SONIA BAHL: I’ve always said the itinerant life is a double-edged one. You fit in everywhere and nowhere. You’re on the outside even when you’re inside. Not in an alienating way, just that a part of you is always observing from a zoomed out perspective. Particularly when you’re moving around with your child. As a parent you can see how race-colour-culture-language-gender agnostic they are and it feels so acutely precious, you want to make sure they hold on to that state of mind forever. As a storyteller I suppose it translates to me finding my voice in themes about deep connection in the swirl of differences. The things that bring us together.

SONIA BAHL: The boring stuff is I was born in Kolkata and have lived most of my adult life abroad—Indonesia, America, Belgium, South Africa—and I now live permanently (I think) in Singapore. Here’s some real disclosure: I am a fan of people who don’t fit in. I am a fan of random encounters. I am a fan of deep connections. I am a fan of people who listen, like really listen. I am a fan of people who are deeply touched by nature. I am a fan of authenticity. I am fan of trying…die trying, actually. 

SONIA BAHL: I want to tell you I take my laptop and watch the Milky Way from a pollution-free beach but honestly, it’s supremely quotidien what I do! I am fairly obsessive and routine-based. Jack Russel-ish in my stubborn need to finish what I’ve started. It’s pretty much all I do during the day, barring weekends. And sometimes, it spills over to the night if there’s a deadline. I find the large windows in my study with nearly daily rain exquisitely comforting. I do not work like a hyper-cool person in PJs or run on endless cups of coffee. I have a fairly gentle (euphemism) stomach so water with a slice of lime works well.

SONIA BAHL: I don’t think we can ever extract who we are from what we create. The lines are always blurred. Without being too literal about the how and where, to me this is about that rare connection. We’re all looking for deep connections we are wired to; it’s part of our molecular structure. Just that in the minutiae of the day-to-day and the overwhelming dependence on social media interactions, finding that real connection is never easy. But when it happens, it almost spoils you for everything else. It doesn’t have to be romantic or sexual or hormone-led! Everyone’s been there. Sometimes, after a five-minute conversation you’re going – “Kill me already!” And at other times, even after a five-hour conversation, you have no idea where time evaporated. It’s that simple.

SONIA BAHL: All writing helps. But I’m certain it’s the many years spent as a copywriter that deserve a high five. The devotion to brevity, seduction through simplicity, and avoiding boredom at all costs, it’s been tattooed into our systems for posterity.

SONIA BAHL: You don’t fit in? You have no idea what a gift that is!