1. Can you tell us a little
about yourself your aspirations and your hobbies!!
Professionally
I’m an engineer. I did my BTech from IIT KGP in 1996 and have been the VP
Engineering of Mirafra Technologies, a Semiconductor Design Service company,
providing design services to companies like Intel, Cisco, Broadcom, Qualcomm
and the other top semiconductor companies.
My
aspiration is to retire from my professional work and become a full time
writer, some day…
My
hobbies are music, traveling and reading.
I play violin, having trained in Western
Classical Music. I was the
governor of Technology Music Society (TMS), the institute band at IIT, during
my final year. When few of my band-mates from KGP moved to Bangalore in 2006,
we started the band ‘Kohal’ in Bangalore in 2007. We do few gigs a year.
2. How you first got involved in with writing, are you an imaginative person?
I
used to always write, since my school and college days, mainly in Bengali. The
Ekkos Clan is my first novel though. I started working on it in 2008. I wanted
to do something that would bear my signature, my imprint. Anything I have been
doing in my profession could have been done by anyone else. But I wanted to do
something that only I could do, that would be done if only I did. Apart from my
fingerprint ad my son, nothing I possess bear my unique signature. Writing a
novel seemed like the only option to fulfil my dream of creating something
unique, other than my son and fingerprints.
The book may not reach out to many people, at the end. It may be written
off by the critics. Still, it will remain a creation which only I could have
done. No one else could have come up with this particular name – The Ekkos
Clan - and this particular story line.I
don’t think I’m very imaginative. I rely more on facts and figures.
3.Were
you always interested in romantic genre?I
love romantic books, but The Ekkos Clan is not a romantic book.
4.How
did The EKKOS CLAN Happened?I’ve
been always intrigued by ancient Indian history, especially the origin of our
culture, our heritage, our religion, our languages. I figured out that there
was not much literary works on these particular topics. Also there are lot of
misinformation regarding these. I wanted to tell the true story of the origin
of the Indian culture, Indian languages, but not in an academic way. I felt
that if Dan Brown hadn’t written about the intriguing aspects of Christianity,
not many things about Christianity would be known to us. Not many people would
read history books. But writing about history in the garb of a thriller reaches
out to a much bigger audience. So I decided to use the garb of a mystery novel
to talk about Ancient Indian History.
5
.Where do you see yourself blogging wise in the next 6 months, and 5 years down
the road?I
use blogspot.google.com to blog. I generally blog on politics and culture. I’ve
doing this since 2008 and I would be doing it for many more years.
6. How
did the Name of the book get its innovation?Didn’t
understand the question.
7. Were
you good in studies, what was the most interesting part?I
was mediocre in IIT. The most interesting part was the technologies behind
telecommunication, something that has revolutionized the world beyond anything
in the recent past.
8.Whats
your favorite Genre, your thoughts on that especially In Indian scenario?Facts
based fiction, something like Dan Brown & Amitav Ghosh, covering two
divergent ends of the spectrum. This particular genre is seeing lot of good
work in India now. Among the most popular ones in this genre, Ashwin Sannghi’s
name comes to my mind.
9.
Any specific tips you have for newbie Authors who want to make it in the
publishing Industry?Read
and read and read before you write. Writing is a very lonely process. You’ve to
be very patient and disciplined. Treat
it like a project, make a good project planning and execute it with precision.
Getting a publisher is not at all an easy task. Don’t lose heart and explore
all options. Publishing industry is undergoing terrific changes. After 10 years
there may be only e-books, and no conventional publisher may exist. So if you
don’t get a publisher, self-publish an e-book and sell through amazon.
10.How
do you manage your time in writing and your work.Lots
of discipline and meticulous planning. I read and write only after 10pm and I
keep awake till 2, again waking up by 7. I often fell sick owing to strain and
lack of sleep. But I didn’t have any other option.
11.Whats
the biggest mistake you have commited.I
should have started writing seriously 10 years back.
12.
What would you prioritize , Narration or words ?Narration
– words will follow naturally.
13.
Whats the best thing a writer can give to his readers?Share
his love for something with his readers. If, after reading my book, a reader is
inspired to read more about Rig Veda or the ancient Indian history, that would
be my success as a writer. It would mean I’ve transmitted my love for history
and culture to my reader.
14.
A lot of people are interested in for the money earning potential of a writer.
What are some tips for people interesting in making money from it? What are
some realistic expectations in regards to what can be made?Statistically,
you can’t make money with writing. Less than 1% of writers in India make good
money through writing. Take writing as a passion and never ever think of making
money out of it.
15.
What motivates you most in life?Good
books, good music and beautiful places
16.
What has been your strategy for creating visibility to yourself and your work?Mainly
through word of mouth, social media and print media
17
What was the most challenging moment in your content development process and
why?Write
authentically about exotic places in Hindukush and Russia without visiting the
places myself
18.
Everyone has a favorite/least favorite writer. Name yours and why?Answers in Question 19
19.
Name some of the writers whom you look up to and why?My
favorites are Rabindranath & Keats from classical literature. Eric Segal,
Jeffry Archer, Amitav Ghosh, Jhumpa Lahiri, Khaled Hosseini from contemporary
literature. Tagore made me fall in love with my country and culture. Keats
enhanced the romanticism Tagore had ignited. Jeffry Archer amazes me with the
volumes of best sellers he has written. Amitav, Jhumpa & Khaled inspired me
to write about nondescript things from some small desolate corners of the world
and make heroes out of apparently insignificant people.
20.
What is the story behind the your blogging journey ,was it by chance?Blogging
was the net practice to write my book.
21.
Your connection with any others writers and what your efforts on that?Not
much. I know just a few writers.
22.
Which genre do you feel gets the raw deal?Simple
romantic stories
23.
Five adjectives that describe you.Patriotic,
sensitive, romantic, sentimental, pagol (nearest Bengali word for dewana)
24.
What book would you say has made the biggest impact good or bad on you?Amitav
Ghosh’s books, especially Hungry Tide & Sea of Poppies; Jhumpa Lahiri’s
Namesake & Unaccustomed Earth; Khaled Hossieni’s Kite Runner
25.
Do you get easily provoked by positive/negative comments??No
26.
Do you plan to write novel in collaboration?Yes.
In fact I’m looking for a cowriter for my second book.
27.
What genre attracts you the most and which genre you avoid?Historicals attract me. I don’t avoid anything.
28.
Words for me and my blogs Desire v/s Destiny and Blogger Interviews.Wonderful
effort to give a platform to people like me to speak out.
29.
On winning the Award/s , Are they Really necessary.It’s
always a privilege to get awards. They no doubt encourage you.
30.Tell
us the Next thing we will hear from you. May be your Novel release.I’ve already completed the first draft of my
second book, which is not a sequel of The Ekkos Clan, but I do have a plan to
make a trilogy with Afsar-Kratu-Tista and linguistic palaeontology, of which
The Ekkos Clan is the first book. My yearning to make my alma mater IIT
Kharagpur (KGP) as a part of my literary creation is so strong that I want to
write a KGP trilogy too, a set of three unusual love stories, all originating
in KGP. My second book named Prembajar would be the first book of this trilogy.
KGP to me is like a miniature world; everything compressed and contracted
within the confines of the walls that enclose the campus. My attempt in writing
the KGP trilogy is just a humble effort to talk about this world, of which, it
was my privilege to be a part.
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