One of the first things you notice when you meet Jerry Pinto is his humour and sharp wit, which is well reflected in his work. It is because of this that his first novel, Em and the Big Hoom, despite centering around the agony of living with an insane mother, at no point becomes wearingly dull. It took 20-odd years for Jerry, who has worked as a maths tutor, freelancer, journalist and poet, to bring out this book. In an interaction with Parul Chhaparia, Jerry?the Bombay boy ?shares his long-lasting connection with writing and the city of Mumbai. Excerpts:
Em and the Big Hoom reads like an autobiography. Is it one?
Everything you write about is autobiographical. I think there is nothing that we can write that is not autobiographical. When I wrote Leela: A Patchwork Life with Leela Naidu, it was because a part of it was that I had met her, part of it was that I liked her and she was a friend. I wrote Helen: The Life and Times of an H-Bomb because I watch Hindi movies all the time. And one of the best moments of all my Hindi movies would be the sudden figure that would jump out of the cake in a pink dress and the funny voice ?darling?. These are the things that make our world. So, the next book might be about science, but that would also be autobiographical.
How comfortable are you to put so much of yourself in the book?
Nanga naach is what I call it. In a sense, it is. But overall, I think you have to be able to save yourself. The book is not on display at exhibitions. It is not saying that look what a wonderful life I live. It is saying we have all had moments like these. That the family is a wonderful institution that supports us, warms us and nurtures us. They want us to get married inside your caste, do not wear this jeans, do this, do that… but at the same time you know that it comes out of love. So, it is not like that you get perfect family. Anyone who says they have a perfect family, I think they are lying.
How fictional is the name of the book?
The names are drawn from real life. It was a working title all along. First you call it the book. Then people ask what is the name of the book? Then you realise, just like a baby, you have got to name it at some point of time. Then you decide ? god or the devil. Which one is this? You start calling it the Em and the Big Hoom because these are the two main characters of the book. Then it becomes the Em and Big Hoom in your head. Then someone asks ?what is the title?? and you say it?s Em and the Big Hoom because it is already in your head.
Which part do you like the most? Is it writing, editing or promotion?
Let me start with promotion. It is like toilet training of your baby. It is what you have to do. It is your responsibility. It is as simple as that. You cannot send your child outside with a dirty bum. So, the promotion is like that. My job is to sit and write, but what am I doing here? But you want this book to get its best shot. That is why you have got to do the promotion. You are helping your book, product, your child to get its best shot. If you do not toilet train your child and if he/she is out there with a dirty bum, people are going to think of her in a different manner. So, you do your job. It is an essential part, not necessarily the best part.
The most lovely part of writing is thinking. When you have the idea, just the idea. When you open the file and start writing, all the hard work starts with that. It is just that ?idea moment?. As soon as you start writing, after that everything is painful.
What is your obsession with Mumbai? Most of your work is centered around the city. Do you think moving to a different place would have had changed your writing style?
Em and the Big Hoom is a Mumbai book because it is set there. But its theme is universal, like most of my works. For instance, the Helen book. It was a very local and specific book because Helen was born and worked in Mumbai.
Most of my work has been located in Mumbai because I think for a writer it is obvious to focus on what you know the most. And most of my life I have lived in Mumbai, worked in Mumbai, with very short brief periods outside. So, it is best to work with the stuff that you know. A big city is a big city, so whether it’s Bombay, Delhi, New York, every big city person has the same issues.
You come to the city because you want to do something. At the same time there is the struggle that makes you to go back to the past. You want the easier life with a gentler feeling of family. At the same time, there is some trouble for some sort of privacy. In the city, everyone is looking but there is an anonymity because no one cares. These are the city truths which are universal. So, would I have lived in New York for 20 years ? and it is a great if ? one of those things that you always wonder whether at that time, if I had taken that move, what would have happened.
You took 20 years to finish Em and the Big Hoom. Now that it is done, what are you busy writing these days?
It was only the last five years that were concentrated on this book. The first three years were just writing. After three years, I took a six-month break and did halla, went out, had a blast, just hung out with friends, sat on beaches, went for parties, art shows, read a lot of comics lying on the floor. After six months, I went back to the back and the next one and half year was entirely editing.
Now once the book is done, I am writing because my dharma is to write. This morning I got up and wrote. I am writing like I am a zombie. I don?t know what I am writing. Out of this, nothing may come. I am very wasteful writer. I use one word for every 100 I write. Because that is the most important part, to choose the right word.
Em and the Big Hoom
Jerry Pinto
Aleph Book Company
Pp 235
Rs. 495
