Cyrus Gonda bestselling author of 18 leadership books, interviews Kainaz Jussawalla for her new book, a memoir “Who wants to marry Kai Juicewalla?”
The book was officially launched in Bandra on March 10 and is available at Title Waves and on amazon.in
It promises to be a fun read about a single adventurous Parsi girl looking for love and the next best restaurant to eat.
Congratulations on a stunning book, with an even more stunning cover. Does the title say it all, or are there any surprises hidden inside?
The title is just a tease. There are plenty more surprises, twists and turns. The chapters are humourous yet inspiring, refreshing I would say. Will take you back to your days with your friends and family.
Without revealing too much, could you share just a bit more as to what this book is about?
It’s about a single girl looking for love in the wrong places, making the same mistakes over and over again until she finds out that what she desires is inside her all along. As Rumi says, what you seek is seeking you or something to that effect.
You have been a Bandra person all your life. Considering this is your memoir, what scenic (and maybe not so scenic) spots of Bandra find their place in these pages?
Bandstand, Shah Rukh Khan house, Carter Road, Turner Road signal, Out of the Blue, The Convent, Taj Lands End.
It is said that most authors read a lot, and some don’t read too much, so as not to let their style get influenced by other authors. Which of the two categories do you fall in? Or is there a third category in this respect, which is all your own?
I don’t read much. Let there be stones to throw for saying this, but I refuse to get influenced even a per cent by someone else. But saying that I would love to read a Jackie Collins or a Paulo Coelho anytime. Even Enid or Archies.
Which is the most special phase of your life which features the maximum in this book? Why was that phase special to you?
It’s my Lonavala days with my grandmother. She used to live at St Cyril Road when in Bandra, those memories are fresh. Timeless. Even my days at St Xavier’s College. Loved them. Matchless.
What motivated you to write this book? Was it a thought; a person; an event; or a combination of all of these and maybe more?
Every time I spoke, friends would laugh at my hilarious stories from my flights as a cabin crew or my meetings with Bollywood stars in my journalist days. They said just write it down, you have so much to tell.
Also, I had lots of baggage of silent bullying in school and other places that I carried for years. Though after some time it stopped mattering, that injustice still lingered. The book is my answer to everyone who isolated me and poked fun. It’s like who is the loser now?
Sorry, but that’s just how it is. So yes I needed to get my own back and what better way than success?
Also, I do hope my honesty inspires others to stand up and get a voice and not take BS from no one. This is my ultimate goal as an author. Getting readers to stop entertaining wrong people and crappy opinions.
Our readers would get to know more about you as they turn the pages of your book. But before they start reading, they would like to know you as an individual. Which three words would a person who knows you well, use to describe you?
Sensitive. Sharp. Empathetic. Bold. Crazy – FIVE for you.
If you had not chosen this profession, what would have been your choice of alternate career, and why?
I flew for decades so I guess a cabin crew escaping to exotic destinations. But now that’s done. Also a journalist, and editor of a magazine mostly which is similar to an author I guess. Maybe a news anchor. Yes, a celebrity anchor, my show Break Free on my channel Chai with Kai shows that side of me.
For your future books, are there any specific genres of writing that you would like to explore, and, if so, why?
Fiction. Something fast-paced, hot and edgy but powerful.
To conclude, what message do you have for the lovely people of Bandra?
Read my memoir and buy and review it on amazon. Support your wonderful girl from beautiful Bandra.
And please keep Bandra clean and free from potholes. Those auto rickshaw rides like my book, really take you on a bumpy journey…though my book is far more thrilling.
