Surrogacy's umbilical chord

Q What made you choose the subject of surrogacyA I thought it was a perfect metaphor for exploring the complex and ever changing relationship between India and specifically Britain and for exploring so many areas which currently interest meMeera Syal after she was presented with her Commander of the British Empire CBE medal awarded by the Prince of Wales at an Investiture ceremony at Buckingham Palace on May 6 2015 in London England PicGetty ImagesHow women feel about ageing mothers and daughters ldquoblendedrdquo families and how they work the exploitation and ownership of womenrsquos bodies the politics of fertility and the huge industry surrounding it and how the longing for a child can turn your life literally upside downBut ultimately what ripped me was that central relationship between two women from different worlds who for nine months of pregnancy depend on each other to fulfill their dreams What is that like that intense life changing connection and the delicate power balance between themI wanted to ask that question and have the reader ask it too is surrogacy a winwin exchange where a wealthy infertile woman gets the child she desperately wants and a poor fertile woman gets the money to change her life for the better Or is it just a cynical exercise in colonial exploitationQ Its a subject that has been written about before but has always been controversial What did you have in mindAI always knew that I wanted this to be a gripping human story part psychological thriller as the power balance shifts between the women and that what would be paramount is the human emotional journey not an ldquoissuerdquo book I want the reader to care about both women see the journey from both their points of view And also see the ripple effect on the entire family that this surrogacy journey provokesThere is a reason Indiarsquos surrogacy industry is the largest in the world Itrsquos at the moment unregulated and significantly cheaper than most other countries Why else would such a woman offer her womb for hire unless she had nothing else of worth to sellQ How much of it is fiction What are the events that inspired the rest of the trackA The whole surrogacy story is pure fiction although I do know quite a bit about ageing and blended families The character Shyama and her friend Priya and Lydia are basically me and many of my friends giving vent to so many things we have laughed and raged about Much of Shyamarsquos refusal to grow old gracefully getting divorced falling in love with a younger white man wanting a baby with him her power struggles with her disapproving teenage daughter Tara from her first marriage mdash so much of the emotions and observations are taken from real life even if the storyline itself isntHowever the story of what happens to Shyamarsquos parents Prem and Sita is very much inspired by real life Like many of the first generation of NRIs Prem and Sita sent money back to India to build their intended retirement home However thanks to unscrupulous relatives moving into the property and refusing to vacate these two sweet old people find themselves embroiled in a decadelong property dispute in the Indian courts This was inspired by events in my fatherrsquos family around an apartment in Delhi and it truly broke my fatherrsquos heart and has left a permanent rift in the familyQ The book deals with motherhood infertility to ageing feminism infidelity Did you find these difficult to weave inA I didnrsquot deliberately set out to weave any of them in as issues for the sake of it I hope all the themes come naturally from the lives of the characters what they are living through where their lives are taking them at this particular point For many writers you donrsquot know what the themes of your book will be until you have finished it and your characters have completed their journeys Though given the central theme it shouldnrsquot be surprising that motherhood ageing and feminism are all in thereQ This is the first of your books to be substantially set in India was that deliberateA It was where the story naturally led the book once I knew the spine of it would involve a British woman and an Indian woman Also I did want to explore the third generationrsquos relationship with India in the book this is carried by Shyamarsquos daughter Tara who is much more removed from her Indian heritage than her mother and obviously her Indianborn grandparents But I am fascinated by how many of Tararsquos generation are actually choosing to return to India to work and live seeing opportunities and growth in India that they no longer find in BritainTherersquos an interesting irony the generation of NRIs who on the surface are the most removed from the Motherland are the ones who are choosing to return to it to make the reverse journey that their grandparents made And this is the generation that is really changing things The activists and the upwardly mobile full of bullish confidence and demanding action on issues such as corruption and sexual violence against womenThe House of Hidden Mothers Meera Syal Penguin Random House Rs 399 Available at leading bookstoresAnd I have deliberately set the book in 2012 so I could include the event that profoundly affected so many of us over here the brutal attack and murder of Jyoti Singh To see women and men out on the streets demanding action on the continual brutalisation and marginalisation of women was such an important moment for many of us united in rage and sorrow all around the worldOf course I can only ever write from a British Indian viewpoint a writer born and living in India may have a completely different take on this entire story But as with all my books I write as one who is at once removed from India and yet always looking towards her seeking connection and inspiration