The Jaipur Trilogy was conceived in the mind of a Pacific Grove resident and our neighbor, Indian-American writer Alka Joshi.
Born in India, Joshi came to the U.S. when she was 9 years old. She received her bachelor’s from Stanford University and master’s in fine arts from California College of the Arts.
Joshi had been working on her debut novel, The Henna Artist, for many years, and once she published the book in 2020, it became an instant bestseller. Since then the novel has been translated into more than 29 languages and is being developed as a streaming series by Netflix.
Only a year after her debut, Joshi published her second novel, The Secret Keeper of Jaipur, the sequel to The Henna Artist, followed by The Perfumist of Paris in 2023.
Joshi is an inspiration not only to bicultural writers all over the world, but also because she debuted relatively late in her career, quickly rising to fame after decades of writing advertising commercials and marketing copy.
It took Joshi a decade, she says, to develop the first volume—all based on her mother’s story and upbringing, with much imagination that Joshi uses to consider what her mother’s life would have been like if she’d been allowed to make her own life choices about marriage and children.
Joshi had not been to India in decades until she began accompanying her seventy-year-old mother on trips to Jaipur. Her readers say that her prose evokes the smells, sounds and tastes of India.
During this upcoming Mic’d Up At The Press Club event, Weekly staff writer Agata Popęda will talk to Joshi about the art of writing, the ancestral material she is using and about the value of pursuing an MFA degree. We will also discuss Joshi’s dual identity and differences between American and Indian culture.
Joshi’s novels will be available for purchase and there will be time for questions from the audience.
The calendar of upcoming events in the Monterey County Weekly’s event series, Mic'd Up at The Press Club, is included below. Events are all at 12:30pm, the first Thursday of each month.
Thursday, December 7, 2023 Legendary curmudgeon Ebenezer Scrooge on holiday cheer, jolly spirit and more (holiday special with actor F. Howard Burnham)
Thursday, January, 2024 Writer Nina Simon about her love of mystery murders
Thursday, February 1, 2024 – To Be Announced –
Thursday, March 7, 2024 Librarian and Museum Director Brian Edwards (in a conversation with Weekly staff writerPam Marino)
These events are free and open to the public. Free parking is available in the garage behind The Creperie Cafe and on the street.
Purchase coffee, tea, crepes, bagels and paninis before, during and after the event at The Creperie Cafe. Check out their delicious pastry selection. (No purchase required to attend the events.)
The interview will start promptly at 12:30pm, followed by a Q&A until 1:30pm.