What happens when infidelity crosses path with fuddy-duddy, old-fashioned values? Jaishree Misra's latest release 'Secrets and Sins', which will be out on stands soon, talks about the same, making it a sprightly read

Jaishree Misra is out with her secrets again. This time in another compelling 400-page fiction, her sixth, titled Secrets and Sins. Every page unfurls the author taking a few tottering steps to deal with the protagonist Riva Singh's trysts with reality and innermost desires. MiD DAY caught up with the UK-based author as she stepped in the country on the first leg of her launch tour.

What's your take on infidelity?
It happens! And is therefore as valid a subject in contemporary fiction as any other. Having said that, I don't think it's a novelist's job to moralise on any issue. Hopefully what I've done in 'Secrets & Sins' is explore the issue inside out, show how easily people can get drawn into unthinking affairs, expose the highs and the lows and the possible fall-out. Despite not wanting to take a moral stand, I was conscious, however, that the issue is dealt with rather sympathetically in the case of the main protagonists, Riva and Aman.u00a0u00a0

Guilt leading to family values takes front seat rubbishing real love, of course with the whole gamut of ups and downs. Do you really believe that following the untrodden path of giving in to your deep dark desires could be fatal?
Not at all. As happens in the book (and in life, I guess!), some people are merely luckier than others when it comes to following their desires. I had a male friend who had just read the book email me to say how sorry he felt for Aman, especially because Riva appeared to have come out of their relationship, not just with her golden image intact but also with her marriage oddly improved by it. As a matter of fact, my very first book, 'Ancient Promises' also deals - albeit differently - with the issue of adultery but, in that case, the female protagonist does follow her desires through, seemingly going against everything family and society expected of her. Life generally does not offer a neat formula for any issue, and nor, by that same measure, should books!u00a0