Anju Poddar (above) recently launched her eighth book, Home Diva (Bloomsbury India, Rs 499), which has life hacks for the modern woman and man. Following the launch at her residence, Poddar House, she discussed with Madhu Neotia, Bharti Deveshwar and Jayasri Burman tips and tricks for the home and more. Excerpts from a t2 chat on the sidelines of the launch.

THE SEED
A young girl asked me for advice once. She was highly educated and fond of branded things but didn’t know how to take care of them. In today’s generation, people are not learning home skills. Most of my books are about collecting information that has not been documented. 

THE ASSIMILATION 
I’m a fast worker. I wake up in the morning and the first thing I do is zone in on all the points that need to go into the book and also how I want it to be. From 8am to noon I type all that I have gathered, and then I start phoning people. Like, if it’s about a shawl, I will call up people in Delhi or Srinagar for information. I wrote this book in three weeks.... I’ve also designed the cover. 

THE GIFT OF GIVING 
Sharing makes you grow. On my blog you’ll see so much information that could be helpful for a lot of people. It would be wrong for me to keep all the tips that I have collected from others to myself and a few limited people around me.

HOME DIVA IS FOR...
Anyone who loves keeping a home, be it a man or a woman. Right from how to pack while travelling to how to store linen and everything in between. Young men who are going outside to study,  and not getting married till they are 40, this book would be a great help. It’s all about respecting what you have and taking proper care of it. 

Riddhima Khanna
Pictures: Rashbehari Das