I love reading and writing about women: Esha Pandey

A cop and an author, Esha Pandey talks about her endeavours, challenges and the journey that is her strength.

Nestled in the bustling lanes of Connaught place, is a quaint café where we met Esha Pandey, a cop-turned-writer who loves love stories. Dressed in a bright pink cotton sari, Pandey entered with her hair wafting on her face, to tell us the tale about how she became a writer, and to discuss her book ‘Someone Exactly Like You, which is a love story.

It took three years for Esha Pandey to write and publish her book.

The book is fictional “taking no inspiration from” her own life; however she had her “husband in mind while writing the male protagonist” and “a friend while writing the female lead”.And has nothing in common with her professional world, she is was a Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) in Delhi, and is currently posted in Arunachal Pradesh.

The book is a story about a young woman who gets to assist a famous filmmaker with a reputation for being short-tempered and is also in a legal battle with his estranged wife. The two fall in love in interesting circumstances. When asked what inspired her to write about love while she tackles hatred, murders, and destruction in her profession each day, she says, “I love reading love stories. I was a fan of Jane Austin while I was growing up, what interests me the most is reading about women and writing about them. I won a contest by the UN and that gave me the boost to continue it. Though being a cop was always the plan and I’m happy being one. Writing for me is a stress buster,” says Esha Pandey.

Unlike how you expect a cop to be, Pandey is all dressed up and loves to be this way. She confessed that her wardrobe is full of saris and she can’t live without colour. “I came from a middle-class background and had never been to a police station. But only after I wore khaki is when I realised the intense work a cop does and the uniform... Well, I love dressing like one too,” adds Pandey, a mother of two boys.

When asked how she got time to write a book between her police duties and family commitments she said nothing held her back and it was a long yet smooth process. “I take out time to write by getting up early in the morning. I have made sure to never let go reading and writing. It has been a tough call but nothing held me back. It was a stress buster for me to write. I have never had pressure from family. I’m very clear about having a balanced environment at home where my kids know that mom and dad’s roles are not divided. It’s an equal household and I wish every woman does that. This will never stop a woman from fulfilling her dreams. However, I took 3 years to write and publish this book because of work. Initially, I never thought anyone would publish my work and I was just writing for myself until I got a publisher,” says this Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) alumna.

However, it wasn’t easy. “After I had written the book, I got it edited and sent the manuscripts to many publishing houses. A lot of them refused until Rupa said yes. They told me that it would take 18 months. At the start, my work kept me busy however later I felt they won’t publish me. But two months before the date they gave me for publishing, they called and methodically started the process. The wait was very tough for me,” confesses Pandey.

Follow more stories on Facebook and Twitter