I met Nandini Bajpai at the Cary memorial Library in Lexington at a book reading of her new book ' A Match made in Mehendi'  written for Young Adults. Intrigued by the title, I talked to her and  was struck by her approach to writing and her belief in the importance of telling the  story from an immigrant perspective through the eyes of a teenager.

 Here is our interview:

Please share with our readers how you became a writer?

I always loved books and reading since childhood. Everyone in my family loved to read including my three sisters. That said, most of the children’s book available in India at the time were by British authors like Enid Blyton, C.S. Lewis, Tolkien etc. and I always felt the disconnect between the books I enjoyed and the India I grew up in which was not represented in these books at all. As an adult with my own kids I was so disappointed that there were still no books with an Indian worldview in them that I had to do something to change it. That’s when I started writing seriously.

 What is your background - where did you grow up and when did you come to the US?

 I’m a Delhite but we traveled all over India as my father was in the Indian Army. I changed schools several times but graduated high school from DPS Mathura Road and went to Miranda House, Delhi University. I moved to Australia right after college—two of my sisters have settled there—and then to Boston in 1994 as my husband grew up here. I worked at Fidelity Investments for about five years before I had my son and daughter.

  Why do you choose to write about Young Adults? 

 The books that made the strongest impression on me were books I read in my teens. That’s when your ideas and worldview are forming and having the chance to communicate with young people at that age is such a gift. I’ll always feel close to the characters I met in books as a young adult…from Jo March in Little Women to Asterix and Obelix and I’d love for my readers, most of whom are not Indian, to have that connection with the characters I write. I just like to write about characters at the crossroad between childhood and adulthood—the coming of age story is timeless. YA also has so many genres within it from contemporary, to historic, to high fantasy and sci-fi that you can never get bored!

 How does writing for this target audience differ from adult readers?

 You have to hook your readers quickly and keep them interested, so the books are shorter and more fast-paced. You also have to be mindful of providing a sense of hope and optimism at the end of the story even if it is about a serious or dark topic, since you are writing for people at the start of their adult life. However, it also has to come from a place of truth and authenticity to ring true.

 Give us a brief about a Match made with Mehendi. 

 A Match Made in Mehendi is about a teenager in New Jersey who comes from a long line of Indian matchmakers and decides to use her family’s techniques to come up with a dating app that goes viral in her high school.

 What is the idea behind the book?

 The idea was to write a fun book that explored the Indian American teen experience in a light-hearted and entertaining way. I think it’s important to have upbeat and life affirming stories about the immigrant experience not just issue focused ones, though those are definitely needed too.

 How has been the response?

 The response has been great! The book received a starred review in Publishers Weekly and great reviews and coverage by media as well as lots of good feedback from readers!

 Finally please share any links, or where one can get the book

 Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Match-Made-Mehendi-Nandini-Bajpai/dp/0316522589

 Barnes & Nobel: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/a-match-made-in-mehendi-nandini-bajpai/1128997310

Indiebound: https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780316522588

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