Each Saturday, we ask our founder, Namrata, one thoughtful question, on books, writing, cinema, or publishing. One question. One insight. Every week.
Question of the Week: Tell us about your book, A Lost Wanderer. For you, what are some of the most memorable highlights of putting the book together? The people you met, the places you visited, the memories you compiled – what stands out? Would you like to narrate any particularly unforgettable incidents that may have taken place during your journeys, which are mentioned in the book?
I wrote the first draft of A Lost Wanderer in four months and the whole process was nothing less than catharsis. This book was my escape route at that time and it helped me heal in many ways. That has to be the most memorable highlight of putting this book together.
I would say the people I met stand out. I have already written a part 2 and 3 for this one which also means I travelled to other places too apart from the ones mentioned in this book. During my travels, I realized that people make a place. They add that special touch to that place and make it magical. Otherwise, all places end up being the same. The kindness of strangers is what makes the world a better place. As a solo woman traveller, there are many fears that one has to brave. But some beautiful souls make these journeys beautiful.
It could be the flower lady in Kolkata from whom I used to buy flowers daily and who used to always give me flowers more than what I bought. Sometimes even special ones, just her way of saying I appreciate you. Or that old lady I met in Ladakh who ran a homestay. I stayed at her house during one of my many trips to Ladakh. Her love language was sharing plates of cut fruits as I used to sit and write at night. She always told me, ‘I see a new Ladakh through you.’
Or Janaki Amma, whom I met at one of the old age homes in Varanasi. This wasn’t a typical old age home; it was one where you came when you were waiting for your death. She had been living there for 3 years when I met her.
I remember asking her, “How does it feel to wait for your death?”
Her answer was,
“Isn’t death something we all have in our minds since the time we are born? We know we are going to die but don’t know when. We keep going through life and its ups and downs despite knowing this. So, is this any different?”
Or even that gentleman who was sitting next to me on the train to Mumbai. It was my first solo journey for a very important interview. All through the journey, he saw me reading and preparing something while he was praying with a rosary in his hand. As we neared Mumbai Central he blessed me and wished me all the luck for whatever I was going to Mumbai for.
I am sharing an excerpt with you from A Lost Wanderer. This excerpt captures the soul of my journey. It emphasizes how we are all alone at the end of the day, but still not lonely as we brave this world together. We might not know each other intimately but we do share fears and insecurities just like we share joys and touches of laughter.
Read an exclusive excerpt from A Lost Wanderer by Namrata
Epiphany (n) – a moment of sudden revelation
Day Zero
Dear N,
Just those few hours spent with you have given me memories I am going to come back to, time and again. Never for even a moment had it felt like we are meeting for the first time. It’s after a long time I met someone who has curiosity oozing out of her. That twinkle in your eyes as you look around is something I will remember for a long time. You seemed like a 5-year-old in a fair, such infectious energy!
Love,
Iti
The breeze gently ruffled my hair as I wiped an imaginary tear clouding my vision after reading this letter for the umpteenth time. As someone who has spent a few decades on this earth, you might be aware of the quarter-life crisis which is replete with long, endless nights where except for the ticking of the clock nothing else is working. Neither your heart nor your mind! It was one such night. I was tired. No, strike that. My soul was tired.
Nothing seemed right and to top it all I didn’t know how to set it right. Being in pain is a constant feeling I had. A deep elegiac feeling refused to leave me as if something was missing within, and strangely, I didn’t know what. Seconds turned into minutes and minutes into hours with nothing productive happening. Deadlines kept whooshing past and my list of pending tasks to be done kept on increasing.
That night, as I sat by the window, staring at a sleeping world, I wondered – where do I belong? It is said, “Home is where the heart is.” But my heart is no longer here, confined in the four walls of this room. When I’d first come to this city, I had brought along a lot of hopes. Today, what remains are their broken remnants.
My heart is lost in the noise this city calls music. And also, somewhere in the streets where you can find everything that you want to buy, but nothing that you need to have. Strangely enough, from the time I leave this room, I am not alone for a single moment. People, in all forms, shapes and sizes are around me. Running, walking, singing, chasing their dreams – is how I see them; being pushed by life is how they are. And yet, a strange sense of quietude envelopes me all the time. Everything is and still, everything is not.
About the Book
Laze on the sunny beaches of Australia, drown your worries at the Varanasi Ghats or get lost in the endless roads of Pangong Lake – A Lost Wanderer book promises to infect you with an incurable wanderlust. Sprinkled with liberal doses of real life incidences and stories these pages capture the real magic of a place through its people in the perfect manner.
Be it the old man climbing the Sydney Eye at the age of 80 or the lonesome kid at Nubra Valley they promise to redefine life like never before. Fasten your seat belts as you embark on a journey of a lifetime with A Lost Wanderer where the greys of life are accentuated to create the most spectacular silhouette to warm your insides.
About Namrata, Founder- Keemiya Creatives
Namrata is the founder of Keemiya Creatives, a literary consultancy based in Mumbai, and Bookbots India, an initiative bringing transparency to publishing and book marketing. She also hosts The Bookbot Theory, a podcast that makes book marketing accessible for authors and creators worldwide.
She is the editor of Kitaab, a Singapore-based South Asian literary magazine, and a published author with a focus on travel, relationships, and gender. Her travelogue-cum-memoir, A Lost Wanderer: A Book of Memories, reflects her deep connection with storytelling. A UEA alumna, she has also studied travel writing at the University of Sydney.
She also writes a weekly column on literature called, Between the Lines.
As an independent editor and book reviewer, her work has appeared in Asian Review of Books, Scroll, Contemporary South Asia Journal (King’s College London), The Friday Times, Feminism in India, and more. Her short stories have been featured in various anthologies, and she has published two short story collections of her own. She is currently working on her debut novel.
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