1. What sparked off the idea for your first book?
When I started writing seriously, I found myself gravitating to the path of writers who have
explored and stretched the boundary lines between fiction and reality. I rejoiced every time I
reread Muriel Spark’s novels about literary protagonists whose narrative interweaves
between fiction and reality in the world of the novel while being cognizant at the same time
of the reality of the reader’s world outside it. This was my primary inspiration.
The Reengineers grew from a few stories that I wrote about a character Siddharth who was
forced to live in Conchpore - a place that he hated, and his relationship with his dysfunctional
family. I thought about developing this into a full-length collection. But I found that I hardly
knew anything about Siddharth, except that he was very unhappy and wanted nothing more
than to get away from Conchpore and his family. Sometime later, I began to write a story
about three teenagers from Madras in the early nineties who were displaced into another time
and space in a fictional world. I wrote many drafts of the story of these three youngsters.
Somewhere along the way, they met Siddharth and the metafictional premise took over the
novel that became The Reengineers.
2. Does the journey of seeing an idea develop and flourish into a full-fledged book teach
you something about yourself or make you a better person in any way?
In her wonderful book ‘Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life’, Anne Lamott
writes about ‘shitty first drafts’ which become more and more and refined with each revision.
As I wrote The Reengineers, I discovered that not only manuscripts but ideas too could go
through shitty first, second and perhaps several draft versions before they take on a solid
shape.
It is an immense learning experience, each time. I started my second novel as a light-hearted
story of a young woman’s encounters with potential suitors on a matrimony site. I had
intended it to be a gentle story with fluffy humour, fuzzy sentiments and a neatly tied up
happy ending, as I created the plot framework, wrote the step-sheet and defined the
characters. But the first draft of the manuscript did not simply work for me, even though a
few kind friends who read it said that they enjoyed it. I rewrote the entire novel from scratch,
retaining just a few bits and pieces from the first, and found that it had turned into an
exploration of the power balance between genders in man-woman relationships through the
twentieth century until the present day. I was surprised at the things that the characters
revealed about themselves in the second draft. It certainly gave me deeper insights into my
own character and worldview, which was quite an enriching experience. I have a growing
pile of notes and a clear plot outline for my third novel which I intend to be a light comedy,
but when I get to the second draft of the manuscript, I am really not sure how it will turn out.
3. Writing is a craft that requires extended periods of alone time to allow creative juices to
flow and take shape. Do you have any personal favorites of combatting this isolation?
I have always enjoyed the sweetness of solitude, with books as much as with my own
thoughts. As a writer and as an empath, I often find the company of other people predictable
and stifling. I avoid crowded places as far as possible and have no qualms about skipping
social visits and events that I feel do not add value. When I used to stay with my parents in
the city where they currently live, I had a tough time avoiding their relatives, friends and
neighbors who would drop in without notice and stay for hours, they even brought their
pesky children sometimes - it was quite annoying. Ever since I moved into my own home, I
have relished the peace and quiet that I have to myself after office hours. I have a select
circle of close extended family and friends with whom I enjoy occasional meetings and
conversations, interactions which stimulate and inspire me as a person and writer, but most of
the time I rejoice in solitude.
4. What is your life philosophy?
Short Answer: As a spiritual seeker, I explore the dimensions of meaning and reality through
the study and practice of literature.
Long Answer: To add to why I arrived at the above, I have often wondered why my life did
not take the standard trajectory followed by most of my peers. As a topper throughout school
and college, I had very specific goals at different stages of my school and undergraduate
years. At fourteen, I wanted to do research in applied mathematics. At eighteen, I wanted to
get into consumer electronics design. At twenty one, I nearly got admission into an integrated
program for a doctorate in astrophysics. What I had not expected was that I would get
depressed at fifteen and the condition would persist on and off for the next few years,
hampering my courage to make independent decisions towards my life goals, each time.
Soon after graduation, I found myself working in the IT industry like most of my classmates,
not in the chip research firm of my dreams in New Jersey, not even in my hometown
Chennai, but in a nondescript little city where my parents had chosen to move for its mild
climate. Depression while it lasted, kept me in that place, and books kept me alive during that
phase of exile, both literal and otherwise. Soon after I was cured, I moved back home to
Chennai and rewrote the story of my life, even as I wrote this experience into what would
become my first published novel, The Reengineers. My forthcoming two novels likewise
explore dimensions of life through the prism of fiction. The written word has been my
constant source of strength and life. As a student of the craft of writing and as a practicing
writer, literature continues to give me fresh insights into meaning, truth and the nature of
reality.
5. Artists in any creative field are thought leaders. Do you agree?
I think that statement is a sweeping generalisation. The artist’s primary role is to create, and
create true to their inspiration, and keep practicing their art. An artist needs to have a wide
knowledge of the work done in their field, a formidable body of their own work as well as
acknowledgement of their work among the thinking audience, both academic as well as the
general reader (public), before they can be considered a thought leader.
6. Do you lead your imagination or do you allow imagination to lead you?
It happens both ways. It is always wonderful to feel imagination stirring within the mind,
evoking words, images and ideas, though very often these impressions turn out to be quite
different once they are written down on the page. A certain amount of discipline and
organisation is required to plot and structure a novel. I approach this the same way I plan my
software projects in my day job (I had used Microsoft Project to make a project plan for
creating the first draft of The Reengineers). But during the actual writing, I let imagination
take over. Of course, there are always many, many revisions.
7. How important is the commercial side of writing and promoting your book as opposed
to the sheer joy of the creative art of expression?
I write because I have to write. I cannot not write. Writing is at the core of my life. It is my
purpose, my passion and my greatest joy.
With so many books being published every day, many of them exceptionally good (my to-be-
read list covers a few good miles), authors must promote their books if they are to reach as
many readers as possible.
Since it was published, I have been delighted and gratified with the readers’ response to The
Reengineers. Many people wrote to me saying that they enjoyed the book and could strongly
identify with the characters. However, I realise that I must help promote the book if it has to
reach a wider audience. Promoting too is an interesting exercise, a time to retrospect on the
process of writing, on the book itself with respect to the feedback from the critics and
readers. (For example, I greatly enjoyed answering your insightful questions in this
interview).
The Reengineers is the story of a character and his author, which becomes complete when it
is read, which I mention in the book’s acknowledgements as:
“And you, Dear Reader, for it is when you read, that this story of the author and his hero
becomes complete.”
So yes, promotion is quite important.
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I am a writer from Chennai, India. To me, reading and writing are means by which I try to comprehend the meaning of life and reality. My first novel The Reengineers (HarperCollins, 2015) is a metafictional exploration of the meaning of the self, examined through the relationship between an author and the character of his novel. I am working on two other novels at the moment, both centred around the healing power of fiction and its significance in 'real' life.
I live in London, balancing a full time day job with writing and studying a part-time Master's Course in Creative Writing at The University of Oxford.
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