How two friends turned real-life experiences into a dozen short stories for their first book

The Balloon Girl by Dr Radhika C Radhakrishnan and Sajith Nair is a collection of heartfelt stories based on real experiences.

For Dr Radhika C Radhakrishnan and Sajith Nair, their book The Balloon Girl is the realisation of a dream. The short story collection navigates through human lives, presenting a tapestry of relationships, emotions and memories.

Dr Radhika, a paediatric nephrologist in Thiruvananthapuram, and Sajith, an HR professional based in Dubai, were students of Mannam Memorial Residential Public School in the State capital. “Radhika was my junior and we didn’t know each other well while in school. We connected when a school alumni group was formed on WhatsApp. Some of us used to write down our experiences in that group and we liked each other’s writings,” says Sajith.

Dr Radhika adds, “It turned out that we both had the same dream while growing up – that of writing a book. That had to be put on the backburner as we got busy with our careers. But once we bonded over our writing, we felt we could do something together. That’s how this book came out.”

How did it work with them living miles apart? “Once we decided to write the book we discussed the subjects. When I had a story, I would mail it to him and vice versa. Then we edit each other’s writings. That was the process behind bringing out this book,” says Dr Radhika.

One aspect they stress upon is that both of them were open to the edits and corrections made by the other. “The best part of this friendship is that there is no ego, especially when it came to making the corrections in the copy. Even if there was any disagreement, we discussed that and sorted it out,” Sajith adds.

Dr Radhika points out that none of the 12 stories in the collection can be attributed to one person. “If I write a story and mail it to Sajith, he would not just edit it, he might also add a character, situations or dialogues. So all stories are equally owned by us.”

The writers stress that all the stories are based on their experiences. “Some of it has happened to us, the rest we have heard from others,” they say.