AUTHORS INTERVIEWING CHARACTERS: VEENA RAO

Winner of the She Writes Press and SparkPress Toward Equality in Publishing (STEP) contest, Purple Lotus is an invaluable #OwnVoices story personalizing the immigrant experience with a universal message: there’s hope even if you feel inadequate, powerless, fearful. It is never too late to take control of your life – we must choose to live, not just exist. Dealing with themes of domestic violence, fighting the patriarchy, and seeking the right to self-determination, Purple Lotus is a story inspired by Rao’s own experiences as an Indian immigrant in Atlanta, GA. 

We asked Veena if she would be willing to interview her character Tara, and to our delight, she said yes!

About the Book: Three years after her arranged marriage to tech executive Sanjay, Tara moves to the American South from Mangalore, India. Tara’s memories of childhood abandonment and isolation mirror her present life of loneliness and escalating abuse at the hands of her husband. Constantly pressured by her patriarchal family to make peace with her circumstances, Tara learns to confront the victim-shaming society she was raised within, finding strength, self-worth and support in kind-hearted strangers, new friends and her first love.

Author Veena Rao interviews Tara, the protagonist of her debut novel, Purple Lotus.

Why do you deserve to be the heroine of a novel?
You mean, why does an introverted, brown, immigrant woman deserve to take center-stage of a novel? Stories that personalize BIPOC experiences are especially necessary and valuable. Why, we even have a Kamala (which means lotus) on the Presidential ticket! This is the perfect time to claim our voices. 

Also, the overarching themes of my story—domestic abuse, misogyny, childhood isolation, abandonment fears, shame, right to self-determination—these are topics that transcend race, culture, and time. At the same time, my story is transportive, and illuminates another place and culture, making it an enriching experience for readers.

Your story begins with a Mark Twain quote: “Nothing that grieves us can be called little: by the eternal laws of proportion a child’s loss of a doll and a king’s loss of a crown are events of the same size.” What is the significance of your lost doll?

The lost doll is a metaphor for the loss of a happy childhood. When my family moved from our little cozy town where I lived for the first six years of my life, and moved back to our hometown, Mangalore, it seemed like I had left my home behind. I carried that feeling of deep loss through much of my life. Home never felt completely like home, more so after my parents left me behind with my grandparents and my mentally ill uncle but took my baby brother with them to Dubai.

So, where’s home today?
I have discovered that home is a place inside me. As long as this internal home is joyful and centered, my physical house is also a happy place.

An oracle once called you a purple lotus. What did he mean by that?
The lotus germinates and grows in stagnant, murky waters, but rises tall, pure, and beautiful toward the sun. In Indian culture, the lotus is a symbol of rising above one’s circumstances and realizing one’s inner potential. The purple colored lotus was traditionally considered rare. I interpreted the oracle’s words to mean that I am perfect just the way I am, warts and all. We all are. There’s a heroine in each one of us.

What according to you is your greatest strength?
Resilience. But I also think it is okay to have a good cry when life throws curveballs your way. Tears can be cathartic and give you the determination to pick yourself up and get back on the road. When you are done, remember to get that smile back on your face. It can uplift you and others around you.

If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?

I’ve journeyed deep enough within myself to get rid of my inner demons and to accept myself just the way I am. But I’m continually evolving, learning, changing. Oh, and I do wish I did not have a weakness for ghee-laden Mangalorean sweets and Ruth’s rich cakes.

What is your definition of true love?

Love between equals that liberates, uplifts, and lasts a lifetime. But there’s another kind of love that determines who you truly become– self-love; the ability to recognize and honor your own worth. A joyful, centered core is your most powerful armor in life.

What’s your favorite quote from Purple Lotus?

“The names they have for me are not the names I give myself.”

What’s the biggest takeaway from your story?
There’s hope even if you feel inadequate, powerless, fearful. It’s never too late to stand up for yourself and claim your human rights.

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Veena Rao was born and raised in India but calls Atlanta home. A journalist by profession, she is the founding editor and publisher of NRI Pulse, a popular Indian-American newspaper. Although her day job involves news reports, interviews, and meeting press deadlines, she devotes her spare time to creative writing and long walks in the woods. Purple Lotus, her debut novel, is the winner of the She Writes Press and SparkPress Toward Equality in Publishing (STEP) contest.

AUTHOR WEBSITE, SOCIAL MEDIA HANDLES:

Website: https://www.veenaspulse.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/veenaraowrites/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/VeenaRaoNRI

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/veenarao/

PURPLE LOTUS

Tara moves to the American South three years after her arranged marriage to tech executive Sanjay. Ignored and lonely, Tara finds herself regressing back to childhood memories that have scarred her for life. When she was eight, her parents had left her behind with her aging grandparents and a schizophrenic uncle in Mangalore, while taking her baby brother with them to make a new life for the family in Dubai.

Tara’s memories of abandonment and isolation mirror her present life of loneliness and escalating abuse at the hands of her husband. She accepts the help of kind-hearted American strangers to fight Sanjay, only to be pressured by her patriarchal family to make peace with her circumstances. Then, in a moment of truth, she discovers the importance of self-worth—a revelation that gives her the courage to break free, gently rebuild her life, and even risk being shunned by her community when she marries her childhood love, Cyrus Saldanha.

Life with Cyrus is beautiful, until old fears come knocking. Ultimately, Tara must face these fears to save her relationship with Cyrus—and to confront the victim-shaming society she was raised within.

Intimate and deeply moving, Purple Lotus is the story of one woman’s ascension from the dark depths of desolation toward the light of freedom.

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Category: Contemporary Women Writers, Interviews, On Writing