“ Yes” the tone
of my
voice daring for the caller to say
a word. Whether or
not I always enjoy my company, I do, however,
enjoy my solitude.
“ I have found him”!
*
Two days later
I found myself, in the
hot sweltering dusty
( name one street that isn’t
) bylane of ‘X’ city after having been unceremoniously
dropped off a kilometer from my destination when I refused a most
impolite auto-rickshaw driver
excess on the fare, In
the wake of
an unserviced exhaust
pipe and wishing
the auto-rickshaw driver
the blessings of a
thousand mosquitoes in
his sleep, hoisted
the back pack onto
my shoulders and
quickly walked down
looking right left
and centre for a
building and whilst
there were many
in all stages of
birth and decay
I was looking for just one.
True to
form, a large derelict stone and brick
mass oozed a
crackling energy. When looking
for a writer- look for the
building with most
story and character.
Bracing myself for
my foolhardiness, pepper-spray in hand, I
pushed it in
a bit more and a
rush of cool
air beckoned me
inwards while the
pregnant silence was
counter-active. I stepped
onto the deserted,
tiled floor. My informant had better be right. If
the purpose of
my visit ( quest?) wasn’t
to be found here then a
throttling was in
order.
“Im up here
Seth ji” bellowed a
voice from the
abyss above.
Who ever Seth ji was
, if the voice indeed
belonged to the
man I along with a
host of readers,
wanted to know , then
he would just
have to make
do with me.
I mounted
the wrought iron
circular staircase and
ascended onto a
landing the size
of a small ballroom.
A gentle beauty
bathed the room.
A skylight lined
with frosted glass
allowed for diffused sunlight t to enter giving the
library an ethereal
glow. . Tottering piles of
books, some gilt
edged others glossy
some plain covered
with tiny delicate silverfish
lay crisscross one on
top of the other. Dust motes
swirled through the air, shimmering and dancing like
fairies on a mid summers night
, I walked through the haze of dusty
molecules of knowledge
freed from the homes of the books that
encapsulated them and
then noticed someone who
apparently hadn’t noticed
me..
Here was the object
of my interview ( at that point
it ever occurred
to me that he would refuse) . From within
the recesses of my
bag I withdrew a copy
of the book “ Scammed; Confessions of a Confused Accountant” written by anonymous.
Just days after the release
had people talking
about the identity
of the author who so accurately captured the state of
business and affairs
run by companies, (though the book
is set in Hyderabad, India )
the world over
This time my
movement was observed
and a smart looking chap of
medium build and
height turned his
head towards me,
saw the book… and a
look of amused
resignation flickered across
his face.
“ How did you find
me? ”
“ You know what they say about magicians and their
illusions ”
An indulgent chuckle
later, I told him I wouldn’t
reveal his identity and only wanted to ask him a few questions..
“Why have you chosen to be
anonymous? In this day and age of
everyone jumping on the instant celebrity hood bandwagon for doing nothing
other appearing in the society
pages with no noteworthy contributions to their name?”
“I believe it has become a fad to jump on the writing
bandwagon these days. Everyone and their
doodhwala is writing a book, and competing for this to become a coveted
bestseller. For me, the reasons to write are different – I write because I have
stories to tell, while having an audience who enjoy reading my stories. Whether
my name comes out there or not, it really doesn’t matter. I’d like for them to
read my books and enjoy my stories, and not the other way around.”
“Politicians are an insecure
lot. Stamping their feet like spoilt brats, if they don’t get what they want,
often at the behest of the taxpayers money. Has retaliation ever crossed your mind due to the accurate
portrayal of the ways of financial
corruption that involves our politicians?”
“I think as in every profession there are good and bad
people. This gets magnified more with politicians, as they are human beings
with power and influence. But we are the ones who give them the position they
are in, and its up to us to be better informed and pick those who are most
capable to govern us, without voting along caste, creed and other such
influences.”
“What research went into this book?
What are your
thoughts on the
current PriceWaterHouse
India scandal?”
“There was no research as I subconsciously drew what I
needed from what’s around me. On PwC, I’m not sure about the details of this
and thus its hard to comment. Often these problems are about individuals who
tend to bring down organizations, but I’m sure they’ll survive and thrive, as they
are a reputed firm with many capable professionals.”
“Whom did you want
to be growing up? How did
writing happen?”
“I can’t put a finger on it, for sometime I wanted to be
a lighthouse keeper (inspired by the Hardy Boys and Famous Five novels). Then
there were dreams of becoming a pilot, which were dreams at best, given my
eyesight. I used to read storybooks under a blanket, late at night. I guess my
experiences in life and reading as voraciously as I did while growing up, sort
of built these stories in my head, which I wanted to bring to an audience.”
“Who are your inspirations (
literary and otherwise ) ?”
“I’m inspired by a lot of people. My late father for
being the son he was to my grandma, my Nana who was the most simple and gentle
person I’ve met, and a wonderful father and grandfather. My mother who’s the
strongest person I know, and who’s stood by me through good and bad choices in
life. I’m inspired by John Lenon’s
philosophy, Christopher Nolan, Tim Burton, Imtiaz Ali and Sam Mendes’s
films, Danny Boyle’s guts to explore
something different with each film, Obama’s quest to make difference despite
the stiff opposition, Mitch Albom’s words
of wisdom, Steve Jobs’ creativity and a number of musicians who inspire the
soul.
