My latest book is The One Who Swam With The Fishes.

"A mesmerizing account of the well-known story of Matsyagandha ... and her transformation from fisherman’s daughter to Satyavati, Santanu’s royal consort and the Mother/Progenitor of the Kuru clan." - Hindustan Times

"Themes of fate, morality and power overlay a subtle and essential feminism to make this lyrical book a must-read. If this is Madhavan’s first book in the Girls from the Mahabharata series, there is much to look forward to in the months to come." - Open Magazine

"A gleeful dollop of Blytonian magic ... Reddy Madhavan is also able to tackle some fairly sensitive subjects such as identity, the love of and karmic ties with parents, adoption, the first sexual encounter, loneliness, and my favourite, feminist rage." - Scroll



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25 May 2012

Working Gal

Oh my god, it has been TOO LONG.  But, I have some very good excuses. For one, I find myself back in gainful employment once more. I finished my third book in April. It looks really good, I think, and should be out at the end of this year. So yay! (Of course, I'm totally hoping it comes out before my birthday, because three books at 30 sounds so much cooler than three books at 31.) Anyway, so that done, I considered the rest of my year.There was always the possibility of being a beach bum (well, a Delhi version of a beach bum anyway),but eh, I felt the need to do something, to be all work-call-on-my-mobile and oh, can't stay darling, must rush. I kinda imagined heels clicking on a marble floor. I'm not  sure why, I very rarely wear heels, and if I was on a marble floor, I'd go barefoot or skate in socks. But there was this whole Short Skirt/Long Jacket thing going on, and so I decided to look for a job.

And, as luck would have it, one landed in my inbox the very next day. I've been reading Brown Paper Bag since my early days back in Bandra, always thought it was very cool and awesome and then they came to Delhi and we were all "Yay! Delhi totally needs something like this!" and at the same time I was a little jealous, because, y'know, I know Delhi! I can be fabulous! But then I figured someone else would do the job and I'd content myself with just reading about stuff and thinking that I totally knew more stuff, sulkily to myself.

AND THEN, one morning my email said that they were hiring and interested people should email their resumes, so I blew the dust off mine, updated it from, oh, 2007? and mailed it off, and whaddayaknow? I got the job. So, I'm currently editing the Delhi site and having an excellent time doing it too. It IS very hot, it's the time of year when the weather is so all invading that it's hard to think about anything else, but we're trying, and we're staying fabulous. Sweaty, but fabulous.

Being back at work is a bit odd--for no other reason than how easy it was to switch hats again. A week of waking up earlier than normal, and my body clock reset. I thought it would take me a longer time to adjust to going from being in pajamas all day and being able to do what I liked when I liked to being employed and job like once more, but nope, it's like one life was just waiting, parallel to mine, on pause this whole time.

Here's what happened: I finished my third book and I sat there and looked at it for a bit and the thought occurred to me that this was IT. I had reached my life goal and now it was all plain sailing. "Now what?" I asked myself, "Aren't I bit young to be completely done with all my Things To Do?" It was lovely, but it felt a bit same-ish, and I was ready for a change. I'm good at knowing when I want a change, I switch cities and houses and lifestyles, and my instincts are usually correct, so I trust them implicitly. My instinct said, "Rejoin your day-job comrades!" so I did. I also knew that I wanted something challenging and exciting, no 9 to 5, no "office", something that changed every day and something where I was reasonably autonomous. And so, here I am, a little older, a little wiser, some of the same bad habits, some new good ones and doing something I like. This makes me happy; and in the end, that's all I really ever ask for. 



11 comments:

  1. Cant wait to find out how the new book is like! Btw....lucky you....Brown Paper Bag looks really cool!

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  2. Great news! Looking forward to reading anf gifting the new book to my friends! :D

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  3. Wow! Ur 3 books old now? And wiser for it I guess. Lookin forward to your new book. And the Brown Paper Bag Delhi website! Cheers!

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  4. Didnt know of BPB earlier.. its awesome.
    Kudos! for the book n for the new job!

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  5. That is so great eM! :) i love brown paper bag and i think you are SO right for this job :)
    All the best!!

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  6. wow 30 and done!! great job...congrats on completing ur 3rd book!

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  7. need to go look up "Brown Bag"..lived in Bandra for 20 years!

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  8. Hey congrats on your 3rd book..... I will surly read it...

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  9. Hey eM, I found a smile on my face after I had read this post. Happy. Happy for you too.

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