"As a writer, I'm rhapsodic and uncontainable," he says. His perpetual obsession with creativity hints at the shape of things to come in his literary world.
Born in 1949, Bijay Kishore Sundar Ray belongs to Bhubaneswar. After obtaining First Class Honours in History from the Utkal University in 1968, he went to Delhi where he completed his post-graduation in History. He had a brief stint as a research scholar on International Relations at the Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. He was called to join the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) in 1972 and allotted the Madhya Pradesh cadre. He handled many challenging assignments that too with a rare dexterity and adroitness. His relentless quest for knowledge took him to England in 1988 where he pursued M.sc in politics at the University of York. After the formation of Chhattisgarh, he came back to work there and handled many important and sensitive assignments successfully. As Additional Chief Secretary, Home, Ray played a key role in taking on the threat of Maoist violence. His first novel The Revolutionary was a narrative about the struggle against the extremist terror and how two friends fought against the extremist threat. Being a top mandarin with enormous assignments could not deter him from his passion for creative writing. "My literary leanings sharpened my sensibilities to perceive human situations and their sufferings with sympathy and empathy," opines Ray. He is influenced by the writings of DH lawrence, Albert Camus, Aldus Huxley, Bertrand Russell, Frantz Kafka, WH Auden, TS Eliot, Octavo Paz, Pablo Neruda, George Orwell and Ezra Pound. His latest novel The Turmoil relates to family harmony, trust deficit, struggle against corruption, marital fights, love between a brother and a sister and extramarital affairs.
So far, Ray has written 30 books including four novels, seven short story collections, 15 volumes of poetry and four volumes of essays on contemporary affairs. He writes a regular column on national and international affairs in The Central Chronicle and a regular column in Hindi daily Navbharat.
After his superannuation as Chhattisgarh Chief Secretary in 2009, Ray has settled down in Raipur where he pursues his scholastic studies and creative writings. In an interview to The Pioneer, Sundar Ray spoke to Sugyan Choudhury in Bhubaneswar on the occasion of release of his novel The Turmoil.
What prompted you to choose a career in writingIJ
I have been writing from my school days, college days and even after joining the IAS. I have never stopped writing. It is because writing gives me a lot of happiness. It gives me a sense of creative satisfaction. It gives me a lot of energy. Writing is my first and last love.
Would you please tell us about your creationsIJ
I have written thirty books and they mostly are in English barring a couple of books in Hindi. I have written three novels including The Turmoil. The other two are The Revolutionary and The Blind Horizon. I have also written seven short stories, which have created a wide reader base across the country and abroad. They are The Stranger, The Platform Man, The Campus Conspiracy, Sailors of Solitude, Shadows of September, The lonely Rebel and The Rapist’s Daughter. My essays are Stray Thoughts, The Swinging Pendulum and Interval during Introspection. Besides, I have my creations of poetry which are widely read in the country and beyond. My poetic creations are Dream Songs and Shadows, Romance of the Recluse, Meaning of a Midnight, Yellow leaves Are Falling, Yesterday Never Dies, The Metropolitan Fever, Passion’s Flying Moments, Across the Solitary Street, love, Freedom and I, Rhythms of Identity, Terror Must Die, Smiles beyond the Twilight, love’s Existential Song, I Began Walking and From Silence to Silence. My two books in Hindi are Krantikari (novel) and Rasoi Ghar ka Rajkumar (a compilation of my satirical articles).
While weaving your plots and portraying your characters, do you have them in your mind or they come to your mind as you are on your progressIJ
It is a mixture of the two. Some characters are there in the subconscious, and others come while writing. It is just an exploration.
Is there any unique or quirky way of writing of yours that interests the readersIJ
My way of writing is spontaneous. It is a matter of the heart that signs no documents. Every writer should understand that he or she becomes useless if there is no lively communication between the readers and the writer. There is always an element of surprise, an element of dramatisation and a sudden development in my friction like the thunder and lightning striking the reader. You cannot certainly predict what will happen to the plots and characters. But I know how to handle effectively my characters.
How are you at home that too excelling in all genres of literatureIJ
As I told you earlier, one cannot be made a writer. Writing should come to a writer like leaves to a tree.
It is always something spontaneous. If you are a good poet, you can be a good novelist, a good storyteller as well, provided all these come to you naturally.
You have thirty-three long years of chequered administrative career behind you. How have you combined the headache of administration with the heartaches of creative impulsesIJ
Ironically, my creative writings have sharpened my sensitivity so as to enable me to study human problems clearly and diligently. My writings have given me a rare foresight, far sight and insight into human nature so much so that I had smooth sailing absolutely besides being a rare achiever in my administrative career.
As an administrator and as a writer, do you think corruption can be banished from Indian society in any foreseeable futureIJ
Corruption has gone into our blood and bone marrow. As a realist, I must admit that it cannot be eliminated lock, stock and barrel. The persons who are fighting against corruption become themselves corrupt the next moment. But as an idealist I must say that the fight against corruption must continue as in my novel The Turmoil in which Rajiv, the editor, continues to fight as a crusader against corruption till the end.
What is your message to the future generation of civil servantsIJ
My message is clear. The future generation of IAS officers should understand our society, should respect human beings and uphold human dignity by renouncing their arrogance.
Unfortunately, some of the young officers are self-seeking and not meant to serve the society. Some of them are also found indulging in corruption. In my opinion, the civil servants are meant for rendering services to the society by keeping their arrogance at bay without just adorning rosy beds and cozy chairs.
What are the sources of your inspirationIJ
The chief sources of my inspiration are the sea of suffering humanity. My heart bleeds when I see a suffering human, and throughout my writings I have made my heroes to fight against injustice, tyranny and suffering.
While living outside, are you proud of your Odia originIJ
I am an Odia first and Indian next and simultaneously an internationalist. I believe like Socrates, who once said, “I am not an Athenian, not a Greek, but I belong to the whole world.” Nevertheless, I am proud of my motherland Odisha.
What’s your response to the Mahanadi waters imbroglioIJ
The two Chief Ministers of the two sister States must remain in active touch with each other so as to arrive at an amicable settlement. Both the States have a long history of cooperation and strong ties, and we should not allow it to go awry.