The Story Behind Different Worlds: Why This Novel Had to Be Written
Every novel has a seed—an idea, a moment, a quiet whisper that lingers until it demands attention. For me, the seed of Different Worlds was planted years ago during a quiet observation of couples I knew, respected, and admired. These were relationships that had lasted decades, built on commitment and sacrifice. But beneath the surface, I sensed something unspoken. The longer the marriage, the greater the silence.
I found myself asking: what keeps a marriage going beyond the shared home, the children, the achievements? And more importantly, what is lost when two people stop sharing their inner lives?
Different Worlds was my attempt to answer that. It is a story about a long-term marriage, but not in the romanticized sense. It explores what happens when emotional intimacy fades and neither party knows how—or whether—to reclaim it. The characters of Ramesh and Vandana Patel are fictional, but their struggles are rooted in real conversations I’ve had, stories I’ve heard, and questions I’ve carried.
I wrote this novel because I believe we need more honest stories about the emotional lives of adults—not just about love, but about aging, desire, loneliness, and self-worth. I wrote it to show that the absence of drama does not mean the absence of conflict. Quiet suffering is still suffering.
Different Worlds is not meant to offer easy answers. It is meant to ask difficult questions. And in those questions, I hope readers find a piece of their own truth.