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Susmita Bhattacharya

Goodreads Author

Born

in Mumbai, India

September 07

Website

http://susmita-bhattacharya.blogspot.co.uk/

Twitter

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Genre

Fiction

Member Since

September 2012

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Susmita was born in Mumbai, India. Her debut novel, The Normal State of Mind was published by Parthian in March 2015.

Susmita's short stories have been published in anthologies and journals in the U.K. and internationally.She has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize and got a commendable short story prize in the Frome Festival Short Story Contest. Her story has been broadcast on BBC Radio 4.

She has an MA in Creative Writing and runs writing workshops in her community.

She’s travelled on oil tanker ships with her husband for three years and will write about her sea adventures one day. ...more

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I am curious to know more about your book - The Normal State of Mind. What is it all about and what inspired you to write it in the first place?

Susmita Bhattacharya Dear Sucheta,

Thank you for your questions. Here goes:

The Normal State of Mind is a story of love and friendship. The story revolves around the friends…moreDear Sucheta,

Thank you for your questions. Here goes:

The Normal State of Mind is a story of love and friendship. The story revolves around the friendship between Dipali, a widow and Moushumi, a lesbian, and the issues they face in their lives. It is set in 1990s India, the time around the Hindu-Muslim riots and the bomb blasts in Mumbai. As the blurb on the book says:

It’s the end of a millennium. India has made tremendous progress in science and technology, but in these times of economic boom can a friendship between two women give them the power to defy society, and law, to reach for their dreams?

Dipali, a young bride, is determined to make her marriage a success story. But her plans are cut short when her husband is killed by a bomb blast in Mumbai and she struggles to find her place in life. In Calcutta, as Moushumi’s parents discuss potential husbands, the school teacher prefers to escape to her high-flying lover. But how long can she keep her forbidden affair secret beyond the safe walls of glamorous art crowd parties? In the midst of communal riots, India too has to make her own decisions about which traditions she must keep, and which she ought to let go. At the end of it all, who can decide what is the normal state of mind?

I started the novel as a dissertation for my Masters in Creative Writing at Cardiff University. I knew that to be able to stick with the novel to completion, I’d have to write about a) something that I knew about and am familiar with, therefore it is set in Mumbai and Calcutta and explores friendship between women; b) look for answers to questions I had not asked earlier: homosexuality and its representation and acceptance in India and c) explore the concepts that are so important to me ie freedom of expression and freedom to live as individuals without having to conform to society (especially in the case of women).

I answered these questions in an interview here, http://theasianwriter.co.uk/2015/04/s... if you'd like to know more,

I hope you will read the book and find it interesting,

Best wishes

Susmita(less)

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five favorite book of yours and why are those special to you?

Susmita Bhattacharya Difficult to limit it to just 5, but here goes:
1. A Fine Balance - Rohington Mistry - it's a saga, set in Mumbai and I love all of Mistry's works.
2. T…moreDifficult to limit it to just 5, but here goes:
1. A Fine Balance - Rohington Mistry - it's a saga, set in Mumbai and I love all of Mistry's works.
2. The Hungry Tide - Amitav Ghosh - the language, the concept, the story - amazingly good. But then it is Amitav Ghosh.
3. Too Much Happiness - Alice Munro - I love short stories, and admire Munro's writing
4. The World According to Garp - John Irving - because John Irving is a class apart
5. My father's Tears - John Updike - again, these short stories are gems

Hope you can read them and see if you agree! Best wishes,
Susmita(less)

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Susmita Bhattacharya’s books

Average rating: 3.91 · 180 ratings · 56 reviews · 18 distinct works • Similar authors

	The Normal State of Mind 3.64 avg rating — 78 ratings — published 2015 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Gathering: Women of Colour on Nature by Durre Shahwar (Editor), Nasia Sarwar-Skuse (editor), Adeola Dewis (contributor) 4.31 avg rating — 58 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Table Manners 4.13 avg rating — 54 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	You Are Not Alone by Gemma Amor (Goodreads Author) (Contributor), Susmita Bhattacharya (Goodreads Author) (Contributor), Astra Bloom (Contributor) 4.06 avg rating — 16 ratings — published 2020	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Tales By Tiresias it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 1 rating — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Spice 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The concept of equality: A philosophical enquiry (A Writers Workshop greybird book) 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Lost Atlantis & other poems 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Cygni 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Flash Fusion: An Anthology of Flash Fiction and Conversations on Craft with South Asian Writers by Susmita Bhattacharya (Goodreads Author) (Editor), Anita Goveas (Goodreads Author) (Editor), Farhana Khalique (Editor) 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars