1. THE BIG STORY
Five women. One passion.The written word.At an impromptu writers’enclave, they talk
to Team Femina about how they turned a page and found themselves face to face with an
adventurous journey. So gripping that they were compelled to pen it down and script a new
chapter for themselves. Photographs: Charles Joseph
strokes
Write

2. authors who believe that is the
way to go. In fact, every
established publishing house
runs a self publishing division
and I’ve been flooded with calls
from different publishing
companies in the US and
Australia insisting that is the
future of publishing.
Beyond boundaries
"We live in a very global
world and Indian writers have
broken all boundaries in
publishing history.
I do believe that you have to
be very proactive, resourceful
and use an innovative
approach to reach out to
different audiences.With
thousands of books vying for
space in bookstores, one has
to do a lot more than book
readings at bookstores.
Next chapter please?
"From birthing the
biography to delivering it to
HarperCollins India has been a
mind-expanding and an
exhilarating experience that I
wouldn’t exchange for anything
in the world. But for now, I am
back to celebrating people and
their amazing stories at the
Times community newspaper
that I work for in New Zealand.
The launch of‘An Uncensored
Life’in UK, US, Dubai and
Mauritius is on the cards. One
thing that I have learnt in the
last three years whilst writing
Zerbanoo’s life story is to be
more aware of every adventure
that comes your way and
embrace it. Don’t just write
about it; live the dream—and I
intend to do just that!"
Mark your place
ItisagifttoplaywithwordsandFaridaMaster—formerscribeand
biographer—managesitartlessly.Atriflewindedpostherlatestwhirlwind
worldbooktourpromotinghernewestbiography, 'Anuncensoredlife’,she
tellsCorina B Manuelthatwritingbooksaregame-changingadventures
W
riting biographies
was more like a date
with destiny and
taking a leap of faith. I was at a
juncture in my life, where I
yearned for‘What next?’After
a lifetime of chasing deadlines.
It was more about being
mindful when opportunities
come your way.When I'd first
interviewed Zerbanoo Gifford
for a magazine article, which
covered top Zoroastrians of the
world who’d contributed to
humanity, I never imagined
that I would be writing her
biography someday or
spending time with her,
researching her incredibly
eventful life as a human rights
campaigner, women’s
champion and founder of the
Asha Leadership Centre in the
Forest of Dean, UK. It was
truly an all-consuming
experience. Like they say, be
careful what you ask for.Your
wish may be granted.
A journey unfolds
"The journey was quite
simply mind-boggling! Starting
with her neatly arranged
archives in the attic of her
home; I had never seen
anything like that before.!
There were hundreds of
articles written by journalists
all over the world. Meticulously
filed documents cards, notes,
photographs, newspaper
clippings elbowed for attention.
At first glance, I thought it
would take me a decade to go
through the wall-to-wall
cabinets that housed the
documentation.Also, she had
impacted so many lives in
different parts of globe which
meant I had to contact a never-
ending list of friends,
colleagues, political observers
to hear their stories.A lot of it
had to be edited in the final
PHOTOGRAPHSBYCHARLESJOSEPH;
HAIRANDMAKEUPBYSNEHARAWAL;
LOCATIONANDHOSPITALITYCOURTESYBLUEFROGPUNE
draft since every one couldn’t
be fitted in.
"Zerbanoo is a fiery lady
who believes in the 'power of
now’it was at times hard to
keep up with her physically,
mentally and emotionally.
Sometimes as she jumped
from one chapter of her life to
another; I had to figure out the
timelines and sequence of
events. However, the most
difficult part was digging deep
to uncover those hurtful
incidents in her life that she
had locked away in the inner
recesses of her mind. I felt
terrible about opening up old
wounds to understand the
intricate weaves in the fabric of
her life, and how they spun out.
She now calls me her shrink
and recommends that
everyone should have a
biography written!
On the sleeve
"There is a huge sea
change that has shaken up the
journalistic and the publishing
world! The wonderful part is
that we have all lived through it
and been a part of it.The art of
writing is no longer the domain
of writers and authors but is
peopled by bloggers and
denizens of the social media
world and brilliant YouTubers.
There are no rules, except to
break them.There are novels
written in text language with
specially created chapter for
mobile phones. It’s a
completely different book
game now. Publishing houses
are flooded with authors
waiting to be published as well
as thousands of self published
"
"THE'RE ARE NO
RULES, EXCEPT
TO BREAK THEM!"
February 08, 2016 • FEMINA • 15