You grew up in Bengaluru, worked in Kashmir for a while and now live in the United States. Have these different geographies impacted your style of writing?
That's an excellent question, one that I ask myself frequently. I haven't been able to come up with an answer, and I suspect I will only much later be able to see the particular effects of these landscapes on my work. For now, the thing I'm certain of is that living in so many places has made me far more sensitive to my surroundings, and that is a useful quality for a writer.

What do you make of the current discourse around the Valley?
Everyone these days seems to have vociferous opinions on the so-called "Kashmir issue," especially those who do not live there, but few seem to remember that when we toss around that phrase, we are talking first and foremost about people. We are not talking about political constructs or historical abstractions, but about families and babies and students and the elderly and the sick. Remembering this is the only way to give discussions around Kashmir their proper weight and seriousness.

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Is this your first trip to Mumbai? What are your impressions of this city?
This is my second trip to Mumbai, and it will take many more before I'm able to come to any definition of the city beyond the usual clichés. From this trip, however, I'll carry home a small, silly detail: the way that taxi drivers jerk their chins ever so subtly to tell you to get in. The first few times, I was utterly confused, because I thought they were saying no, but now I find it quite charming.

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