About Dr. Vanitha Vaidialingam
Dr. Vanitha Vaidialingam is a retired Civil Servant and an award winning author. She has a PhD in English Literature; an MBA in Operations Management and a Professional degree in Software Development and Systems Engineering. Her autobiographical book “Close Encounters of the Mystical Kind” received the Golden Book Award (2025), Sparsh Award (2024) and the International Tagore Award for Literature (2024). Her book “The War Within” received the LiFT Award (2024), the Golden Book Award (2024)and the Sparsh Award(2024), She has now written her first Novel “Madhavi”, which is already receiving several rave reviews. Apart from writing, Dr. Vanitha Vaidialingam is very passionate about teaching and spends all Sundays teaching underprivileged children in the slums around OMR.
LiFT: Tell us about your book, the journey of writing it, and its content.
Dr. Vanitha Vaidialingam: I was teaching a student the Tamil Epic Silappadikaram. Suddenly, I found myself thinking a lot of about the so called Villian of the epic “Madhavi”. Was she a home breaker or a person who was equally wronged by Kovalan? She suffers just as much as Kannagi, the heroine of the story. She is forced into a profession by society. She falls in love with Kovalan and remains faithful to him. When he leaves her, she does not go back to her profession. She is devastated and broken. She cannot bear to live in the world without her Kovalan. After he dies and there is no way she can get him back, she renounces everything and embraces monkhood. I felt that there is so much potential to examine the mind of this woman and try to understand her true feelings. So, I embarked on the book with a passionate desire to peep into Madhavi’s mind and understand what makes her tick. I have stuck to the outline of the epic but have focused on the psychological nuances of Madhavi’s mind. The result is a book that is deeply moving. People who have read the book have told me that they gained a completely different perspective on the epic and that they could not help but cry at the end of the story.
LiFT: Why did you choose this title?
Dr. Vanitha Vaidialingam: The name of the protagonist is Madhavi.
LiFT: When did you realize that you wanted to be a writer, and what was your inspiration behind it?
Dr. Vanitha Vaidialingam: I have always been writing. I never published my early writings due to diffidence and shyness. I published my first book in 1982, when my PhD Guide Dr. V.R. Narayanaswamy saw potential in me and encouraged me to write a book titled “Better English for Better Business”. Thereafter, I was very busy with my career for almost 25 years. I started writing again with the intent of entertaining my mother in law who was very sick. A publisher who saw what I had written became excited and insisted that it should be published. After some hesitation, I agreed. “Close Encounters of the Mystical Kind” was published by LifePositive Pvt Ltd in 2015. I also published my first collection of short stories “The War Within” the same year. Madhavi is my next big work. It was published in December 2025. I like writing. It is a way of expressing my deepest thoughts. Everything around me is an inspiration.
LiFT: Where do you see yourself ten years down the line in the world of literature?
Dr. Vanitha Vaidialingam: I know I am a good writer. All the books I have written so far has elicited excitement and praise from my readers. I would like to write books that stand the test of time. I hope one day my work will be recognized as literature in English and will be treated on par with the works of Kamala Markandaya, Anita Desai, R.K. Narayan and so on.
LiFT: How important do you think marketing and the quality of a book are in promoting it and increasing its readership?
Dr. Vanitha Vaidialingam: The quality of the book is everything. If the book is good, people will talk about it. More and more people will read. Additionally, the cover, the formatting, the quality of the paper etc., are also very important. It gives a good feel and look to the book. However, marketing has a big role too. What is the purpose of putting a book out there, if you are not going to do anything to reach out to the readers and tell them that the book is out there?
LiFT: What message do you want to convey to people through your writing?
Dr. Vanitha Vaidialingam: I have written an autobiography, a collection of short stories and a novel. They are very diverse genres. However, underlying all these works is a strong desire to explore the real me. I am a seeker, trying to understand the nuances of the mind. My autobiography explores the mystical situations I personally encountered and the impact it had on me as a person. My collection of short stories explore the minds of people placed in conflicting situations. Madhavi explores the mind of a woman caught between social expectations and personal desires and the pain that results from the conflict. It speaks of her ability to rise about both and define a unique path for herself.
LiFT: What do you do apart from writing?
Dr. Vanitha Vaidialingam: I am a homemaker and a social worker. I like to ensure that my house is neat and tidy and the members of my family are taken care of. I am passionate about teaching and teach underprivileged children computers, spoken English and soft skills. I like working with my hands and do a lot of art with paper and paint.
LiFT: What activities do you resort to when you face writer’s block?
Dr. Vanitha Vaidialingam: I listen to audio books or paint or do some kind of craft work with waste material.
LiFT: What if your story were to be adapted into a movie? Who would you want to work as the director or actors in it?
Dr. Vanitha Vaidialingam: I have had an offer from a Film Director E.V. Ganesh Babu for converting a short story into a short film. I would like to have actress Jyothika to be part of the film. If Mr. Manirathnam wants to take up my Novel Madhavi for making a film, I would be thrilled.
LiFT: Are you working on your next book? If so, could you tell us something about it?
Dr. Vanitha Vaidialingam: I have another collection of short stories on the anvil. I am still working on some of them. The book is called “Coffee Bites”. I am also writing another autobiographical work called “Maya to Moksha–a journey in search of myself”. As the title suggests, it is book about my search for truth.
LiFT: What are your suggestions for budding writers and poets to help them improve their writing skills?
Dr. Vanitha Vaidialingam: Writing should be an expression of your innermost feelings and thoughts. It may come out as a poem, prose or fiction. The deeper your feelings, the stronger the story line will be. Writing should be a pleasure, not something you do with your left brain. It is not math.
