If you've ever felt the pull of a new city and the desperate need to start over, keep listening.

In this episode, Tara sits down with the award-winning author Rahul Bhattacharya to discuss his latest novel, Railsong.

Writing about the freedom of a woman set in the 1970s, as a male author, is no small task. Rahul talks about Charu, a motherless daughter of a railway worker who flees to Bombay to build a life from scratch, on her own terms, in a country that's also figuring itself out.

Together, Rahul and Tara explore the role of research in fiction to make the audience feel like it's their story. Rahul explains what it was like to navigate this Everywoman story and how the domestic and the political are never really separate, whether it's 1974 or now. 

He talks about why the computer undid his ability to go deep and how Toni Morisson’s method inspired him to write his first draft of 133,000 words by hand. 

Whether you are stuck in the train or traffic, this episode will surely help you escape to another world. 

Books mentioned in this episode:

1. The Rabbit Angstrom series by John Updike
2. Desperately Seeking Shah Rukh: India's Lonely Young Women and the Search for Intimacy and Independence by Shrayana Bhattacharya
3. Pundits from Pakistan by Rahul Bhattacharya
4. The Sly Company of People Who Care by Rahul Bhattacharya

Applications for The Bound Publishing Course 2026 are now open.

The Bound Publishing Course is a 3-month intensive course on book, magazine, and digital publishing. Through live sessions, workshops, and industry-facing projects, participants gain practical publishing skills and exposure to careers across the industry.

• Cohort size: 50 seats
• First round of acceptances: 15th June 2026
• Applications are reviewed on a rolling bas

‘Books and Beyond with Bound’ is the podcast where Tara Khandelwal and Michelle D’costa uncover how their books reflect the realities of our lives and society today. Find out what drives India’s finest authors: from personal experiences to jugaad research methods, insecurities to publishing journeys. Created by Bound, a storytelling company that helps you grow through stories. Follow us @boundindia on all social media platforms.