“At 22, I was restless and hungry for life,” says author Aatish Taseer

The author goes on a trip down memory lane reminiscing about his finances, romantic life, living in New York and the biggest life lesson

At 22, where were you career-wise?

I’d just graduated from Amherst College, worked for a while as a food runner in Keith McNally’s restaurant — Schiller’s — on the LES in NYC, and started, in October, as a reporter at TIME Magazine. I was, in fact, Joe Klein’s (the then anonymous author of Primary Colors) fact-checker.

The author with Ella Windsor on a boat to Alibaug

Any romance in your life?

I had come to New York for a summer love and was very much looking forward to exploring romantic relationships with men, but quickly found myself in a long-term relationship with a girl: Ella.

Aatish at a Holi party in 2000 with his aunt and Brazilian socialite Vera Santo Domingo (behind him)

What was your mindset like?

Restless, especially that summer, and hungry for life.

The author with writer VS Naipaul in Wiltshire, England

What were your focus areas?

Writing and reading. I was living in the feminist Kate Millett’s loft on the Bowery and devouring big books, such as Joseph Conrad’s Nostromo, all summer.

Aatish with his mother, Tavleen Singh, at a Delhi restaurant

“I wish I’d come out [about my sexuality] earlier in life, but the environment was a lot less welcoming then”

How was the family situation?

Not around. I had just met my father in Pakistan for the first time the year before, in 2002, and I was very excited about our relationship. But I was also living alone in New York for the first time, and I wasn’t thinking much about family.

Aatish with his late grandfather who he was extremely close to

What was your most prized possession?

A tiger tooth encased in beaten silver, which had been given to me by the late Mark Shand, an old friend of my mother’s and the brother of Camilla Parker-Bowles. Shand was a big adventurer and travel writer and the tooth had been given to him by a sadhu in India.

The author with his stepfather Ajit Gulabchand

If you had a chance to change one thing about yourself at that time, what would it be?

I sometimes wish I’d come out earlier, but the environment was a lot less welcoming then, and I was worried that coming out would limit me to being “a gay writer,” especially in India where I had such dreams of living and working.

Aatish with his school friend in Kodaikanal

From HT Brunch, November 8, 2020

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