8.8 Bhavika Govil: On Growing Up, Growing Apart, and Grieving Secrets

Books and Beyond with Bound

What if one secret could shatter everything you thought you knew about your family?

In this episode, Bhavika Govil dives into her haunting, lyrical novel Hot Water, a coming-of-age story about the silences that pull families apart.

Bhavika talks about the novel’s striking water motif and the emotional and craft challenges of writing Ashu, a 14-year-old boy and Meera, a 9-year-old girl, and trying to make them feel both real and raw.

This episode takes a deep dive into understanding family dramas better, and how writing about what’s left unsaid is often more powerful than spelling things out. It’s a sharp, intimate, and deeply thoughtful episode on the stories we carry long after they’re over.

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‘Books and Beyond with Bound’ is the podcast where Tara Khandelwal and Michelle D’costa uncover how their books reflect the realities of our lives and society today. Find out what drives India’s finest authors: from personal experiences to jugaad research methods, insecurities to publishing journeys. Created by Bound, a storytelling company that helps you grow through stories. Follow us @boundindia on all social media platforms.