There are a couple of ways of looking at it. One is, out of that variety will come something good as well. Also, the function of writing isn't necessarily only to get published. You do it because you need to. I don't want to use the word 'therapeutic' because it sounds New Age and soft, but I think people write for various needs that are valuable in themselves.

So, what do you write for?

The most honest way to put it is what they call khujli in Hindi -- I itch (laughs). I could work up explanations, but I have been making up stories in my head since I was a child. I was a strange little kid (smiles). This is the way I live in the world; I don't know any other way. When I don't do it, I get jumpy and short-tempered. I think it's a way of taking experience and making something of it that gives me pleasure and satisfaction.

The downside is the endless rounds of interviews that each new book brings. As an established writer, you don't really need to do these, so why do you? To connect with readers or because publishers simply expect you to?

It can be physically tiring, and I know some writers find it a trial. But I don't mind so much, possibly because I spend the rest of my year shut off inside a room (smiles).

There are a number of reasons. One is, this sort of exposure generates readership for your work, which is a very real reason. Also -- and I think people are sometimes ashamed to say this -- publishing always has been and still is a commercial venture. There are a lot of people who put a lot of hard work and money on the line when they put your book out, and I owe them this much. After all, it's not like digging ditches or anything; it's just sitting in a room talking to people, which is not so bad.

Is there anyone you have seen a lot of promise in, lately? Any Indian writer here or abroad whose work has caught your attention?

I haven't read much fiction over the last couple of years, so I'm terribly out of touch. There's something weird that happened over those years that made me terribly self-conscious about reading fiction. While working on my final edits, I think I was suddenly very conscious of fictional language and craft...

The anxiety of influence, in a sense...

Not so much the anxiety of influence; I just couldn't read fiction unselfconsciously and disappear into it, so I ended up reading a lot of non-fiction. But, before that, I liked Manju Kapur's work a lot. I have her latest novel sitting on my shelf. Now, the intent is to take an official break from writing and read whatever I want to.

Read an exclusive extract from Sacred Games: Tales from the Underworld

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