ONCE UPON A TIME IN MUMBAI 

Reema Patel’s debut novel, Such Big Dreams, is set in Mumbai, India. Named a CBC Canadian Fiction title to watch, the book takes the reader deep into the heart of Mumbai and Indian culture. A lawyer for the City of Toronto, Patel has also worked in Mumbai in the youth non-profit sector and in human rights advocacy, where she fought to protect children’s rights and street youth.

Her own life experiences influenced the shape and themes of the book.

Name: Reema Patel. My mom wanted to give me a name that was easily pronounced, not easily shortened or anglicised.

Currently: I’m a lawyer for the City of Toronto and on parental leave with my newborn. Over the past ten years I’ve worked in provincial and municipal government writing public policy, practising law and conducting Ombudsman investigations.

Favourite colour: Green.

Favourite designers: Payal Khandwala, Norblack Norwhite.

Favourite Bollywood star: Irrfan Khan was one of the finest actors in Indian cinema.

Favourite Hollywood star: Issa Rae.

Favourite movie: Empire Records, but I haven’t seen it in years.

Favourite singers: Jeff Buckley, Burna Boy, Cat Power, Beyonce.

Favourite song: Night-swimming by R.E.M.

Favourite TV show: The Office. I’ve never worked somewhere where I didn’t draw parallels between my colleagues and the characters in the show.

Favourite ice cream flavour: My parents owned an ice cream shop when I was growing up. I never had to pick a favourite. Instead I got to learn how to combine flavours to make an excellent cone. For example, I like to pair something really creamy like malted vanilla with something tart like a raspberry sorbet. Or coffee with oreo. I don’t know why this works, it just does.

Favourite cuisine: Anything my husband makes. He’s the chef in our family.

Favourite restaurant: Throughout the pandemic, I’ve eaten at Famiglia Baldassare the most. It’s a small handmade pasta takeout counter with a daily lunch feature. Their rapini pesto is my absolute favourite.

Favourite book: My all-time favourite book is The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy. I must have read it around fifteen times. With each read, I learn something new.

Favourite activity: I love creative writing, otherwise I would never have made the time to have written a novel on top of having a day job! I also love travel, staying active and eating.

I hang out: With my friends and family (ideally on a sunny patio with a cold beer).

I’m freaked out by: Climate change and our desire to place economic interests ahead of sustainability for future generations.

I need: An ice cream cone.

I want to be: A full-time writer so I can dedicate more time to improving my craft and telling stories I care about.

My role models: I admire Rana Ayyub, a prominent Indian journalist who writes about communal violence and, notably, state-sanctioned genocide in Gujarat. She is courageous and unstoppable.

Tips to save the planet: Stop deluding ourselves that changing individual consumption habits is enough to steer us away from disaster. Urgent action is needed on financing, adapting to climate impacts and cutting emissions. Without public pressure and political courage, we’ll miss the window to slow down the coming catastrophe.

In a perfect world: We’d all be very bored, because perfection is dull.

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