9th July 2017
Sujata Prasad tells ANANYA BORGOHAIN that writing about a life as extraordinary as that of Sonal Mansingh was like being on an intense journey wherein she felt echoes of her own self
How did you come to associate with Sonal Mansingh ?
My mother took me to her debut performance in Delhi in 1964. I would have been a little more than a toddler but remember the viscerally intense experience of that and several other performances. A chance meeting on a cold evening heavy with rain brought us together in 2012, and magically transformed our connection into a deep association. I was hooked!
How long did it take to complete this biography ?
This actually took me three long years to complete.
How did writing this personally affect you ?
I was documenting an intensely lived life. It was like being on a psychedelic trip. It made me feel fully alive. I even tried to find echoes of my own life in hers.
Sonal Mansingh lends an insight into her private life. Was it difficult to get her talking about her divorce, the way she was mistreated by her parents and guruji and her subsequent relationship? How did you prepare to interview her regarding this context ?
With a cappuccino and some cake! Not given in to displaying extravagant emotion, she stirred up memories related to her divorce and all that followed with a matter-of-factness.
You are also familiar with classical music and dance. Also, both you and Ms. Mansingh have talked about European cinema, art and culture in the book. Did that make your job as a biographer easy or tough? Because, on one hand, you could understand your muse’s perspectives while on the other, you could have also had disagreements. Did that ever happen ?
Dr Mansingh possesses an enormous depth of knowledge. I must confess that often I felt like a bit of a dilettante. I don’t recall any disagreements. On the contrary, we spent delightful evenings exploring enlivening connections between mythology, history, philosophy, literature and the arts. She was far from being doctrinaire!
You have called Ms Mansingh far from apolitical. What about you? Do you follow and political ideology ?
As a civil servant I am not supposed to be aligned to any overarching ideology. So to say that I follow a specific political ideology would amount to transgression. But I grew up at a time when activism was mainstream and an entire generation was neurologically wired to a certain amount of radicalism. I was also aligned to struggle for women’s rights, for social feminism.