“I write because I want to tell stories. I want to refer to them later on, and then feel nostalgic.”

What made me get involved in theater was writing, because I used to come up with stories and ideas on what to perform. I used to go with these ideas to my director, then he would consider it and he would shorten it to a monologue or something he could use. So that motivated me. I always tell the director of the play that I want to write and show them what I have written. They say, ‘perform it for us.’ So when I do, they say ‘I think you should do it.’ So I am stuck with acting but I don't really want to act.

When I write, I look for real-life instances or something that people can relate to. I want to give that very normal aspect of your life some importance and I want to make it look like it is worth thinking about or putting some emphasis on.

For example, I used to take the bus to go to [work]. There, I used to observe one old man. As soon as he got on the bus, he used to greet the bus driver. Then he sat at his spot. But as soon as he sat there, he always listened to this one Punjabi song on speaker, not in his headphones, so everybody could listen. Then he would [turn around and] look at everybody on the bus. I saw him for three or four days and he used to do this every day. So I was very curious to know why. I went and asked him and he said that he's looking for a person from his hometown who he once heard listening to the same song. He's trying to find that person who used to come on this bus but is no longer here. When I look at these things, I want to dig deeper. I want to understand why he's doing this, so I just made a note of it, then I thought maybe I can make something up later on.

I write because I want to tell stories. I want to refer to them later on, and then feel nostalgic. So for me, it's very personal. It makes me feel like I've accomplished something. If I'm successful in starting and finishing that story, then it feels like I have something of value. There are so many thoughts and ideas that I have in my mind. I'm a keen observer. When I go out, I automatically observe things then I want to store them. I want to preserve them, so by writing I can do that.”