Chaitali Bangre Talks About Her Literary Journey in Latest a Interview with TLT

Chaitali Bangre Talks About Her Literary Journey in Latest a Interview with TLT

Chaitali Bangre is an Author of “Way to fall in love and dreams” and “Itni si baat”. She began writing her debut novel after her younger sister tore her write-up. When she’s not writing, she can be found wandering, chilling and doing some little work at her office. She lives in Nagpur with her family and an attack dog. Before she started writing her fictional romance, she got an engineer’s degree. After that, just to shake things up, she did her MBA. Then she had worked with some really important people who are way too dignified to be named here. So, if you feel like gossiping someday, you can surely visit her on her social media account.

Akhila Saroha: I would like to begin by congratulating you on the publication of “The 2020 QuaranTime.” How has the response to the book been so far?Chaitali Bangre: Thank you so much! People were not expecting a book from me that had ground realities and COVID-19 experiences of people. When a few of them read the  book, they were extremely shocked that this content came from me. They were expecting another love story this time too.

Akhila Saroha: Your book, “The 2020 QuaranTime,” is a product of the work of real-life warriors. What led to the idea of writing “The 2020 QuaranTime”? Were there any events that inspired the work?
Chaitali Bangre: Actually, I have a friend, Shoeb with whom I keep interacting on a regular basis. One day, he told me about the extreme conditions he was facing while doing COVID-19 funerals. He narrated  a lot of real-life incidents that made me realize the harsh COVID-19 realities.  I then researched a bit about it, interacted with a few other warriors and came up with this “THE 2020 QUARANTIME” story. When I interviewed people for this book, I witnessed their journeys, I saw people shedding tears and I saw humanity taking birth everywhere. This touched me and that was one of the reasons why I thought of penning about a deadly virus and the COVID warriors.

Akhila Saroha: How easy or difficult was it for you to write and connect a contemporary subject with the learnings of Bhagwad Gita and also remain objective about them in “The 2020 QuaranTime”?
Chaitali Bangre: Well, when I was writing this book, I was going through one of the lowest phases of life. So, one day, my sister and my Mother adviced me to read the sacred ‘Bhagwad Gita’ that could heal me in some way or the other. Initially, I was skeptical to read as I am not much into spirituality. But later, when I started flipping the pages, I started getting ways for my problems. Later, I thought why not amalgamate the teachings of Lord Krishna’s Bhagwad Gita into my writings of real-life COVID experiences? And this was how, I came up with this concept of “THE 2020 QUARANTIME”. It was a bit difficult process to sink in and get through the teachings of Lord Krishna’s Bhagwad Gita at the initial days. But as time went by, things happened and I started absorbing shlokas which Shri Krishna narrated.

Akhila Saroha: The year 2020 gave birth to a new kind of literary writing. What are your views about those writings? Do you think it does complete justice in depicting human nature in the light of “The 2020 QuaranTime”?
Chaitali Bangre: Well, I really don’t have an answer to this. But, I would say that I wanted to write something real, something that would talk about people, their lives and the harsh-realities. Hence, this literary work was born.

Akhila Saroha: “The 2020 QuaranTime” shows the uniqueness of your style of writing. How is this book different from your previous 2 books? Please share a little about them with the readers.
Chaitali Bangre: As I mentioned earlier that “THE 2020 QUARANTIME” talks about Lord Krishna’s ‘Bhagwad Gita’ teachings and my COVID-19 writings, so this is an entirely different subject I wrote on.  My first two books were love stories that spoke about love, dreams and unions.

Akhila Saroha: The pandemic has impacted everyone in one way or the other. How would you categorize “The 2020 QuaranTime” as its appeal seems to be to a broad audience?
Chaitali Bangre: Literally, everyone has been through hell. This virus hasn’t spared even a single person and that is the only reason all of us can relate to it. While I was interacting with a few COVID warriors during its making, even I got to learn a lot from them. I was absorbing this pandemic and the process together. So, “CONNECT” is a word which would do justice with the asked question.

Akhila Saroha: “The 2020 QuaranTime” has given a powerful introduction to your potential as a writer. Can the readers expect more from you in the future? Please share about your future projects.
Chaitali Bangre: Right now, I have a few priorities that needs my attention. Talking about my future projects, right now I am waiting for a good subject that appeals and interests me. If I get through it, I would definetly start working on it. So, to answer this question, right now, waiting for things to fall in place, that’s all I can say!

Akhila Saroha: You have chosen a title that is relevant and best-suited. What is the story behind the creation of the title, “The 2020 QuaranTime”?
Chaitali Bangre: One day when I was discussing about my book with my younger sibling Anush, he asked me about the title of the book. For a second, I was mum and didn’t utter anything. He got to know from my expressions that I had not decided the title yet. Hence, he took the plunge and shared a list of his best suited titles for the book and this was how, “THE 2020 QUARANTIME”  was finalized. So, the credit goes to him!

Akhila Saroha: “The 2020 QuaranTime” shares that you read the Bhagwad Gita which answered many questions which you had. Do you have any other favorite writers or any which you read regularly?
Chaitali Bangre: There are a couple of Indian Authors who write well. Like, I loved reading, “THE EXTRA-ORDINARY LIFE AND DEATH OF SUNANDA PUSHKAR”, by Sunanda Mehta… The tiny detailing that she brought into her story was exceptional. But, I am all praises for “Seeking the Taj, A tale of Love and Awakening in a far country” by Elaine Williams. No one will ever beat this charm of weaving magic through his writings. This happens to be my favourite book of all time.

Akhila Saroha: In the present time, a new genre of “Quarantine literature”seems to be evolving. How would you categorize “The 2020 QuaranTime” as it is also a product of the same time, whether as a work of fiction or non-fiction?
Chaitali Bangre: Well, it’s a historical non-fiction.

Akhila Saroha: If you were to describe your book “The 2020 QuaranTime” in a few words without giving any spoilers, what would those words be?
Chaitali Bangre: A VIRUS CHANGED EVERYTHING!

Akhila Saroha: What advice would you give to budding writers who may be planning to write in the same genre as “The 2020 QuaranTime” or in the category of quarantine writing?
Chaitali Bangre: Be as real as you can and try to experience as much as you can!

Akhila Saroha: Thank you very much for sparing your time. I look forward to reading more books from you in the future. All the best.
Chaitali Bangre: Thank you so much Akhila! It connected very well! Good wishes to you too!

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