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I am a story teller, not a writer: Laila Wadia

A multilingual storyteller born in India, Laila Wadia now lives in Italy where she teaches English at the University of Triest. A translator, interpreter, journalist, poet, playwright and screenplay writer, Wadia has won several awards and has published numerous novels and short story collections in Italian on intercultural issues, migration, food and women’s issues including ‘Il testimone di Pirano’ (Infinito Edizioni), and ‘Kitchensutra’.

When asked what inspired her to start writing, Wadia said, “I decided to become a writer as a challenge. I had moved to Italy and someone told me I’d never be able to master the language.”

Wadia, who has published books like  ‘Pecore Nere’ (Laterza), ‘Mondopentola’ (Cosmo Iannone), ‘Amiche per la pelle’ and ‘Se tutte le donne’ (Barbera 2012), feels that engaging in the act of discovery while writing is just as important as having a fine plot. “I work out a loose plot and then allow my characters to take over”, says Wadia, who feels that it is a writer’s job to create. “The hardest thing about writing any book is deciding when to stop”, she added.Talking about her latest book ‘Kitchensutra’ she said, “‘Kitchensutra’ is a translingual book of erotic food poetry. It’s haikus on love, passion, language and with a two tiered reading: earthly love and divine love. My inspiration was drawn from Rumi and Pablo Neruda.”

 ‘Babylon Sisters’ is an adaptation of Wadia’s novel ‘Amiche per la pelle’ will be released as a movie later this year for which she has also written the screenplay. The movie is about four immigrants of Indian origin, Croatian, Turkish and Kurdish Chinese who live with their families on the outskirts of Trieste. ‘Babylon Sisters’ will be directed by Gigi Roccati who won the award for the best documentary for his direction in The Road to Kabul.

Writing characters of the opposite sex is one of the most difficult things a writer has to deal with, while writing. Speaking on this topic, Wadia said, “I am a very feminine writer but I also wrote a fictional biography of a man. Writing means living the character’s life so once I got into the life of the protagonist, it was okay.”

Wadia admits that while she herself has not faced the much dreaded writer’s block, she constantly asks herself if people would want to read what she writes.“Success is not a goal for me” says Wadia. “Conversations and bridging cultures is what I strive for. I am a story teller not a writer. A writer writes, a storyteller listens and converses.”
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