Interview with Vinita Patil – Heroine of THE UNEXPECTED SON by Shobhan Bantwal

Interviewed by Shobhan Bantwal, the author, and Vinita’s contemporary in college.

Shobhan: You’re a brave woman, Vinita. Back in the 1970s, when you and I were in college, getting involved with a boy was taboo . . . and yet you managed to do it.

Vinita (sighing ruefully): Managed to get into the worst kind of trouble, you mean. Yeah, I admit that was stupid.

Shobhan: I wouldn’t exactly call it stupid. You could never be called that. You were the smartest girl in our class.

Vinita (with a wry smile): Precisely why I call myself that. If a not-too-bright girl had made that kind of mistake, It would’ve been acceptable. But I was considered a clever girl, and I ended up making a colossal mistake.

Shobhan: What exactly happened, Vinita?

Vinita: I fell in love with the devil.

Shobhan: You mean Som Kori.

Vinita: I knew he was bad and yet . . . I couldn’t resist his brand of rough charm.

Shobhan: It’s not your fault, I suppose. All the girls in college, including myself, were a little bit in love with Som Kori, the cricket hero at Shivraj College.

Vinita: I knew that, too. That’s what made him more irresistible, that all the girls wanted him, and I had him. Can you imagine that, a plain girl like me could catch the mighty Som Kori’s eye?

Shobhan (fanning herself with her hand): Must have been thrilling, huh? He was hot.

Vinita: Oh yeah, extremely thrilling . . . until I realized he was as bad as they said he was. Worse, in fact. But it was too late by then. I was in love.

Shobhan: We were all dying to know why you disappeared so suddenly. One fine day, you were gone. No one saw you again for almost 30 years. . . until I ran into you at the Hindu temple last year.

Vinita: Suffice it to say that I have regretted it for 30 years. And now it’s come back to bite me again.

Shobhan: Really! How?

Vinita: I might have to return to India to reconcile with my past. It’s one more decision that could be sheer stupidity, but . . . I have to do what I have to do.

Shobhan: Why would it be stupidity?

Vinita: I wish I could tell you that, but it’s a long, sordid story. It’s very difficult for me to talk about it.

Shobhan (nodding in sympathy): I understand. Some things are best left in the past, but I’m a writer now and I’d love to write your story, if you’re willing to tell me about it.

Vinita: Maybe someday—if things work out for me and my family.

Read Vinita’s story, her intriguing past, her liaison with the college sports hero, and how it comes back to haunt and threaten her present life, 30 years later—as told by Shobhan Bantwal in THE UNEXPECTED SON.

Shobhan’s website, www.shobhanbantwal.com lists all her books, short stories and articles, contests, video trailers, reviews, excerpts, recipes, photos, charities of her choice, and contact information. Her books are available at all major bookstores and online booksellers.