Interview ‘I always feel 60 in my mind’: Twinkle Khanna aka Mrs Funnybones’ comeback

When you take a step back and look at the collection, is there a thread that ties all the stories together?

When I started thinking about this collection, I wanted to show how India has changed over the last decade – and also how I have changed. My family offered a point for reflection and analysis: I lost loved ones; My daughter grew up; My son became a young adult. Managing the writing of time in all these columns was a technical challenge. I wanted to bridge the past decade – politics, elections, technology – into these pieces. I approached the collection the same way I would give my daughter antibiotics – I’d start by saying it’s sweet, and I’d make Sure The first dose is a sweet syrup. Some columns were chosen to make you laugh and attract you, some columns were chosen to make you reflect. The book starts off light-hearted, but as you progress it deepens into themes of loss, grief, and death. And hopefully, it will end on a note of optimism.

Can you tell us how the collection came together? How long did it take to put it together?

I resisted making a sequel for a long time. My editor, Chick Sarkar, keeps saying that corner of elbow Sound comes easily to me and I take it for granted more than I imagined. Maybe that’s why I opposed the sequel. But over time, I realized my newspaper column – and the first mrs funnybones (2015) – Means a lot to people. When I was visiting for the launch welcome to heaven (2023), I met a young woman who called corner of elbow book her bowl Kheer Because it provided comfort. Another reader also took the book to Afghanistan while covering the war. That’s when I understood that this was more than entertainment for me or others – it was connection. That’s when I decided to work on a collection.

mrs funnybones The comeback is coming at a complex time in India – new technologies, new socio-political cleavages, or perhaps new ways of articulating old grievances. I saw how the stories reflected these big changes in our families. This book seems more political than your previous work; You write about rituals and gods. In a time of deepening division, can laughter survive and bridge distances?

If laughter doesn’t bring us together, what hope is there? Humor is a connecting thread. We recently lost someone and I went to offer condolences. I noticed how there is always someone whose job is to make the family members laugh. And the family needs it; They need that release. If laughter can join you in your darkest moments, why not when you see the world differently? You can’t convert anyone, but you can connect with them. I don’t believe that different opinions make anyone inferior. I always wonder: What can I learn from this person? For me, laughter is that bridge. Can anyone else use laughter as a bridge? Yes, you can but your jokes must be very good.

I am writing a book on ‘Indian Uncles’ and I found the character of Uncle Biren hilarious and enlightening. I’m excited to see how other readers react to it. Where did he come from?

Uncle Biren is an amalgamation – a collection of uncles from my family and acquaintances. There are Punjabis and Gujaratis in my house, which makes all the family gatherings very lively. Gujaratis full of pride are ruling these days. My in-laws are Kashmiri, my family is from the Hindu and Ismaili world – these experiences permeate my column.

First mrs funnybones You were released before you could go to study at Goldsmiths University. How did that academic experience shape your column and this new collection?

When I was going to university, my editors Neelam Raj and Chick were worried about what effect the training would have on my column. He was worried that I would write in a pedantic manner. Before Goldsmiths I did an online course at Oxford, and while the training changed my approach to fiction, my process for columns remained the same. I have a structure for how I write columns. First, I bring together ideas, research, notes. Then, I go for a walk in the garden, play with my dogs and relationships emerge. Earlier, I used to sit at my desk and wait for the connection to be made. But now I am very old and my neck starts hurting if I keep sitting at my desk. So, I potter about it, and clarify the connections. But there was no change in the writing of the columns due to my training. Perhaps, because I had been doing it for so long and it was a set process, it didn’t require change.

I found the stories on motherhood and your own father very inspiring. How have gender roles within families in contemporary India evolved between the start of your column and the release of this book?

To be honest, not much has changed. I was 39 when the column began; Now I am 52 years old. Till this time, the fabric of our society and family life has remained the same. However, our aspirations have changed; Women have a louder voice. But deeply rooted conditioning persists. Women do caring work because no one is forcing us to change how we view our roles. The new generation is more free from this burden. Change will come from how we raise our children, and how we demonstrate small changes within ourselves.

How do you write so candidly about aging? There’s no weird self-consciousness in those pieces.

I always feel 60 in my head! Aging never frightened me – it felt liberating. Even at 30, I planned to have gray hair, short nails and ride a scooter in Goa. I see aging as a phase that will free me from many responsibilities. I also realized that by writing about my own aging, I could take control of my own story about what aging means for me, rather than allowing society or anyone else to dictate how I look or how desirable I am. My body is desirable to me, even if it is falling apart. Writing helps me deal with these dilemmas, loneliness, fear. That’s when I realized I’m really a writer and nothing else: when I can write my way through a problem.

What will happen next? I heard you were writing fantasy stories.

My next novel is 30,000 words. This is my world right now. that’s all I can say!