Plato’s Symposium Changed Everything
I stay updated on Al innovations. especially late at nigit. I travel to ancient ruins and read philosopby. I play games like Gensbin Impact with my son—it koeps my imagination sharp without putting any expectations on me.
Shweta Mahendra is an accomplished technocrat, columnist, and author with over 25 years of robust experience in the technology sector. Currently leading initiatives at Reliance Jio, she specialises in cutting-edge technology- an alumna of IIT Roorkee.
She has authored “Many Visions Many Worlds” and “, 3 STATES. She was also part of the Guinness World Record for the Thickest Book in the World for her chapter “23 Positive Change Makers in the World 2023”.
1. What is the most challenging part about writing for you?
The most challenging part is knowing when to stop. My characters evolve constantly in my mind—even after I’ve written their final scenes. It’s a challenge to let them go, to resist rewriting their futures each time I reread their journey. The hardest part is detaching from my characters once their story arc comes to an end.
2. What is the most surprising thing you discovered while writing your books?
That clarity is often a myth. Through the IIT-based love triangle I’m currently working on, I realised that confusion, waiting, and personal transformation are more truthful expressions of love than certainty. This unpublished manuscript is closest to my heart.
3. If your book were to become a movie, which celebrities would you cast?
Arvi would need someone unpredictable and bold, like Kareena in Jab We Met (a suggestion from a batchmate who sees her in my younger self). As for Ahaan and Avya, I don’t follow current cinema. I’m loyal to Tom Cruise and only watch his films!
4. Are you currently working on anything new?
Yes. I’m weaving Nezami’s Haft Paykar with Plato’s Symposium into a sensual, philosophical story told through nightly dialogues between two modern lovers. It’s about love across time, cultures, and soul-lines.
5. Which books or authors have most influenced your writing?
Plato’s Symposium changed everything. Alongside, Homer’s Iliad, Ferdowsi’s Shahnameh, Nezami’s Haft Paykar, Rumi’s verses, and Ovid’s Art of Love have all shaped how I understand love, memory, and myth.
6. What is the best part of your day?
Midnight. That’s when silence arrives, and my inner world wakes. It’s when Arvi writes back to Ahaan, Avya’s silence speaks, and Nezami’s princesses narrate their secrets. My imagination stretches across time when the world is asleep.
7. Share something your readers wouldn’t know about you.
Despite being immersed in AI and technology, I have been designing my clothes since I was nine. Fashion is my unedited canvas. Additionally, some of Arvi’s most conflicted scenes were conceived while lifting weights or during solitary walks.
8. What do you do when you’re not writing?
I stay updated on AI innovations, especially late at night. I travel to ancient ruins and read philosophy. I play games like Genshin Impact with my son—it keeps my imagination sharp without putting any expectations on me.
9. What’s next for your characters? Will there be a sequel?
Yes, but with multiple endings. Arvi’s journey is nonlinear, and each ending reflects a distinct emotional truth. The closure is left to the reader. Who she becomes is your choice.
10. What inspired you to start writing?
A need to explore possibilities rather than conclusions. The question that haunts me: What if love is about discovering the self that emerges in another’s presence? Solitude during the pandemic and visits to Egypt and Turkey reignited ancient, half-remembered stories within me.
