Women's Day: My choice of murder weapon would be a block of ice, says Savie Karnel

The first book you wish you'd read
I wish I had read a large picture book with an interesting story, colourful illustrations, mirrors and pop-up pages.

Read also: Women's Day Special coverage

The first book you read that was meant for children
I grew up in a small town that had no bookstore. Occasionally there would to be small book fairs. My parents had bought a book of children’s stories by Leo Tolstoy and a book of Russian folk tales. Perhaps, these were the first books meant for children that I read.

Your hands-down favourite writer
Oscar Wilde

A classic you'd like to have written
The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery. I wish I could achieve the art of being simple and yet profound in my writing.

A character you wish you'd met
The BFG

An author you want to meet on the other side
Franz Kafka. I want to tell him that his writing is timeless. The human condition hasn’t changed yet, and I see Gregor Samsa in many people.

Inside jokes or references that found their way into your writing
The Nameless God is full from references of my childhood. The opening scene when Bachchu prays that a famous person dies so that he gets a day off from school and many other instances are from my life.

Your most unconventional workspaces
I have chosen to be conventional in unconventional places. I wrote most parts of The Nameless God in Dharamshala. The whole town has beautiful views of the Dhauladhar range and every house has a backdrop of snow-covered mountains. But I chose to face a blank wall and write, rather than look out of the window at this sight.  However, I think only one half of writing happens at a desk. The other half happens while you live your life -- meeting people, watching seasons change, gaping at the mountains or sitting by the sea.

On the transition from journalism to kidlit
I wanted to be a writer from the time I was 11 years old. Journalism was part of the process of preparing myself to write books. I loved being on field for reporting, meeting people, learning the stories, watching the different facets of society closely. I have been using these insights in my writing. When I write now, I have to shake off the journalist in me and put myself in a child’s shoes. This transition has taken some practice.

Children's books are...
Children’s books are the building blocks of the future. We often hear people say literature is the reflection of the society. When they say it, they refer to books for grown-ups. (But) if you want the reflection of the society to be compassionate and empathetic, you have to invest in and promote children’s literature. Kidlit is essential to create adults who think, question and are discerning.

The book(s) you've gifted most
The Prophet by Khalil Gibran and Matilda by Roald Dahl

Your personal mad tea party guests
I once dressed as a Mad Hatter for a tea party. So I will keep that spot for myself. My older dog Duma is wise, expressive and graceful and deserves a place at the table. The other names that instantly come to mind are of my school friend Deepika Pai and college friend Ramla Umar. They are both witty, unabashedly curt and make hilarious judgemental comments. With them around, I wouldn’t mind being stuck at the tea table. There is something special about girlfriends, after all.

If you were in a murder mystery, your choice of weapon would beA block of ice so that the murder weapon melts away

A female character you think an author did disservice to
Urmila, Lakshmana’s wife in the Ramayana.

A woman or girl in history you wish had got a different ending.
Laxmi Panda was a soldier in Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose’s Indian National Army. Her grandson approached me when I was a journalist to write about her as she was struggling to get a freedom fighter’s pension. The 78-year-old worked as domestic help to make ends meet. She got the pension but she died a few weeks later.