Dr Jas Kohli is a cosmetic surgeon who, apart from reshaping faces and bodies, is often found aiming his camera at birds and butterflies during the day and gazing the sky at night. His emotions often run riot when he sings old Bollywood songs and writes humour is his refuge. He loves life and lemon—squeezing as much as possible from both. He has recently come out with the novel Lights! Wedding! Ludhiana!

I chat with him about his book Lights! Wedding! Ludhiana!, how the book came to be, book recommendations, and much more.

Hello, Dr. Jas! Tell us a bit about yourself!

For quite some time, I lived life in a fairly straightforward manner, like a person from a typical medico family in India. I joined medical profession, became a cosmetic surgeon, got married to a doctor and had two kids. Then my mind was hijacked by an aberrant brainwave. I became a writer and three fiction books later, there doesn’t seem to be a cure for my obsession with words. Also, I never say no if invited for a nature watching trip or if told to sing an old Hindi movie song. I am trying to involve more and more people in nature watching but have had less than modest success in this regard – however, I am not going to give up.

If you could only describe your book Lights! Wedding! Ludhiana! in five words, what would they be?

Hilarious, Relatable, Racy, Unique, Substantive.

Now tell us a little more about the book! What can readers expect?

The readers can expect a humorous family drama set in Ludhiana and also have a peep into a Punjabi marriage celebration with an unimaginable budget. In this book, there no shortcuts to humour like double entendre. Satire, irony, wordplay and subtle comedy will leave a nice aftertaste after one has finished the book. There are plenty of take-home messages especially regarding family dynamics, relationships, environment and austerity. The feedback from readers as well as the reviewers has been quite encouraging – one of the reviewers has gone to the extent of calling it the funniest book ever read by him.

What was the moment when the idea of the book first came to be? What made you pursue it?

My previous two humour fiction books are based on the lives of medicos. For the third book, I decided to take up a general subject. I am convinced that one is able to write better about a topic which one is familiar with. So, I decided to satirize my home town Ludhiana and its people! Obviously, there was no dearth of ideas for this. Also, there were lot of personal experiences which were dying to be fictionalized! So, even before I started to write it, I knew the finished product was likely to be satisfactory.

Can you tell us your creative process behind the characterizations of Reeti, Kushal, and Lakshya Raheja?

These three characters form the backbone of the plot. The characters of Reeti and Kushal were created to depict the conflict between conspicuous consumption and environment centric austerity. While the glamorous Reeti likes partying and shopping, Kushal, the male equivalent of a plane Jane, is a misfit in Ludhiana. Lot of funny situations are created because of this conflict though there are other angles in the story like the inciting incident which leads to a mini Mahabharata battle in the home. Since this is a family drama based on a day in the life of a middle-aged couple, Lakshya, the naughty child gets to hog the limelight too. In fact, Lakshya is the one who gets the story into the fast lane when his curiosity makes him uncover a secret.

Is there a scene, element, or character you really enjoyed creating and writing?

I feel the character which I enjoyed creating the most was Kimti Lal, the patriarch. Usually, the elderly don’t get much space or action in fiction books, but in Lights! Wedding! Ludhiana! I have tried to show their vital role in the family dynamics and family politics. He is the enterprising guy who has built the industrial empire from scratch but presently he is the patriarch only in name. Kimti Lal has a major part to play in the last part of the book wherein in a drunken state, he reveals a family secret in public and causes a major embarrassment for his son.

How have you been coping with the current pandemic and what will be the new normal for you post it?

Even during the phase when the pandemic was at its peak, I had to attend to the patients, with full precautions of course. So, there wasn’t much of social isolation. However, I missed the face-to-face interactions in the conferences and literary events during this period since only online events were held. Though we have got attuned to online classes and events, once the pandemic is over, most of the person-to-person contacts will return. We are social beings and we have short memories too!

Lastly, are you currently reading anything and do you have any book recommendations for our readers?

As a nature watcher, I read lot of non-fiction books. I just finished The Hidden Life of Trees by Peter Wohlleben. This is a book which made me understand the silent wisdom of the gentle giants.

I strongly recommend the readers to go for a mix of foreign and Indian authors. Indian writing in English has come of age and there is no dearth of wonderful books in every genre and sub-genre.

The book ‘Lights! Wedding! Ludhiana!’ is available online and at your nearest bookstore.