As far as literary inspirations go – Charles Dickens, RK Narayan, Truman Capote, Haruki Murakami, F. Scott
Fitzgerald, Ruskin Bond, not just for the stories they wrote but for their
journeys in life as writers, and the honesty with which they did what they
believed in. I’m also very taken in by Stephen
King and John Grisham, as despite their success they remain true to what
they do. They are writers and not showpieces or pseudo opinion leaders on
everything under the sun.”
“ What is a writers
pregorative? Is it
only Entertainment Entertainment Entertainment?”
I don’t think it’s just that, one has to write for one’s
self, things that they truly believe in and can stand by.
“ An enjoyable genre you
like to read but will never
write?”
“ I love to read biographies and autobiographies, but I
don’t believe I can write one.”
“ Current read?”
“I’m reading two books at the moment – The Virgin
Suicides by Jeffery Eugenides and Nemesis by Philip Roth”
“What are your quirky
book habits? ( reading and writing )”
I tend to read 4-5 books at a time. Very often I’m
shuffling between them, and uncannily I know exactly where I stop with each of
them, so I can get into them very easily even if I get back to it after a
month.
As a writer, I don’t know. Being one is quirky enough.
“Whats your current view
on Indian English
literature? Some of the best
stories are in
the vernacular. Is it
time for translations to make a
huge entry?”
“I believe some very good translations exist, especially
for that of Bengali literature. But a lot more can be done. I think there are a
number of interesting stories in regional languages and those that can be
translated should be. I think these stories really capture the essence of our
lives today.
On the other hand, a lot of what is pedaled, as English
literature isn’t quite what it should be. Its often gibberish by those who want
to be famous quickly, and it imitates Bollywood
cinema, much of which is make believe and over the top, with little resemblance
to life as it is.”
“How are you on
the social media
front? Still anonymous?”
That’s funny. I don’t believe I’m anti – social but as a
writer one has to isolate oneself and cut out the noise, and these days I do
that a lot.
The social media has
enabled individuals to
market themselves like never
before and get published inspite of having no apparent skills
of a racountuer leave alone grammatical ones. .
What do you think?
Is the only about the
money?
It’s about money, fame, power, influence and all that
jazz… I see some socially awkward individuals running blogs and websites,
ripping apart individuals they have a grouse against, and showing a lot of
support to those who give them some importance. I guess it’s an outlet for them
to deal with issues they’ve had growing up.
On the other hand there are blogs that are credible,
honest and that bring good content to their readers. Dfuse.in, Helter Skelter,
Mumbai Boss are among those who are doing a very good job.
Salman Rushdie. A fine
author and individual. Yet,
for excercising his
freedom of speech has
a fatwa on his
head. How far
is too far do you
think? Where should the
limit de drawn?
I don’t know of him as a person, and I truly couldn’t finish
the two books that I tried reading. I quite disliked both of them. I’m not sure
on this one; it’s a tricky question. There’s nothing that’s black or white I
feel, despite there being mixed opinions and views on this one. What I do feel
is that the media is giving this disproportionate attention, as he is a darling
of many media outfits. Why don’t they focus on real issues – corporate land
grabs, the growth of clandestine big business set ups by politicians or those
close to them, the appalling condition of our health, education, transport and
other infrastructure that is tearing at its seams or is available to those who
can pay a price.
Should be there be a
literary body that
governs the quality
of writing in
the booming Indian
market?
I believe that there should be a literary body that
governs who can publish and what in the name of English literature. This isn’t
a curb on one’s freedom of expression, one can still do that on their blogs and
own websites, but a certain minimum standard in terms of editorial quality is
necessary when you’re bringing books into stores and pitching these to people
who want to read. The body shouldn’t govern what gets published, but who
publishes these books and whether they are credible enough to represent an
‘Indian publisher’. A lot of other guys
making money from this business are glorified printers with a Hotmail account
who are ripping off poor writers who want to see their name in print.
“Are you a sociable person?
Do u need seclusion to write?”
“I’m not a sociable person when I’m writing; I do need a
lot of seclusion and many cups of coffee. I’m sociable now, given that I’m going
through the phase of launching what’s already written.”
“Whats been you
most memorable writing experience? Likewise, the worst and funniest?”
“I don’t know, its all the same to me really. Writing
needs seclusion, determination and focus. I think there are good and bad
experiences when one gets down to launching books. At one event, an old
gentleman came up to me and said he spotted an error in my book. I wondered
what, and he smiled. He spoke about a bank in Fort that doesn’t exist and he
knows as he’s lived there all his life, to which I had to explain that indeed
it doesn’t and the book is a work of fiction. The worst would be to show up at
an event to launch my book, and the bookstore has accidently printed posters
and standees of another upcoming book and put that up instead at my launch. The
worst experience for me, but something funny for an observer.”
“Do you enjoy watching
movies? Whats your take
on the current quality of
youth oriented shows?”
“I truly enjoy watching all kinds of films including
animated ones. I also watch a lot of Italian and Spanish films with
subtitles. I do not watch any of the
youth oriented TV shows. I guess I have little time for them given my busy
schedule.”
“Your book is
being well received. How does
that make you
feel? Still want to
be remain anonymous?”
Thank you, and a big thanks to all the readers out there
who’ve given my writing a place on their reading lists. On this one, yes, its
fun to remain anonymous. It does keep some people guessing.
It does keep
people guessing alright , for, I realized,( once I had ambled out of the tombstone of a building
into the fine dusky evening ) I had gotten any step further towards uncovering
his identity. Maybe someday soon.
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