea of Partition dividing India even today and a love story that traces all the important divisions in India’s history.

But I would like to say that there was no real blueprint in my head when I was starting out. I always knew that I wanted to write a book. Finally, when I got my first computer at the age of 28, I started writing. At the time, my son was just born and I was working from home. After everybody was asleep, I would write at night.

You’re a prominent Indian English literary voice today. Ironically, you had to teach yourself the subtle nuances of writing in the language as a teenager.

I studied in a school where the medium of instruction was Hindi till the 7th standard. I learnt English as a language, but yes, I had to make a conscious effort to make the shift. I started seriously to read classics and teach myself to write well in English after that. I realised that if one had to get anywhere in modern India, you had to be able to catch the attention of the English reader!

Later, like your protagonist Ira, you moved from Punjab to Bangalore.

Yes, after doing my M.A. in Patiala, I taught kindergarten kids and freelanced for The Tribune. When I got married, I moved to Bangalore. To get a job as a journalist with a group like The Times of India, it seemed like a big leap back then.

And yet, there was more. What were some of the big moments for you as a journalist?

I never took anything that came my way for granted. I felt like everything was a privilege in some way. Whether it was going to a play, being immersed in art, getting commissioned to do travel stories or whatever. Guess, you could say it was because of where I came from. Meeting the person I admire, it’s a big deal for me. So every time I met and interviewed artists I had grown up admiring, whether it was Javed Akhtar, Shabana Azmi, Jagjit Singh, Naseeruddin Shah, Imtiaz Dharker, Zohra Sehgal, Waheeda Rehman… for me these were not mere interviews but major milestones.

You had mentioned that it took you 9 years to write Perfect Eight. Industry friends I have spoken to say that star literary agents like David Godwin had shown interest initially but by the time the book was ready he had become too big to be accessible!

Well, it is true that I had met David Godwin (who represented ‘God of Small Things’) when he was down in India to promote Arundhati Roy’s book. I had sent him the first few chapters and he had been very positive. But, honestly, I was a full-time journalist, a parent and a regular middle-class working girl. I didn’t even have a designated writing place at home. I would cook meals, run a household, little things like opening the door bell every time it rings… and snatching time whenever I could. It was my fault that I did not revert soon enough and he lost interest.

Yes, I could have finished it sooner with more discipline but I wrote it when I felt compelled and that is why the story has a lived-in quality.

What is like to finally see your dream come true? To get your book out there?

Well, let me tell you that it is only the beginning. There is an almost endless cycle of marketing and pushing your own self. With due respect to authors who have the stomach to do so, it doesn’t come naturally to me. I have now embarked upon a new phase. I have to rustle-up all the energy and motivation I have, after so many years of writing the book, and getting it published, to give it a new lease of life. Sell the overseas rights, get more books to sell, find new audiences and so on.

To go back a bit, did you ever feel like giving up on writing the book? I mean it must have taken every free hour you had from your responsibilities.

I always knew I was going to finish the book. There was never any doubt in my mind, although I knew it was going to be an uphill challenge. After it was done, it took me nearly 3 years to get it published. I know that a lot of breaks in the publishing industry come from people who know people.

They published the book but then what? Nobody wants to invest money in a book, they are investing money in the possibility of a best-seller. And best-sellers are created by marketing strategies these days or somebody who can afford to hire a PR agent and go on multi-city tours.

May be I am not the right ‘profile’. I am just a writer. The challenge now is not to give up. To motivate myself not to give up.

When and how did you decide to quit your full-time work in the mainstream media and turn into a web entrepreneur with unboxedwriters.com, a collective where writers post their work?

I can’t call this web entrepreneurship because we are not making money but yes, with more than 10 lakh hits from all over the world and feedback from readers who now look to us for something new and fresh, we have created a mindspace we can call our own.

I was a full time journalist since 1994 and was an Assistant Editor in my last job. I guess the time was right for me to just quit and be on my own. Somehow, it just seemed easier to start something where one could write as frequently as one wanted rather than wait for an opportunity.

What was it like to not have a cheque coming in every month?

The first year was tough and very frightening but I also learnt to say No to jobs during this phase that offered me no respect or creative freedom. I learnt to wait and do stuff that kept me afloat. Started Unboxed during this phase and today am teaching media studies to post grads, am recording seven radio shows a week, and uploading more than 30 stories every month on Unboxed and freelancing too. Am making more money today than I was making as a full-time scribe and I have freedom and self-respect none of which are negotiable.

How do you plan to monetize the site?

Many of our writers have been picked by magazines and am sure when more publications are aware of us, they will ask us to do more for them. We do not have a marketing team and while my partner Vani Bahl works on the technology, I manage content and the facebook page etc. And we have full time work so really no time to market unboxed but we believe in its potential to make connections naturally and we know we are going to crack the monetisation sooner than later.

Writers are bad with money. Your comment.

Not all writers are. I know many who market their work and project themselves very well and more power to them. I have not been good at that but you never know!

Why is it so hard to make money as a writer?

If you work consistently, it is not tough to make money. I have always made money. Just not the kind that secures you for life. Yes, it is a struggle if you are fastidious about the kind of work you want to do. There are times when I have worked for less than what a rookie reporter would be willing to settle for because I loved the work and it loved me back. I was willing to work harder than any rookie if my work was valued and accorded respect, even if there was less money. But now, I would like to be paid well. Yes, the publishing industry in India is tough to figure. Today writers must strategise the publicity and marketing of their book. You get paid virtually nothing as advance money and there is no attempt to push a book if it is not something that can easily be slotted as a best-selling idea. There is a lesson here. Maybe, I will have to learn it…maybe I won’t need to.

Last but not the least – how do you juggle so many things? RJing, your web venture, teaching and I hear there’s a new novel in the works.

I love it all hence can pull it off..sometimes it gets to be too much physically but I know am lucky that am doing so much without being chained to a desk. It is a blessing and I do not take it for granted.

Want to get Reema’s book? Go here!

You can also read the excerpt from Perfect Eight: IN MISSAMARI’S CANTONMENT, the sun grew wistful and grazed windows like an overripe orange itching to be picked. In the evening, it melted away like a pale…

BUT most of all, tell us if this story inspired you, and don’t forget to read our other MoneyChat inspiration stories too!

Perfect Eight
Had she taken that final plunge into the darkness, her last sigh would have been one of relief. She would have not blamed anyone. Least of all her husband.