IN LONG HAND

It's a world I can't imagine. For me, it's all about punching some keys, deleting, editing, cap locking - the works. I'm not a geek, yet I like my technology, the ease despite the tons I end up lugging each time I travel. Long hand takes me an eternity, don't think I'd get too far if handed an empty sheet.

Yet, here she is, 13 books out and counting. Scribbling away furiously, pen in hand. Sure makes me want to die for another De:

".....The truth is, I only trust that which bears my distinct signature. I love the physical process of holding a pen in my hand and attacking blank foolscap sheets. I like to watch as words form on the page.

There is a special thrill in that act alone. I like the mistakes to remain visible, not disappear at the light touch of the Delete key, as if they never happened.

I like revisiting old manuscripts from time to time, touching the chunky pads filled with sentences written at a manic pace. The scratches and doodles in the margins tell their own stories.

There are hastily scribbled telephone numbers (whose? why?), and little memos to myself (“dhobi’s day: ask the bugger why he tore the new bedsheets”). Would this happen were I to switch? How impersonal the tech world appears in comparison."

What does it take for the prolific Shobhaa De to keep the world at her fingertips? Find out here.