In his debut novel, set in the context of the zeitgeist and idealism of the late sixties, Nidhi Dalmia talks about love, longing and coming of age. By Team Viva
“There’s no time to lose”, I heard her say
Catch your dreams before they slip away
Dying all the time, lose your dreams and you will lose your mind…
This song by Rolling Stones always motivated author Nidhi Dalmia, also the founder of a popular milk shake chain, to go for his dream of writing. “We all have stories to tell. I too wanted to write. And better late than never,” he chuckled. His first book, Harp, his latest fiction about love, longing and coming of age, is, as he puts it, the first step to his dream.
It is often said that there is nothing better than one’s own experiences to source from for a story. And Dalmia does exactly that to sculpt Harp in a lucid and simple telling. The book follows the lives of three protagonists as they engage with cultural, and student revolutions, and the music of the 1960s. “It’s all about the choices one has to make,” he added.
That does not seem the sole aim of his book, as its characters demonstrate the tug of war faced by each individual while making crucial life decisions. “The purpose was to tell a tale about how love and obligation compartmentalise people,” said the author. “Making them choose between love and duty, between the head and the heart, between one’s social contract and what one wants — the individual choices one has to make with profound consequences.”
Set in the 60s, Harp provides a window of that period including its hopes, dreams, idealism music and the change in the generation. Talking about young Indians then, Dalmia said, “They would honour tradition especially our philosophy and spirituality where it made sense and gave a deeper meaning to life’s eternal questions while experimenting and embracing modernity in the areas of technology, freedom of thought and culture. An eclectic best from the West and the East instead of as often happens unfortunately the worst from both places.”
Beyond the romantic element, Dalmia makes some interesting observations about the prevailing economic and political situation in India then which in the liberalised atmosphere since 1991 may seem quaint to young readers. “India was stuck in the licence, quota, permit raj. The red tape and bureaucracy was tremendous. Business was perversely thought to be bad by the Government and obstacles put in its way. It was one of the hardest places to do business as my Harvard professor later commented. The political atmosphere became populist and instead lifting our people up and genuinely removing poverty through unleashing the economic potential of this sleeping giant the effort became one of bringing down the few successful,” he said.
When asked about the role of culture exchange in the present times of turmoil, he said, “Cultural exchanges enrich our experience. It opens up our mind towards different religions, human beings and helps us in a way to accept them as they are. And in these times, all we need to do is be accepting of things. Tolerance and intolerance are secondary, acceptance is primary. Cultural exchanges are very important in the present times.”
“I wanted to capture the hope and idealism of the times we thought would never end, growing up in the late 1960s,” Nidhi Dalmia said. “Everyday life was interspersed with the music of the times, music with universal themes,” he signed off.