Indian writer

Uday Prakash writes primarily in Hindi; he is one of the rare vernacular writers whose novel The Girl with the Golden Parasol will be published in the U.S. by an American publishing house (Yale University Press).

The book is about caste prejudices in modern India seen through the lens of a love story.

Uday Prakash has also answered some questions about writing, and they are of appalling quality.

I love to read interviews of authors and the segment "By the Book" in the NYT Sunday Book Review, is one of my favorite weekly reads. When writers respond to a set of standard questions, they, I believe are at their creative best, because the onus to answer uniquely is on them.

There is a similar segment in the "India Ink" section of NYT, started, I think, in light of the Jaipur Literary Festival. The Indians get less complicated questions.

Look at what the writer Uday Prakash has to say in response to a question about criticism:

"How do you deal with critics?"

No author should deal with critics. Don’t worry about them. They try to stunt your growth.

I haven't come across a more absolutist and irrational position on criticism.

Here is the rest:

Q. What are the occupational hazards of being a writer?

A.This profession doesn’t pay you enough.

Q.What is your everyday writing ritual?

A.I can write when I am alone. I do most of my writing in my village of Sitapur in Madhya Pradesh.

Q.Why should we read your latest book, “The Walls of Delhi”?

A.The overarching theme of the book is corruption and systemic failure. The novel is set in Delhi, and it tells you how difficult it is to make a living in Delhi through sheer hard work and honesty.

Q.Why does the Jaipur Literature Festival matter to you?

A.It is a lottery for me that my work has been shortlisted for the DSC Prize for South Asian Literature. It means a lot to me when I see people like Binayak Sen and Mahasweta Devi. This is a liberal platform. It gives dignity to an author.

Ok, so I understand that the interview was conducted in Hindi and translated into English. But even in Hindi, these responses are brusque and silly, and diminish, in my eyes, the stature of the author.