The lonely Cloud is your first book of fiction and you say that you have never written before. So, what would you say is the inspiration behind the bookIJ
No, I have not written professionally before and this indeed is my first published piece of work. There’s no one place or thing that inspired me to write The lonely Cloud, rather it was a series of things. The desire to write a love story for my wife, my brother-in-law who was a naval officer, Plutarch’s famous ‘Ship of Theseus’ paradox and mostly people in general, who I am a keen observer of.
We do strange things, questionable things at times. We are slaves to our emotions under whose orders we plummet to depths and at other times rise to greatest of heights. These truths are what inspired me. People aren’t weak or strong. People are both, people are people, similar yet so different.
Did you ever have plans of becoming a writerIJ
No. I was always terrified of being called a writer, especially during my student days. Back then, being called a writer meant being called a failure. In a world where professions such as charted accountancy, engineering or practicing medicine were the symbols of success, voluntarily taking up writing was suicidal. But on the other hand, writing is a compulsion for me because thoughts in my head are like a coin rattling about in an empty glass jar, screaming to come out. Writing eases my mind, puts it at rest and de-stresses me.
So right from those days I would write because I have to write daily. Initially I wrote secretly, often destroying years of my work as a refusal to acknowledge my identity as a writer. But thankfully, today, things are changing and on the back of a successful professional career, I began writing freely on social networking sites. This caught the attention of a lot of my friends and family who acknowledged and appreciated my writing skills.Finally, thanks to my wife’s support and encouragement I turned writer.
Being a debut author you must have faced a lot of challenges...
Everything has been a challenge. From finding time to write it. Then to publish it, ensure it is circulated widely, then to get people to buy it, finally getting them to read it. These days one is not an author. The right term is ‘authopreneur.’
nThe book is based on love and exploration of human emotions, a subject that has been dealt with umpteen number of times in fiction. What new does the book offerIJ
Well it starts out as a straightforward love story but soon the reader may realise that there are many love stories in it. Then somewhere when the reader begins unpeeling the layers, the idea begins to form that perhaps it is indeed a single love story because not all emotions are love, or rather love cannot be a compromised outcome of some other emotion. This is the distinction and clarity the reader will have when they finish reading the book.
Tell us something about the protagonist, Sanju.
let me describe Sanju in one word — flawed, or would you prefer humanIJ He is weak and strong, cowardly and brave, and cheap and kind — just like all of us. He is an embodiment of a multitude of conflicting emotions. The fact that Sanju is at times able to rise over a lot of those weaknesses is what makes him a hero. Imperfect and weak perhaps, but a hero nonetheless.
You were the CEO of an advertising agency prior to this. How did that experience help in your writingIJ
A CEO has to be dispassionate and a writer, too, has to be that. For a CEO his people are critical, since they are the ones who make a company successful. Similarly a writer has to let his characters run freely and be themselves, because only then will his story be unique. Finally being a CEO and a writer, both professions require discipline and commitment.
What is the highlight of The lonely CloudIJ
The highlight of the book is the end. It’s unique and nobody can guess it. There are many readers who have got back to me telling me that it blew their minds. That’s it, that is the highlight.
Given that it is your first book, what kind of expectations are you keepingIJ
Nothing much, really. I hope that they like it and may be connect to it. But truthfully, the only expectation I have from the readers is that they form an opinion and tell me about it. It does not matter whether they like it or hate it. Both are fine.
Now that your first book is out, will we see another one from you soonIJ
Yes. I have many stories stored in my head that I’m planning to write. A couple are action novels, a few more on relationships and yes, I do have a plan to return to romance.