Interview with Piya Gajbe about her debut novel When Fate Kicks Interview 9th
In this column , I plan to ask FIVE QUESTIONS to a writer about her\ his latest book .
The purpose is twofold. Get an insight into an author's new book and secondly , help the novices to get an idea about the agony and the ecstasy, the challenges ,the highs and lows , the hazards involved in writing . l am sure these answers are going to help not just other writers , but the diffident people who are hugging a story close to their hearts , and agonising and burdening their hearts with untold stories .As Kamalini Natesan so righty puts it in the very first interview that I conducted here ,in this column [September 2019] 'there is a place for every kind of writer-voice under the sun- so never compare. Find your voice, and hone its timbre, polish its cadence. '
Maya Angelou so eloquently said , 'There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you ." So , get those stories out - the bits and pieces that are lurking in small crevices of the heart and mind and the chunks which need to come out in a gushing cascade . Persistence pays . Don't let that story suffocate inside you . As Louis L' Amour puts it ,"Start writing , no matter what . The water does not flow until the faucet is turned on." So, turn that creative faucet on , and who knows a masterpiece may gush forth ?
I have been conducting creative writing workshops off and on and mentoring youngsters for a pretty long time . During this interaction, I have come across two types of students . First , the over confident , smug ones , who want to finish writing a novel in a month or two , and don't need any validation , advice or creative outputs from anyone .
Second the diffident ones , who have the creative spark in them , but prefer to keep it well- hidden. I feel that these conversations will help some of those bashful ones, and also the over- confident ones .
Maya Angelou also said, 'we need to remember that we are all created creative and can invent new scenarios as frequently as they are needed . " So, those of us who want to do it - THEY DEFINITELY CAN !
Santosh: Today, we have Piya Gajbe with us, in
FIVE QUESTIONS, [the ninth interview in this column] a promising young writer, whose debut novel, When Fate Kicks, is
creating ripples in literary circles. An
advocate by profession and a writer by avocation, Piya is a keen observer of
her social surroundings and milieu, her flesh and blood characters resonate
with the readers. A painter, a music lover and a voracious reader, Piya finds
solace in penning down her ruminations and musings.
Santosh Q 1 Let us hear something about Piya, the person, and Piya, the
writer. How is Piya, the person different from Piya, the writer?
Piya - When I see myself as a writer, I find a person within me who looks at life with depth and tries to observe and absorb at the same time. A very thin line demarcates Piya as a Person from Piya as a writer. As a person, I believe in living life to the fullest. I am a hopeless romantic and that can be seen in my writings too. Though I love to interact with people, deep down I am bit of a loner. I need my time and space to rejuvenate and recharge. I guess this lone time is when the writer in me takes over and my creativity finds a vent.
Santosh: Q 2. How does the writer in you take over – does she grip you by the collar , does she slowly creep into you , jostling aside Piya, the person , or does the writer just sit next to you , with beseeching looks in her eyes ?
And yes, tell me, what is the technique and strategy you follow for your writings? Do you plan up to the minutest details or do you go about it in a disorganized manner? If you ask me, my first draft is just a helter- skelter confusion, more in the nature of loud thinking, which gradually gains some recognizable contours. What about you?
Piya: I don’t exactly set out a plan before writing. I let the story to come to me rather than go out in search of it. Once it arrives, I begin working on it. My first draft takes place in my mind. The words appear and then they flow in text form. Yes, I do believe in research. I do a lot of research for each story. It gives your work authenticity and backbone. As for time schedules, being a mother to a super active son, I have to snatch time. I write mostly during night hours of solace.
Santosh Q 3. Ah, so you too are a nyctophile, like many writers. Yes, to all my students , who tell me where do you find the time to write , I always tell them , “you have to snatch time , you have to create time from nothing , and mix it with liberal doses of passion. Procrastination is never going to help a writer.” During the writing of When Fate Kicks, what were the hiccups and pinpricks and hurdles that you came across?
