India, Jan. 29 -- You note in the Prologue that readers may take your book as a manifesto; however, several personal bits in The Art of Being Fabulous make it appear that Shalini Passi, as most of her viewers know her through Fabulous Lives vs Bollywood Wives, is claiming her personhood beyond what she is perceived to be. Was that intentional?

The vulnerability wasn't calculated - it was necessary. For years, people have seen fragments of me: the reality TV personality, the art collector, the Delhi socialite. Each label felt like a beautiful frame, but [it was] limiting. When I began writing, I realised I had been living in compartments, constantly editing myself depending on the context.

Writing became an act of reclamation - not defen...