What got you started on a tale about the darker recesses of one’s mind?
I’ve always been interested in how our childhood affects us but it was an episode on a US radio documentary series called

This American Life that was the impetus for the book Playing. A man had set up an answering machine for anonymous confessions — to unburden the confessor.

The machine was soon flooded with confessions, some silly like, “I stole money from my mom’s wallet when I was 12,” and some heartbreaking. One involved a man admitting to something he had done as a small child that he had never told anyone and that had had a devastating effect on his family.

I wondered what the pain and guilt of this act had done to this man and what kind of person he had become because of this one irrevocable moment.

Was it your intention to disturb and shock the reader?
I’m not sure there’s anything truly shocking in the book. If you’re asking about the sex, people are being exposed to different kinds of lifestyles, so I don’t think the descriptions of (protagonists) Josie and Devesh’s sex life are anything new or outrageous.

If they are, perhaps readers who might have viewed this type of sex as deviant or perverse before reading the novel will be more open to the complexities of those who engage in it, which is what I was most interested in. If readers also find it thrilling or erotic, that’s an added bonus.

Considering the hero Devesh is of Indian origin, can we look for more Indian elements in the book?
The book deals a lot with fate and how much we’re affected by our choices and controlled by our circumstances, so the concepts of karma and dharma fit right in. And, of course, along with an Indian character comes a splash of Bollywood.

How much research has gone into creating Josie’s character?
She grows up in southern California, a child of very rich parents. This didn’t take a whole lot of research since I also grew up there. She’s also an anthropology graduate student, studying African burial rituals, and this did take a good deal of research as I had to make sure her studies were authentic. But when I write, I find that I mostly end up doing most of the emotional research internally —- imagining what I would feel if I was in a character’s shoes.

Playing has already been acquired for translation in three different languages.
Actually, it’s four: French, Italian, German and Hebrew. It’s a pleasant surprise when others appreciate what you’ve worked so hard on.

What changes has the birth of your daughter Leela Sidney Chandra brought in your life? Will motherhood change your thoughts as a writer too?
Having only 11 weeks of motherhood to draw on, I don’t think I have much to reflect on as yet. Life is pretty much a continual loop of feeding, rocking and cuddling right now. There isn’t much time to write, but I’m totally enjoying it. Taking time off from writing can often bring about much richer wells to draw from.

Has your husband Vikram Chandra influenced you?
Vikram is my first reader and my go-to guy when I’m unsure of plot points or character development. It’s so nice having a fellow writer at my constant disposal, particularly one I so greatly admire.

Which Indian authors do you like and why?
Arundhati Roy’s The God of Small Things is one of my favourite books. I like Rohinton Mistry’s A Fine Balance because of its incredibly accurate portrayal of Mumbai. Salman Rushdie’s Midnight’s Children changed the way I looked at writing fiction.