As a practising dentist putting smiles would have always been a routine job. Hence, in her debut novel ‘It’s All About Smiles’, Dr Ranjani Iyer Arumugam, it is only natural that the smile factor continues to occupy the centrestage.
“It was a therapeutic experience for me. My kids had grown up and I was in a vocation that demanded 24*7 efforts. I was really bored of the routine and I had to do something for a change. I thought of writing the book during the time,’ she says, in a tete-a-tete with City Express on the sidelines of the book’s launch at Amethyst Café.
Chronicling the story of Aditi Raman through her experience as a dental student and later as a private practitioner, ‘It’s All About Smiles’ is a light-hearted tale. Hilarious, heart-warming and romantic, the tome is an engaging tale of Raman’s encounters and the people who season her life with the varied emotions.
“The book has a few real-life incidents and some characters as well. They have all been interwoven with a bit of everything in it—humour, poignancy and laugh out loud moments. Romantics are going to love it,” she laughs, talking about the book that took her two years to pen.
So, what does she think about her foray into the world of Indian literature.
With a growing platform for Indian authors, Indian writing has come a full circle. Dr Iyer reckons that authors like Chetan Bhagat has paved the way for many writers. “We have some real good Indian authors. I think, Chetan Bhagat has done the world well by ushering in a change. It is not just full-time writers, but also people, who take up writing as a hobby. They finding the space to showcase their works,” she adds.
The dentist-turned-author is multi-faceted -- a trained Hindustani singer, cookery buff and an avid reader—who worships the works by veterinarian-writer James Herriot. “When it comes to books and reading, it is James Herriot for me. I think the world of him,” she gushes. An inspiration well-drawn!
Dr Iyer has a couple of more ideas up her sleeves, but chooses to speak less about it. “I would want to explore more about slice of life stories that again have an element of everything in it,” she says, quickly adding, “Inshah Allah, I should be writing more stories.”
