Go Ad-Free
    My Alerts
    Moneycontrol
    Moneycontrol PRO
    HomeNewsInterviewWomen's Day: 'I hate classics. Hate me if you must,' says Rheea Rodrigues Mukherjee

    Women's Day: 'I hate classics. Hate me if you must,' says Rheea Rodrigues Mukherjee

    The author, who has also founded writing groups, loves Tinkle comics and would like to meet the Mad Hatter.

    Chetana Divya Vasudev
    March 07, 2022 / 12:19 IST
    Rheea Rodrigues Mukherjee is the author of The Body Myth (Penguin India & Unnamed Press 2019).

    Rheea Rodrigues Mukherjee is the author of The Body Myth (Penguin India & Unnamed Press 2019)  and was shortlisted for the TATA Literature Live First Book Award 2019. Her work has been featured in the Los Angeles Times, Buzzfeed, Scroll.in, Electric Literature, Out of Print Magazine, and Southern Humanities Review, among others. She co-founded Bangalore Writers Workshop in 2012 and Write Leela Write in 2014. She lives in Bengaluru.


    The first book you remember reading?
    Honestly, it was an inappropriate book for my age. In second grade, I found a copy about a girl abused severely as a child. Her name was Ursula Sunshine Assaid. It was traumatic.

    The first book you wish you'd read?
    Julian is a Mermaid by Jessica Love.

    Your hands-down favorite writer?
    Otessa Moshfegh and Roxanne Gay.

    A genre you're partial to?
    Psychological thrillers

    A book you outgrew and grew into again?
    Tinkle comics

    A classic you'd like to have written
    I don't like classics. I know. Hate me if you must.

    A character you wish you'd met
    The Mad Hatter.

    A writer you want to meet on the other side
    bell hooks

    Inside jokes or references that found their way into your writing
    In my first novel, a lot of French existentialism.

    As you work, you listen to?
    Nothing. I can't work with music. Unless I am editing. Then I can jam to hip hop.

    The book(s) you've gifted most?
    Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi.

    Your personal mad tea party guests, and what you'd serve?
    My neighbors (and besties) live upstairs in the same building. We have tea every evening with our dogs.

    I am a vegan cook, so vegan peanut butter cookies, whole wheat bread, cashew cream cheese, fruit tarts, and iced espresso because I don't drink tea. 

    Ever fallen in love with a character? Whom?
    The fictional version of Marjane in Persepolis.

    Spoken-word, slam, a reading, jamming, rapping: which you have tried and which you'd like to one day?
    I fantasise about rapping. Nicki Minaj Style. But I am terrible. I've done only readings; I will have to stick to that.

    Comfort writing or journalling: poetry or prose; pen, keyboard, screen, doodle, audio recorder?
    Keyboard all the way.

    At an airport, with time to kill, and if you could get away with anything...
    I'd make friends with strangers.

    A book-based movie you liked better than the book?
    The Namesake. I honestly thought the film was way better.




    (This is a multi-part interview series with women writers.)
    Chetana Divya Vasudev
    first published: Mar 7, 2022 12:19 pm

    Discover the latest Business News, Sensex, and Nifty updates. Obtain Personal Finance insights, tax queries, and expert opinions on Moneycontrol or download the Moneycontrol App to stay updated!

    Subscribe to Tech Newsletters

    • On Saturdays

      Find the best of Al News in one place, specially curated for you every weekend.

    • Daily-Weekdays

      Stay on top of the latest tech trends and biggest startup news.

    Advisory Alert: It has come to our attention that certain individuals are representing themselves as affiliates of Moneycontrol and soliciting funds on the false promise of assured returns on their investments. We wish to reiterate that Moneycontrol does not solicit funds from investors and neither does it promise any assured returns. In case you are approached by anyone making such claims, please write to us at grievanceofficer@nw18.com or call on 02268882347