‘Everyone should read Catch-22’
Rasika Dugal is a bibliophile who struggles with reading academic non-fiction
Navneet Vyasan
Rasika Dugal, the actor known for her role in the popular web show Delhi Crime, and the film Manto (2018), loves reading dark humour, fiction and romantic dramas. In a têteà-tête, the 34-year-old talks about the kind of reader she is, her childhood stories of growing up, and more.
Which books are currently on your reading list?
I’m trying to read more non-fiction now. Currently I’m reading Democracy on The Road, which tracks the election coverage and results for past 25 years. Remnants of a Separation, which is about the history of people affected by partition is also on my list.
What’s your favourite genre and what do you avoid?
I enjoy literary fiction, dark humour and romantic dramas. I struggle with academicstyle non-fiction.
Which book do you think one should read at least once? Catch-22. Mostly to know good writing, humour and characters, but mainly to get a perspective on the absurd and the ridiculous in our world.
What do you like to read while travelling?
If it’s a beach holiday, then romance. If it’s a new city, then something set in that place. For example, I read My Brilliant Friend while holidaying in Italy.
Which is your favourite fairy tale or folk story?
The one that intrigued me the most was Hansel and Gretel. It had all the best elements for a dramatic story — young kids, a witch — so much cake and icing!
What kind of reader were you as a child? Which childhood stories have stayed with you?
I devoured the usual books — the Enid Blytons, The Secret Seven. But the stories that remained with me were the ones my grandmother told me about her childhood and the ones that my father said, which always had three female protagonists with rhyming names. The power of oral storytelling is irreplaceable.
If you had to name one book that made you who you are today, which would it be?
I would rephrase this question to a book that changed me. There have been many at different stages of my life. But one of the first ones was The God of Small Things, because I found a book that told an Indian story in an original modern Indian way — the characters and themes were Indian but it didn’t feel like Indian exotic, just natural and real.