Why don’t people write about middle-aged romances: Author Ravi Subramanian

In a stirring conversation with author Ravi Subramanian at the Literati Festival at the Lake Club, Chandigarh, he talks to HT about love, infidelity and his new book, which is an unusual departure from his customary genre.

In a stirring conversation with author Ravi Subramanian at the Literati Festival at the Lake Club, Chandigarh, he talks to HT about love, infidelity and his new book, which is an unusual departure from his customary genre.

Author Ravi Subramanian at the Literati Fest in Chandigarh on Saturday. (Karun sharma/HT)

An alumnus from Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Bangalore, Ravi’s latest book explores the genre of romantic thriller through his October launched book called, ‘The bestseller she wrote.’ Four of Ravi’s seven books have been award winners

The protagonist of the book, Aditya Kapoor, is an IIM graduate much like Ravi, leading to questions of similarity between him and Aditya. “No there are no similarities between me and Aditya, however I have picked up various instances of my life and those of colleagues around me in the book. It doesn’t mean I have reflected their existence, I have just picked them and given them a very personal vantage,” Ravi said.

The book is about Aditya in love with his wife and a 6-year-old son. In spite of a happy family, he falls for a 23-year-old ambitious woman called Shreya Kaushik.

He says passion has become ephemeral without a desire for longevity or loyalty. “It is important writers write about these changes within society. All these changes are happening, talking about it allows discourse and space for a certain amount of acceptability. Treating it like a taboo is pointless.”

Ravi says women need to talk about how they feel and the need for more fruitful relationships more than anything else.