Why did you write The Rabbit & The Squirrel
It was a gift for a friend who was leaving the country it was something to remember our shared time.
If it was a private gift, what made you publish it
Accidental good luck. I read it out to an artist friend, Stina Wirsén, who offered to illustrate it, and a private thing found a more public form. The book was published by Hemali Sodhi at Penguin Random House&mdasha close friend and ally who also worked on The Last Song of Dusk. This book was entirely a consequence of friendship.
The fable as a form has timeless appeal. What life lessons does The Rabbit & The Squirrel offer
To remember there are few equals of our heart, and imagination if we are lucky to meet them, then hold on to them. Love knows no form, gender, age.
Is your latest book at least partially autobiographical
Perhaps
Why haven&rsquot you published a book for a decade What&rsquos kept you busy
I head an arts foundation in Goa. I design houses to pay my bills. I write little pieces and do photography. The idea of being defined by what one does, does not appeal to me.
You&rsquore a bonafide globetrotter. Have your travels shaped the book in any way
Travel is a way to resign to the world&rsquos terrifying beauty, which can be a form of healing. If I hadn&rsquot gone to Stockholm, where I read the story to Stina, how would this book have come to life
Describe Siddharth Dhanvant Shanghvi in one word
Elusive.
THE RABBIT & THE SQUIRREL AN EXTRACT
The Squirrel had rejected all her suitors. She had said the Chipmunk was &lsquoa dentist&rsquos nightmare&rsquo. The Owl was &lsquowise but creepy as hell&rsquo. Moreover, she told her friend the Rabbit, &lsquoWe keep different hours, although that could have been the best thing about the marriage.&rsquo When the Rabbit had suggested a young gazelle, she held up her paw and remarked, &lsquoYou trying to hook me up with someone for whom &ldquoplaying the field&rdquo is a survival tactic&rsquo She cocked her left eyebrow.
&lsquoOh, Taily-boo, what will become of you&rsquo he asked her.
&lsquoI&rsquoll live high up in a tree, avoid everyone and drink in the afternoon.&rsquo
&lsquoYou won&rsquot see me either&rsquo
&lsquoPerhaps,&rsquo she said, although she was holding on to his lucky foot for dear life.
One day, her parents suggested a suitable&mdashand titled&mdashboar from a wealthy family.
&lsquoYou want me to marry a filthy wild pig simply because he&rsquos loaded&rsquo she shrieked, hoping to shock her parents.
&lsquoYes,&rsquo they said. &lsquoAnd because it is time you were married.&rsquo
A fortnight earlier, her mother had hosted a charity gala for orphan palm squirrels and expected her only spawn to attend. But, much to her chagrin, she saw her daughter make tracks from the gala dinner. Later, she was spotted with the Rabbit at a local bar, tap-dancing drunk on tables and whatnot.
Her parents had been annoyed and distraught. They had lost much sleep over the Squirrel&rsquos affinity for the Rabbit, whose reputation as a rake and castaway was notorious.
In protest of her arranged marriage, the Squirrel shut herself in her tree house for two days, oscillating between rage and sorrow. She hated the phrase &lsquoTime you were married&rsquo. It made her feel as if she were a can of beans with a sell-by date.
&lsquoThat&rsquos what you make me feel like,&rsquo she later complained to her mother. &lsquoA reduced-to-clear item on the shelf of a discount supermarket.&rsquo Her mother told her to comb her fur and appear to meet with Count Boar, who was expected with his family in an hour.
&lsquoI hope to be dead before then&rsquo she howled, but her mother did not hear her.
While she waited for her future husband, she put to good use her skill as an expert roller of joints. She appeared for the meeting with eyes so glassy that it was only fair that the Boar described her to his loutish buddies as &lsquoangelic, divine&mdashas if she wasn&rsquot really there&rsquo.