On a rainy evening, we are seated in Zuni Chopra's Bandra home and somewhere on a whiteboard, we spot the illustration of The Reflection of a Wave, enough to revive memories of a beloved physics textbook. We're here to speak with her on her latest book, The Island of the Day Before (HarperCollins India), a collection of stories, flash fiction and poetry, where Chopra creates a world of fantasy, distinct from other young writers or greats like Neil Gaiman, whose work she admires.

Her descriptive narrative featuring banshees, gnomes, and otters blends fantasy and reality effortlessly — revealing the world of a 17-year-old, and many like her, that revolves beyond textbooks or social media. As the daughter of prominent film producer Vidhu Vinod Chopra and film critic Anupama Chopra, Zuni doesn't flinch in the face of fame — writing is all she has ever known, from the age of six.