India, Oct. 31 -- You have translated many novels. What were the new creative highs and lows that you experienced?

Well, I wrote the basics of the novel about 10 years ago, but I was at the same time having a lot of success with my translations and artwork, so I did not try as hard as I should have to place it. By success, what I mean is that I was able to translate something, or paint something and get it published or shown in an art exhibition. To me, that is the definition of creative success - to be able to create something and send it out in the world. When I can't send work out into the world so easily, it seems to fester. So, I allowed this to fester, until Chirag Thakkar - my editor at Bloomsbury - said he would like to see some ...