Dipavali Sen is a retired academic, and a life-member of the Association of Writers and Illustrators (A.W.I.C.), New Delhi. At present, she lives in Gurgaon, after more than three decades in Delhi. She writes for children as well as adults, on contemporary as well as mythological subjects, often blending the two. She has recently come out with the book The Gleam of Gold.

I chat with her about her book The Gleam of Gold, how the book came to be, book recommendations, and much more.

If you could only describe your book “The Gleam of Gold” in five words, what would they be?

Treasure-hunt spanning centuries and regions.

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

The Gomez family and the Pinto family are old families of Portuguese descent in Benaulim, South Goa. But in Bandel, West Bengal, there is a Chaudhuri family that has a link with the Pinto family – an old diary of the ancestor of the Pintos. The Chaudhuris come visiting Goa. Picking up a cell phone of the Chaudhuris dropped into a disused well of the old Pinto mansion, young Alvarez Gomez sees a gleam of gold. This brings the three families together in a quest for the gold. It leads to violence, death, as well as romance and revelation of lost connections.

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

It was on a visit to Goa that the idea of the book struck me. I was intrigued by the atmosphere of Goa with its Portuguese past. I had also visited Bandel in West Bengal, another place with Portuguese past. I pursued the thought of linking the two places together in a novel.

Can you tell us your creative process behind the characterization of the protagonist Alvarez Gomez?

I just thought up an enthusiastic college-going fellow, with friends and family, and a romantic yet practical attitude. Then he just grew! There was not much effort building him up as a character.

The locales of Goa also come alive as a character in the book. Tell us more about your research process for the portrayal of Goa.

I made several visits to Goa, staying in a resort in Benaulim. I went to the beach, ate at beachside shacks, and took guided tours of its old houses now thrown open to the public. I noted down local details. Back in Gurgaon where I stay, I consulted some written material.

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

I enjoyed creating the character of Diego Pinto, the shipwrecked pirate who settled down in Goa in the 16^th century. Cruelty and family feeling were both there in him. I loved writing parts dealing with his Memoria or diary, with last-moment clues to the gold he had left behind. I felt that although the Portuguese had come earlier and left later, our knowledge of the Portuguese settlers like him is much less than that of the British. I tried therefore to imagine one such person.

Can you tell us a bit about the challenges you faced while writing and how you were able to overcome them?

The first difficulty was being located so very far from either Goa or Bengal. I overcame it by visiting Benaulim several times and recalling my long-past visits to Bandel. The second difficulty was getting it illustrated. I have used my own sketches of the characters in the book, with help from the wonderful team of Invincible Publishers who went along with that experiment.

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

I am now continuing with my interest in the Epics and Puranas, and I request the readers to go through the books based on them that I have written. For e.g., Unheard Voices from Ancient Times (2021), Rishika (2021), and Subhadra (2022), all available online. Though mythological, they try to link the past and present, as does the book The Gleam of Gold.

The book ‘The Gleam of Gold’ is available online and at your nearest bookstore.