To say that Chennai based author Vibha Batra has a finger in many pies would be an understatement. She has a whole hand! From translating books on religious texts and writing short stories to dabbling in Young Adult fiction and penning song lyrics, Batra has been keeping busy. And with the release of her second YA novel, ‘Seventeen and Done! (You Bet)’, the lady has just upped the ante.
‘Seventeen and Done’ follows the story of Rinki Tripathi, who reluctantly moved from Delhi to Chennai in the last book. While there was a battle of the cities in the last one, Rinki takes a liking to Singara Chennai. “In this one, she comes to recognise the beauty of Chennai and she falls in love with the city!” says the author with a wide grin. “Who doesn’t fall for Chennai?” she winks.
The bubbly author, whose book went on sale earlier this month, says her character is all praise for the city. “She makes up a comparison chart for Chennai and Delhi and at the end of it realises that it is like true love,” she says.
Rinki goes to the hip beaches in the city, hangs out at Spencer Plaza and watches a thalaivar padam at the Devi theatre — her metamorphosis from a fashionable Delhi schoolgirl into a Chennai ponnu nearly complete. But she still has board exams to deal with. Not to mention two boys fighting over her and with her and she has a new grandmother to boot. “She’s seventeen and she has a lot of trouble. But she deals with it in her own way,” reveals Batra.
The author has her plans for the books, which she intends to make into a five-book series. So what’s next in store for Rinki? “What’s next? College is next, that’s what. Rinki will get to go to college and deal with whatever life throws at her then. It’s all very exciting,” Batra beams.
But does she have plans to write in other genres as well? “I don’t know,” says Batra. “I would definitely love to do some travel writing, as I love travelling. It’s something everyone reads, and of course, my husband would read it,” she says and adds conspiratorially, “He doesn’t read my young adult novels. But he does give suggestions as to what to write and what not,” she says with a laugh.
But whatever she writes will always have that tinge of self-deprecating humour.
“It will be very entertaining. I love to write humour,” she discloses.
‘Seventeen and Done! (You Bet)’ is now in bookstores.
