Entrepreneur and author Tripti Dutta wrote the thought-provoking book ‘From Another Perspective’, which explores the complexity and hardships of intercaste marriage. Buzz Alerts spoke with Tripti Dutta about her inspiration, challenges, and how the book can help change the narrative surrounding caste and marriage in India.
Inspiration
“A few years back, I was watching the news and people were talking about interfaith marriages with a lot of negative viewpoints and hate and during the same time, I was going through a troublesome marriage myself. That night I sat down with so many troubled thoughts and started questioning that if interfaith marriages are painful then why do same-faith marriages suffer? Why is there torture and torment, dowry and demands? Why are women of the same faith suffocated, why are divorces happening, if interfaith is the only problem? So, all those thoughts influenced my writing and I wrote about how humanity is above all and how treating each other with love, understanding, and acceptance can solve our problems.”
Challenges while researching or writing the book
“I did face a lot of challenges while writing this novel and it took me 8 years to bring forward my work. Firstly, I could not find my voice because we are taught to obey and follow and be the perfect example if we want to be accepted in society, and when we try to change or shuffle rules we are tagged as, bad people, outspoken, a rebel and maybe I was not ready for that and I suppressed my voice. And secondly researching this particular topic I saw a lot of hate and how people abuse each other and are ready to slit each other throats online. This kind of violence instilled a lot of fear in me.”
How can the book contribute to changing the narrative around caste and marriage in India?
“The Novel ‘From Another Perspective’ tries to talk about different viewpoints and as an author, I would want readers to understand each character’s mindset and their journey, their struggles, their pain and their decisions, and why they took certain decisions and reason everything with love. I am trying to break down the complex topic of inter-faith marriage and simplify the concepts through different characters and building a story around them, and I hope that might lead to a soft change and bring acceptance and broaden the minds.”