9.3 More Than Just Chick-lit ft. Deepanjana Pal
Wed Feb 04 2026
What if the most important love story in your life isn’t romantic at all?
In our brand new episode, journalist and author Deepanjana Pal talks about her novel, Lightning in a Shot Glass. It’s a witty, radical look at two Mumbai flatmates navigating love, life, and ambition on their own terms.
Tara and Deepanjana dive into why female friendships are often the real love stories of our lives and how having chosen family keeps us grounded. They challenge the notion of genre hierarchies while showing that love stories can be smart and fun.
Deepanjana also gets candid about the messier parts of life, from workplace politics and abuse of authority to age-gap and interfaith romance. By bringing these real-world messes into the conversation, she proves that fiction can be both joyful and deeply authentic at the same time.
If you’re looking to dive into something that's as smart and fun as it is unapologetically real, this episode is for you!
Books and TV Shows mentioned in the episode:
Younger (2015)Four More Shots Please! (2019)Call Me Bae (2024)Fleabag (2016)The Family Man (2019)A Natural History of Dragons: A Memoir by Lady Trent by Marie BrennanBeowulf: A New Translation by Maria Dahvana HeadleyThe Mere Wife by Maria Dahvana HeadleyThe Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny by Kiran DesaiCat's Eye by Margaret AtwoodImagine spending five days of uninterrupted creativity in a serene, century-old Indo-Portuguese villa. Join an exclusive group of twelve writers for a transformative writing retreat. 5 seats left, apply now!
Learn more: https://boundindia.com/retreats/annual-writers-retreat
Apply now: https://tinyurl.com/46rhn7hz
‘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.
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What if the most important love story in your life isn’t romantic at all? In our brand new episode, journalist and author Deepanjana Pal talks about her novel, Lightning in a Shot Glass. It’s a witty, radical look at two Mumbai flatmates navigating love, life, and ambition on their own terms. Tara and Deepanjana dive into why female friendships are often the real love stories of our lives and how having chosen family keeps us grounded. They challenge the notion of genre hierarchies while showing that love stories can be smart and fun. Deepanjana also gets candid about the messier parts of life, from workplace politics and abuse of authority to age-gap and interfaith romance. By bringing these real-world messes into the conversation, she proves that fiction can be both joyful and deeply authentic at the same time. If you’re looking to dive into something that's as smart and fun as it is unapologetically real, this episode is for you! Books and TV Shows mentioned in the episode: Younger (2015)Four More Shots Please! (2019)Call Me Bae (2024)Fleabag (2016)The Family Man (2019)A Natural History of Dragons: A Memoir by Lady Trent by Marie BrennanBeowulf: A New Translation by Maria Dahvana HeadleyThe Mere Wife by Maria Dahvana HeadleyThe Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny by Kiran DesaiCat's Eye by Margaret AtwoodImagine spending five days of uninterrupted creativity in a serene, century-old Indo-Portuguese villa. Join an exclusive group of twelve writers for a transformative writing retreat. 5 seats left, apply now! Learn more: https://boundindia.com/retreats/annual-writers-retreat Apply now: https://tinyurl.com/46rhn7hz ‘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.