If there is one thing Tahira Kashyap Khurrana has learned from life, it’s that kindness and humour take you a long way. While self-realizations are a continuous part of our journeys, the writer and filmmaker shares that she marvels at times how she has reacted to certain situations in the past, as 
compared to how she reacts to them now. “There was a time I was in the rut of living life which would give me anxiety. Now, it’s a very conscious effort to be aware of what’s happening,” she says. That’s also a learning she has shared in her latest book, The 12 Commandments of Being A Woman. “Each moment and every day of my life, I am evolving. We are meant to evolve as human beings. And if you have not made that progression, then you know you are stuck in a loop,” she says.
Tahira’s fourth book has garnered appreciation from established writer Twinkle Khanna, who has called it ‘downright honest and delightful’. So we caught up with the author for a delightful chat about all things books.
TMM: A book about women or by a woman author you enjoyed reading?
Tahira Kashyap Khurrana: My favourites keep changing but recently, I picked up Three Daughters of Eve by Elif Shafak and thought it was beautiful. What I like is that she touches upon mysticism, humanity, goodness, and spirituality – inherent qualities that we should all have.
TMM: If you could invite a couple of female authors – dead or alive – for a tea party?
TKK: Elif ShafaK, Ismat Chughtai, Sudha Murty, and JK Rowling.
TMM: A genre you would like to try writing?
TKK: I want to go absolute fantasy. Murakami does that beautifully, creating urban fantasies that are magical.
TMM: The biggest fan of your writing?
TKK: I don’t always have my skinnier half’s approval but I have seen him smiling and smirking while reading what I have written. But my biggest fan has to be my daughter.
TMM: What’s your favourite writing spot?
TKK: Despite having a dedicated writing space at home, I find some or the other nook for myself. While writing this one, it was my dining table and nobody could move me from there. I become very protective of my territory.
TMM: Do you re-visit your earlier books?
TKK: No, I cringe! One doesn’t write the way they wrote five years ago. There is a remarkable difference. I don’t read what I have written earlier.
TMM: A genre that you dislike?
TKK: I don’t like gory horror.
TMM: A book from your childhood that you can still pick up and read?
TKK: The Little Prince
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