On Representation & Writing

Many years ago – about the time I started university, before I started this blog – I began to write a story based on Roman mythology. At the time, it seemed there were so many Greek mythology inspired novels out there that in order to stand out, Roman mythology was my only alternative. It never even occurred to me that perhaps Indian mythology, something I had grown up with, something so intrinsically tied to my culture and identity, was something I could write.

Seems a little sad to think about, doesn’t it?

Maybe that’s why despite having entire character arcs and plots planned, I could never write more than disconnected scenes for this story. Despite how much I liked the characters, I could not connect with them on a level that would let me write out the full story I wanted to.

It still did not occur to me that maybe if I looked at the story and tried to tell it with my own experiences colouring the narrative, it would feel more organic. Truth be told, it did not occur to me that anyone would ever want to read Indian voices telling Indian characters stories. I certainly barely saw those in international bookstores. Not until I was 24 years old, sitting in a Starbucks in the Auckland city centre and reading the main character in a novel tell a myth that was oddly, strangely familiar to me.

So familiar to me that when I placed it, I had to take a minute and put the book down and simply process it, taking to Twitter to ask Roshani Chokshi if I was imagining things.

She replied and told me that no, I was not. Her Indian heritage had inspired her to tell this story, and she was glad I felt seen by it.

Consider it: I was 24 years old. I had been reading books since I was 6. And this was the first time I felt represented in a book that was not an Indian history book or published in India.

The stories I began to write after that definitely took a turn into writing with my experiences, my culture in mind. They felt more organic, more me. I was no longer shying away from that – I had not even realised I had been, not when every story I had read prior to this had been the way I had been writing.

Now, I won’t say every character I write is Indian, because that is definitely not true. I won’t say every story I’m writing is drenched with Indian history and culture, because that is also not true. But my voice no longer feels inauthentic to me. And that.

That is a good place to start.

And maybe someday I will revisit that mythology inspired story and see if taking it through the lens of Indian mythology would help me actually finish it.

Who knows! All I can say is, I am going to keep writing with this more authentic voice I have found. And hopefully others won’t reach the age of 24 before they feel represented in a story.

• do you remember the first time you felt represented or seen in a story?
• what is one of your favourite mythology inspired stories?

If you like my content, consider leaving me a tip on Ko-fi!