The ticking clock waits for no man...

Ask me what I love about Indian authors today and I would say it is the fact so many of them are seriously funny now. This is such a far cry from the lugubrious books of one time, when the only stories that were accepted by publishers were those that dwelt long and over several pages on the sad life of the protagonist. Not that they are to be dismissed as unreadable. They were very good and though the humour stayed wry or subtle, the plots had been cleverly thought out, the characters well delineated to make a fabulous read.  Today, we get funny but where’s the story and the plot? Not sure if you even need one anymore.

But I never pass by a bookshop without buying a book written by an Indian author. Each book gives me another vista of the Indian experience. For instance, I am currently reading a book called ‘Those Pricey Thakur Girls’ by Anuja Chauhan which transports me to the heart of a posh colony in New Delhi. I often reread my favourites, like Jaishree Misra’s first novel, Ancient Promises and Anita Nair’s novel Mistress that always takes me through the sultry, rain drenched streets of Kerala and lives and loves of the people there. One of my favourite authors Thirty Umrigar perhaps puts it best when she writes in one of her books... ”In my mind, I travel through time and space in ways you cannot even dream of—from Ohio to Bombay to Ohio again, from the land of the living to the land of the dead, where my Rustom resides; from my wallpapered bedroom in this house to my painted bedroom in Bombay, of which I know every inch... where the embroidered handkerchiefs are kept in the bottom drawer and what books are kept on the bedside table... Yes I may be older than you...but I can run faster and fly higher than you can ever know.”

I have so many favourite Indian authors that I have lost count... and the bookshelves in my home are full of their books that stand tall next to my beloved classics and of late, my pile of chicklit novels.

Which brings me to the book I am reviewing today, Tick Tock, we’re 30 by Milan Vohra and the best thing about doing this review was that I got to speak to the author herself and I was able get her views on various questions that you might have too.

But first, my thoughts on the book...
Tick Tock, We’re 30
By Milan Vohra
What a rollicking ride of a book this is. We spin in and out of scenes, peppered with fresh perspective and laced with fresh and funny dialogue. Ah how delicious some of the writing is. Her word pictures evoke all kinds of memories, for instance who has not had an Indian neighbourhood like this... “around a rectangular park... the one with the horny homeopath’s clinic in a shed right in the middle of it. And oh yes, the house with the pajama wala uncle and the maid and the dog on the corner.” Or felt this way about an old school – “Let’s face it, going to an all girls’convent is dull... the highlight of school life is pretty much catching sight of the Sisters’undies drying on the clothesline.”

The story line of the novel is fairly simple. As the cover page suggests, the book begins with the clock ticking the years away and soon Lara, the protagonist will turn 30. She and her old friends, the S.N. gang (Sarva Niketan) as they call themselves decide to get together to celebrate the momentous occasion when all of them cross the big 3-0 and with all their grandiose plans, the event looks like it is going to be one rocking party. Easy peasy? Of course not. Because what Lara and gang don’t realize is that time has a way of changing people. Not just physically – like Fat Riya who is now more Thin Riya. But in so many other ways because bitter experiences and failed relationships can change people more than they know. And here’s where the skill of the writer comes in, when she throws in giddy moments, nostalgia, changing friends and new perspectives all into one mix, without getting overly sentimental or too frivolous, but making us empathize and love each character.

But wait – there’s more. There is another exciting twist to the story that will keep you turning the pages till the end. Lara and Nishad (a member of their gang) had made a pact one tipsy evening to marry each other if they were not hitched by 30. Now the time has arrived – but Lara is not going to allow Nishad to gloat over her zero boyfriend status. She decides to hire a fake fiancé instead.

It is at this point that we get a new character in the story, the fabulous Perzaan (he of the rippling muscles, exotic tattoos and wild hair) who girls swoon over and who Lara is lucky enough to call her boyfriend. Has she hit on the perfect solution to her dilemma?

You will have to read the book to find out the answer to that one, but rest assured, there is plenty to keep you engrossed till all the pieces of the story fall in place. Vohra has created a bevy of interesting characters who have really funny things to say at times and interesting insights to offer at other moments.

I loved the exquisite use of words in certain parts of books. For instance, something as simple as making tea is written so perfectly... “She swirls the hot water around the cup, feels around the cup delicately the way one would a fruit...she lifts another tea cozy off a bigger teapot...she keeps going beautifully slowly, like a Japanese Noh theatre production.”

Vohra is a gifted writer and seems to have mastered the art of setting the pace and flow of a story with the use of dialogue. If I have a complaint, it is only in the frequency of the dialogues but even that is not a flaw, because she orchestrates the ebb and flow of her story so well.

A very enjoyable book and a must read if you love this kind of fiction as much I do. Plus I also got to interview her, which was a huge bonus for me.

Q and A with Milan Vohra
Where did your inspiration for this book come?
I had a large group of friends I grew up with in Delhi who kept talking about having a reunion ever since the millennium. One day I just decided, enough. These folks are never going to get their act together. I’m going to write myself a new set of friends and make this reunion happen. This is my revenge, haha.

How did you keep track of the many characters in the story?

Well, I guess I did work out each character in quite a lot of detail before I started writing. Their backgrounds, their physicality obviously, their take on things, the way they react to situations.

Soon the characters took on personalities and lives of their own.

 There is plenty of dialogue in the story. Did you draw from your own experiences to pen those very contemporary dialogues?

I have to confess I’m a horribly brazen eavesdropper and will quite often just end up joining a conversation among strangers at the cafes I usually haunt. It helps me make new friends and get a little more of an insider view of different lives from my own. But often I have imaginary dialogues and these find their way into the book.

How has being a copywriter helped you become an author?

 If you’ve been trained well in your early years in advertising you should at least be able to adapt your writing style vastly, depending on who the client is. That training has been useful even in just keeping each character sounding different. But it can’t teach you to develop a plot.

What is your working day like? How do you manage to juggle so many things?

I work on a ‘need to do’ basis. This includes sleep. I juggle being an ad professional up until about midnight between being a mom, racing to read book club books, trying to be there for my friends... you know, the usual stuff we all do. And then after everyone’s asleep I write. My visiting card actually says it well. It has a Picasso line drawing of an owl wearing two hats. It says, ‘Creative consultant. Author. Insomniac’.