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Q6. How do you think concepts such as Kindle, and e-books have changed the present or future of reading?
I believe that the Kindle and eBooks are a great way of helping people read more books, in more moments and in more places than they would have otherwise. I am a total bookworm, and at any given time, am often reading two or more books. Having books available in eBooks means I can carry multiple books with me, without even carrying a single physical book, and read at all times of the day. When I’m really into a book, I’ll often read it even while going up the elevator to office or home! The one downside is that reading on a phone or tablet is never distraction free (which is why I so prefer reading on a Kindle v/s the Kindle app on my phone). In my generation, the love of books was generated and sustained by visits to libraries and bookstores. There’s a certain magic to sitting in a library or bookstore, browsing titles, discussing with the staff about books, or chatting with a friend about books you have read. Having said that, technology perhaps is enabling that social aspect of reading to come to life as well through networks like Goodreads and enabling readers to directly connect with writers and like-minded readers on social media.
Q7. If you could live anywhere in the world, which country would you choose and why?
I’ve lived in multiple places over the world, and travelled on work or holiday to well over a hundred cities in over fifty countries. That experience has taught me that diversity is to be embraced and people everywhere are more similar than superficial differences may have us believe. That also means that I’m happy to make my home in many different places- as a family we lived in Bangkok and Singapore for many years before moving back to India in 2014, and we have amazing memories of those places and the people and culture there. Having said all that, if you asked me to pick one country where I would really want to choose to live- it would be India. I feel lucky to be from a country that for all its imperfections, is an amazing melting pot which has welcomed and assimilated diverse cultures, is a democracy where individual freedom and liberty still counts, and one whose people have such a strong optimistic spirit and desire to move ahead in life. When you travel the world and visit so many other countries, you realise you can’t take those for granted and how we often don’t appreciate what we have.