Unapologetically yours

For Tanooraa Swetha Menon, an entrepreneur, a solo traveller and a single mother, Thattamitta Menothi is retrospection. A memoir, it chronicles her bitter-sweet moments from life. Tanooraa admits that she was not afraid to bare her soul through the book that narrates her frustrated childhood, abusive marriage, divorce, post-divorce love, entrepreneurship and travel. “Why should I be afraid of speaking the truth,” asks the Kochi native unapologetically.

Read her book, one could find that the words come straight from heart. It flows like a river, moment by moment. “It is written in the language of the heart,” says Tanooraa, who recently launched Thattamitta Menonthi at a function in Kochi.

“I am not a professional writer. I wrote as it came. Most of my writing happened during my travels,” says Tanooraa who has travelled alone to 20 countries. “My ‘aha moment’ happened during one such trip,” she says. “Every woman should travel solo at least once in their lifetime. That would help them see the world, understand different cultures and, above all, trust people,” believes Tanooraa, who religiously devotes a few days for travel every month. “That makes me energetic and also let my people miss me,” she chuckles.

Ask her the reason behind penning the book, she says, she wanted to rewrite certain notions. “People think that everything, including my business, came easy to me. But it was not like that. I had to work hard and overcome many fears to be here. At some point, I felt people should know my fight. Also, our society doesn’t approve of independent and happy single mothers. That too should change,” says Tanooraa.

However, the autobiographical element was added later. “Initially, I thought I would write just about venturing into business. But then it dawned upon me that any businesswoman could say that. I came from a background where luxury meant getting three proper meals a day. Whatever else I got from my stepfather was bonus. Later, I took tuitions for more than 100 students for a living. I was depressed after divorce. I had to work hard to ensure financial security and start a business. So, it was not a cakewalk. That is when I decided I should write it as my story. Also, I wanted those who buried me to know that I was seed,” says Tanooraa, who does not regret anything in life.

She loves to see the bright side of even the gloomiest incidents, “Nobody likes people with baggage. But I feel mistakes refine us. If we don’t fail, we would never realise our worth and will start loving ourselves. In that sense, my book is an outcome of self love.”

She adds, “Self love doesn’t mean selfishness. You should live for your children, but for yourself too.”

She is happy that she could present her emotions pleasantly. “I would like to believe that the supreme power loves me so much that he put me in difficult situations so that my best version would come out. I may not write another book because writing is not my forte. But by reading this book, if one woman realises that key to her happiness lies within herself, that is enough,” she signs off.