Shweta Taneja: Explorer of the Occult

When asked to describe herself, Shweta Taneja says “I’m a very go-with-the-flow kind of a person. I see myself as a flowing river; curdling, dancing, jumping from one stone to another, moving on, from one brook to the other, laughing, falling, flowing”. This, in a nutshell, describes her journey so far, which has resulted in her becoming an author of 7 published books, in the unique genre of supernatural fiction.

While Shweta took her time to become a novelist, she always had a storyteller in her. She recalls how she told her first story when she was only 12 years old. “I imagined my first piece of fiction on a dark and stormy night, when the electricity was out and I was sitting with my cousins, on the floor, a candle flickering between us in darkness. It was seriously that clichéd.  That’s when told my first horror story.” says Shweta. Little did she know at that point in time that she would one day become a prolific writer on the supernatural.

Before that could happen, though, there was a lot of other things that happened in her life. A Delhi girl, after completing her bachelors in English Literature, Shweta worked as an editor, got a degree in Mass Communication and a Masters in English as well, all the while maintaining a journalism career as well. She formally began writing fiction around seven years ago. Since then, she has written five novels, two graphic novels and a few short stories too.

Her first book, Krishna, defender of Dharma, is a graphic novel and her first novel was Ghost Hunters of Kurseong, a tale of mystery and ghosts for young readers. Her last book, Cult of Chaos, has received rave reviews with its unusual story line. Set in Delhi, the book follows the adventures of its feminist protagonist – Anantya Tantrist – an alternative occultist, who is trying to stop the chaos unleashed on the city by the thriving tantric community. The book’s engaging premise, has now led to two sequels, which are due to release starting 2017. 

But what drew Shweta to write about the supernatural? This, particularly, given the fact that the genre has limited readership and is also, therefore a hard-sell to publishers. She feels, that she really had little choice in the matter. “I have always been interested in the supernatural, the unnatural, the subconscious, the aspects of life that we cannot explain rationally. For me speculative fiction reflects on our real world the way nothing else can. By reading speculative fiction, that reimagines our world and seeing reactions to monsters, witches and ghosts and ‘others’, we get to reflect on who we are as humans. We can relook at ourselves critically, see our prejudices, see ourselves for what we really are. My stories stem from this point of view. My best ideas come from everyday news. Which direction the society is taking, our views on gender and caste” says Shweta.

Personally, Shweta is open to believing in the supernatural, or not, but she does caution against superstition. “Superstition by its very nature is built up on irrational fear, of losing control, of disease and death. When you’re going through a tough phase in life, or when your life seems out of control, you want to blame it on something or someone…We try to counter irrational fears with irrational actions. Psychologically it might work for some. However my way is rather to open the door, go outside and look at who’s beating at my door in the middle of the night. Meet the monster head on. You never know. They might just be looking for a cup of green tea” she says.

Shweta lives with her husband in Bangalore, and teaches yoga to slum children as well. Her latest book is How to Steal a Ghost @ Manipal.