Author shares her insights into ageing gracefully, energetically

As Indian author Shobhaa Dé's latest book hits shelves, Shobhaa at Sixty, she talks about the productive energy and enthusiasm of life in her sixth decade

The internationally best-selling writer and popular social commentator Shobhaa Dé.

Shobhaa Dé, the glamorous lady before me, turned 60 around the same time that India celebrated 60 years of Independence, and her work in part powerfully traces the parallel stories of her own life and the cataclysmic changes in her country.

The internationally best-selling writer and popular social commentator is the author of such provocative works as Superstar India, Bollywood Nights, Spouse: The Truth About Marriage, as well as writing for the popular soap opera, Swabhimaan. Her new book, Shobhaa at Sixty, is a clarion call for women to embrace rather than be embarrassed about, the encroaching years.

"I would say that the biggest change has been the way we in India see ourselves and the way women have changed," she says. "I think most cultures are driven by change, very often pushed by women. Those cultures who realise that this change is going to come from women are cultures that prosper."

Dé's formative years were spent in Delhi as, she says, "the slightly bratty daughter of a bureaucrat". She was always writing. "It was almost like being born with a pen in my mouth rather than a silver spoon", she says. "My old diaries as a schoolgirl were to do with observations of the life around me." A defining moment was moving to Mumbai, which was later to become a character itself in her fiction. "Growing up in Mumbai at a time when Mumbai was defining itself was very exciting. I discovered many things about myself not just as a creative person but as a very competitive athlete."

At age 17, she started modelling extensively across the world, an experience that imbued her with confidence. As a copywriter, she learnt to take risks. "Every writer needs to take risks. One thing a writer cannot afford to do, is to live a dull life."

Dé has harnessed her diverse experiences in many genres of writing - short stories, memoirs, fiction, television, Twitter. "For me, writing is all-consuming and that really is what makes writing stimulating. It gives me a high." For her, fiction is a liberation. "It gives you a chance to occupy different minds. I believe there are no taboos in fiction, other than those you impose on yourself."

Dé breaks taboos in her non-fiction, too. The purpose of writing Shobhaa at Sixty, which tells of growing old with grace and good humour, was to send out a strong and powerful message that we do live in an ageist society. "India is a very young country. More than 70 per cent of people in India are under the age of 30. Traditionally, senior citizens did hold a position of respect, almost reverence. That is changing."

This can diminish the way women feel about themselves, she argues, but turning 60 is not the end of the road but the beginning of a new journey. "This book is to inspire women not to give up on themselves. The minute you do, the minute society will regard you in a diminished light. Self-worth is so delicate and so fragile. This is a book saying that in an ageist world you have to go out there and give it your best shot. We're living better, looking better, eating better - so there's no reason at all not to."

Dé describes the phenomenal response the book has received. "I think it has struck a strong emotional chord in women who were unable to express their own insecurities and anxieties. It's not offering magic mantras. It's saying accept it. Don't let it become a neurotic hell in which you become trapped. The worst thing that can happen is a scowl, not a bit of cellulite. The best cosmetic in the world is love. If you like yourself and are fortunate enough to be surrounded by people who like you, that beats any spa treatments."

She speaks powerfully about the hurdles faced by women in society: "I think most women are very good at negotiating hurdles. Life places more hurdles for them than men. Our brains are programmed to do that. We're expert jugglers and acrobats. We can tightrope walk and negotiate our way out of any situation."

A female writer faces particular challenges: "For me as a writer, the difficult part was breaking rules. If a woman is saying things that are not conforming to society's notions of what a woman should be saying and writing about, that always creates its own set of hurdles. But once I had established my nimbleness in negotiating those hurdles, I didn't have to look back."

Dé is outspoken as a writer on topics that concern her, explaining: "The best thing about being a writer in India is that one can take complete and total advantage of being in a democracy. Being able to speak out fearlessly does take some guts." However, she says, having made that decision and knowing that democracy and truth are in a way her "shield" makes it easier.

"Having said that," she concedes, "putting yourself on the line, especially when the issues you talk about are sensitive and politically charged, is not the easiest option, but for me there is no other option. I have never opted for safe. I know what goes with the turf. I choose to be this person and speak out."

And she hopes that by doing so, many more women will be encouraged to do the same, "so it can be not just one or two lone voices, but an entire movement". She believes there is very positive change in India in the way that women are regarded. "I often tell women who feel disenfranchised that the reason they feel that way is that they are not aware that in a democracy their interests are safe-guarded."

Dé has mastered the online technology revolution and is a prolific blogger and tweeter. "If you're not on the internet, you don't exist," she admits. "It's something my generation have had to wake up to. The connectivity and excitement that you generate on the internet is huge. You never know who you're actually reaching." Unlike other writers, she does not censor her negative comments. "I like to hear dissent," she says. "Age and youth don't have to compete. If we mutually embrace each other's strengths it will make the world a better place. Technology is going to be driving our lives in the next few decades. And with technology, age becomes irrelevant".

Juxtaposed with such new technologies are aspects of society that are difficult to shift. Dé was in a car when somebody knocked on the window and offered her a pirated copy of her own book. This way of selling books and magazines happens most aggressively at street signals, she explains.

Bollywood is a passion of hers and she speaks of how it is now "crossing cultures and crossing boundaries". She enjoys the escapism of a fabulously choreographed and costumed Bollywood movie: "Bollywood cinema is one of the best stress-busters ever. The more over-the-top the movie is, the more relaxing. You can see extraordinarily good-looking people in the most ridiculous situations. For two and a half hours you can just let go. The changes in Bollywood cinema reflect the changes in our own society."

As to whether she sees herself as a feminist, she says: "I'm fiercely pro-women but I'm fiercely pro-underdog, so I've stood up for men when I've felt they were getting a hard time. I would prefer to call myself a humanist than a feminist."

Her twin passions at the moment are teaching and travelling. She holds that "the greatest university on earth is travel. Each time, there's always a revelation".

The place at the heart of her new book is her "inner landscape". "You have to be at peace within yourself and project that to the world. I've always sought it out. The journey continues. It's a quest that never ends. I feel a productive energy within myself that I wish to channel and harness. There are thousands of ideas exploding inside my head. I feel very on top of my life. I hope that through my writing and life I can communicate even half of that enthusiasm. That in itself is a huge reward."