Purbasha Ghosh, a writer in the midst of her own life’s narrative, draws from her turbulent childhood and diverse experiences to craft compelling stories. Transitioning from architecture to writing, she embarks on a journey of self-discovery, challenging societal norms along the way. As a solo mother based in Kolkata, Ghosh infuses her narratives with personal insights and emotional depth, inviting readers to explore the complexities of human relationships and the pursuit of authenticity.
The Literature Times: “Anatomy of a Half Truth” delves into complex themes of relationships and self-discovery. What inspired you to explore these themes in your book?
Purbasha Ghosh: Aren’t our relationships theatrical productions, in which we all endlessly re-stage the dramas of our histories? We might be under the illusion that we are the heroes and heroines of our interpersonal melodramas, but it seems to me, there is always an off-stage cast of shadow characters behind the scenes, running the show. I am fascinated by this psychological dimension, which puppeteers the visible plots of people’s lives. Maybe that’s why I undertook a narrative which allowed me to unravel the strings tethering the characters to shadow playwrights and directors in their pasts.
The Literature Times: What does receiving the Sahitya Sparsh Awards mean to you as an author, and how do you feel about being recognized for your work?
Purbasha Ghosh: I hope this recognition enables my novel to find its way to its readers. It will be my greatest award, if the work can shine a flickering candle into the dark, cob-webbed, rat-infested basements of my readers’ minds. You are not alone, we all have mouldy pasts, leaking sentimental pipes and unwieldy furniture of outdated psychological defences — cluttering the underworld, beneath the hand-tufted carpets of the Instagram-worthy drawing rooms of our lives.
The Literature Times: The narrative of your book seems to navigate the intricacies of human emotions and the consequences of half-truths. How did you approach crafting such a nuanced story?
Purbasha Ghosh: It would at best be a half-truth to say I crafted the narrative. The full-version of the truth is it was an organic process and the work evolved over seven years. The nuances emerged with successive drafts, along the prolonged gestation period, like new layers of foetal tissues — bones, viscera, muscle, skin, nail, hair etc.
The Literature Times: Kolkata serves as a backdrop for your story. What significance does this setting hold for you, and how does it influence the narrative?
Purbasha Ghosh: Much of the work entails nebulous portrayals of the characters’ interior lives. It was essential to anchor their fluid narratives to the solid, tangible bedrock of their settings. Kolkata was a natural and convenient choice. The rich cultural heritage and absolute mayhem, which co-habit the streets of my hometown, like a squabbling old couple, has always amused me.
The Literature Times: The protagonist, Spriha, seems to grapple with internal conflicts throughout the book. Can you share more about her character development and what readers can expect from her journey?
Purbasha Ghosh: Uncovering her internal conflict was a diagnostic process. As the stakes of the external plot intensified, Spriha’s character imploded to reveal greater depths and tensed dynamics fermenting inside her too.
The Literature Times: The title “Anatomy of a Half Truth” suggests an exploration of deception and its repercussions. What insights do you hope readers will gain from your exploration of this theme?
Purbasha Ghosh: I hope the readers are reminded that, transparency is paramount between partners in intimate relationships. That said, one needs to take a Healer’s judicious approach towards administering truth. Truth is a potent medicine. There are times when the truth heals, but at times an overdose of it, might hurt too. Sometimes our circumstances force us to titrate our honesty, as in extreme cases, the side-effects of a harsh truth might also be lethal for a relationship.
The Literature Times: Your author biography mentions your transition from architecture to writing. How has this journey shaped your perspective as a storyteller?
Purbasha Ghosh: I am still struggling to navigate the transition, still flailing and gasping for breath at times. The truth is I can’t tell with any certainty if I will make it to the other shore, or this audacious move will drown me. What I know for sure is even if I fail, I shall never regret, swimming off the safe bank of my architectural profile, into the unknown currents of the literary world.
While architecture pertains to forms and structure, storytelling is a fluid artform. I hope while chronicling the novel, I have been able to transpose some of the rigour and precision of architecture ,onto the flowing streams of my characters’ emotional lives. To phrase it differently, my architectural outlook provided me a structural framework, upon which I poured the characters’ sentimental slurry, like a runny concrete mix. Eventually it solidified into the novel.
The Literature Times: As a solo mother, how do your personal experiences influence your writing, particularly in crafting characters and relationships?
Purbasha Ghosh: A mother is glorified by our media, as this mythic being, personifying all that is good, nurturing and wholesome. In reality, a mother is not some goddess but a flawed human being, like everyone else. Being a mother itself, single or otherwise, is challenging in our times. Being a solo mother, one is confronted with additional issues: social stigma, financial strain, career constraints, to enumerate just a few. A single mother often tries doubly hard to prioritise her child, yet what looms largest in her psyche is always the question, ‘what if…her child grows up to resent her decisions?’ In the novel, the protagonist Spriha too grapples with these facets of solo motherhood.
The Literature Times: Your narrative seems to challenge societal expectations and norms. What message or takeaway do you hope readers will glean from your book?
Purbasha Ghosh: That, it is okay to be different. That our uniqueness is our strength and not our liability. That, there is beauty in broken things. That even the cracks in our past and the crevices of our mistakes, can be accentuated with gold-lacquer of meaning and insight, to craft the special kintsugi of our lives.
The Literature Times: The plot of your book unfolds through various locations and scenarios. Can you discuss your process for world-building and creating immersive settings?
Purbasha Ghosh: The setting is a crucial device to externalise a character’s mental state. A lot can be conveyed about one’s psychological make-up by the way one observes a scene. The same person, might see the identical place, with completely new eyes, when looking at it through a different emotional frame. While the locations in the novel are rather quotidian, I tried to focus on special details which would enliven the narrative in the readers’ mind, as well as serve as a windows to the characters’ interior worlds.
The Literature Times: Finally, what future projects or endeavors can readers look forward to from Purbasha Ghosh?
Purbasha Ghosh: I am dabbling with something new. It is still amorphous, like a lump of wet clay. However, I am beginning to see the shape of a novel grow, as the idea reels and revolves like a potter’s wheel in my mind. The project is too nascent for me to encapsulate articulately. All I can say at this stage is, it will circumambulate the themes of loss, remorse and redemption, perhaps at a collective level.