think indian authors and their writings have done anything to change this perception i think with globalization and this includes the efforts of indian authors who are read in the west foreigners have become a lot more educated even sophisticated about their ideas of india that said the exoticism of elephants etc is still a motif that informs some western ideas ive turned this exoticism on its head if people expect elephants from an indian novel ive gone ahead and given them elephants but in a tongueincheek absurd overthetop kind of way so that they realize im subverting stereotypeshow important is it for a writer to win an award not essential but some awards like the booker certainly can expose you to a much wider audience plus the critics who review your books might be more inclined to treat your work seriouslywhat according to you is a good book one that keeps your interest to the end moreover after youve read it and thought about it you should start seeing things that lie hidden under the surface things waiting for you to discover and interpret certainly i try to make all my novels multileveled in that wayand is it your secret desire to be a cabaret dancer like helen he has danced to a helen number i did that dance on a dare in the middle of new york dressed up in womens clothes and then stripped them off it was one of the most fun things ive ever done and certainly very liberating i think for writers its important to constantly push the envelope push through boundaries force ourselves to venture outside our comfort zone certainly this was an important step in terms of getting the courage to tackle controversial issues like sexuality religion and politics that i then went on to write about in the city of devi