Q 1 Tell us more about the book.
Inheritance is about Ash, a young millennial’s journey from South Africa to India, the land of his forebearers, to find his roots to claim his inheritance. Ash is a third-generation South African and identifies as such, so India is a very foreign experience for him. He is only interested in getting his inheritance and getting out, but India has other plans for him, including falling in love and finding himself.
Q 2 What themes or subjects do you often find yourself drawn to in writing?
Everyone is fighting a different battle, and everyone is trying to fit in and find a place and space in which they belong. I’ve found a sense of belonging in the most unexpected spaces, and love exploring this theme. I also love reading and writing about the Indian diaspora spread across the world and how we are all interconnected in some way.
Q 3 Describe a lesser-known aspect of Adheesh.
I am a hopeless romantic at heart and truly believe that love conquers all. In my younger days, I fell in and out of love very easily, but as I get older, I’ve found that love is more pragmatic, and in that way, I feel it is truer and deeper than I ever have before.
Q 4 Are there specific messages or feelings you hope your readers take away from your story?
I wanted to tell a story that is light and easy to read while having deeper undertones. I hope readers identify with the characters and enjoy spending a bit of their leisure time with them.
Q 5 Memorable incident while writing the book.
I wrote most of this book during the Covid-19 lockdowns, isolated from friends and family. It allowed me to truly immerse myself in the story and become close friends with the characters in the book.
Q 7 Tell us about the first book you read that made you cry.
Shantaram, when Prabaker dies. He was such a bright, positive, and sometimes over-the-top optimistic character that it felt like he was too good for this world, and that he was viciously ripped away from it.
Q 8 Given the complex publishing process in India, what was your experience?
As a South African Indian writing a book based in India, I wanted to publish it in India as I hoped that Indian readers would enjoy it. I struggled with my first publisher, and Paper Towns, who I publish with now, was like a breath of fresh air with their constant communication and dedication to making my book a reality.
Q 9 Do you believe that a writer needs to have strong emotions?
While many people have strong emotions, the writer is the one who takes those emotions and distills them onto the page in such a way that it invokes a whole new myriad of emotions in the reader. So I feel that it is more important to be able to evoke feelings in others than to not be able to express emotions no matter how strong in the written word.
Q 10 What inspires you to write?
I believe that everyone has a story or multiple stories to tell. I want to share my stories and enjoy the stories shared by everyone else. Every story is worth telling.