Piya: When Fate Kicks is based on a real-life person. I had to collect information and do some research work regarding the places and surroundings. Since the book has the premise of Football, I had to read and understand a little bit about the game too. The long-distance calls to extract the information about the protagonist, who is quite a busy entrepreneur, were at times frustrating. We had to match our timings. I had to fictionalize the information too. In between, my father’s illness and medical treatment kept me occupied in hospitals for more than a couple of months. The story lagged behind and I was afraid of losing interest and the story turning out to be stale. However, I moved ahead with all the distractions and the book saw the light of the day and is being very well received.
Santosh Q 4. I know that the book has been very warmly received by the readers. Tell us something about the protagonist of your novel. Does he take after someone you know?
Piya: Gautam, a young Bengali boy is the chief protagonist. His character is based on a real-life friend of mine who dared to break stereotypes. His passion and perseverance inspired me to write this story. He is a character with whom every average Indian boy can relate. He has his own dreams and refuses to give up on them. The beauty of this character is his simplicity, honesty and dedication. Readers are simply adoring Gautam.
Santosh Q 5. What is the next book that is churning in your mind and what is the advice that you would like to give budding writers?
Piya. As for now, I haven’t thought about my next book. However, some of my readers feel that I should write a sequel to When Fate Kicks. They found the story quite gripping and got hooked on to Gautam’s story. They are curious to know what happens in Gautam's life afterwards. Maybe, I might write about it. But, I do want to write a thriller someday. I am waiting for the right content.
Piya: My advice to all the budding authors is that they should read as much as possible. Not only classics but contemporary literature too. Be a good observer and listener. Then only can you master the skill of expressing. Using heavy vocabulary is not necessary, but it is more important to touch the hearts of your readers with your lucid language and expressions. Writing straight from the heart is more important to make your story linger with the reader for a long time.
Piya - When I see myself as a writer, I find a person within me who looks at life with depth and tries to observe and absorb at the same time. A very thin line demarcates Piya as a Person from Piya as a writer. As a person, I believe in living life to the fullest. I am a hopeless romantic and that can be seen in my writings too. Though I love to interact with people, deep down I am bit of a loner. I need my time and space to rejuvenate and recharge. I guess this lone time is when the writer in me takes over and my creativity finds a vent.
Santosh: Q 2. How does the writer in you take over – does she grip you by the collar , does she slowly creep into you , jostling aside Piya, the person , or does the writer just sit next to you , with beseeching looks in her eyes ?
And yes, tell me, what is the technique and strategy you follow for your writings? Do you plan up to the minutest details or do you go about it in a disorganized manner? If you ask me, my first draft is just a helter- skelter confusion, more in the nature of loud thinking, which gradually gains some recognizable contours. What about you?
Piya: I don’t exactly set out a plan before writing. I let the story to come to me rather than go out in search of it. Once it arrives, I begin working on it. My first draft takes place in my mind. The words appear and then they flow in text form. Yes, I do believe in research. I do a lot of research for each story. It gives your work authenticity and backbone. As for time schedules, being a mother to a super active son, I have to snatch time. I write mostly during night hours of solace.
Santosh Q 3. Ah, so you too are a nyctophile, like many writers. Yes, to all my students , who tell me where do you find the time to write , I always tell them , “you have to snatch time , you have to create time from nothing , and mix it with liberal doses of passion. Procrastination is never going to help a writer.” During the writing of When Fate Kicks, what were the hiccups and pinpricks and hurdles that you came across?
Piya: When Fate Kicks is based on a real-life person. I had to collect information and do some research work regarding the places and surroundings. Since the book has the premise of Football, I had to read and understand a little bit about the game too. The long-distance calls to extract the information about the protagonist, who is quite a busy entrepreneur, were at times frustrating. We had to match our timings. I had to fictionalize the information too. In between, my father’s illness and medical treatment kept me occupied in hospitals for more than a couple of months. The story lagged behind and I was afraid of losing interest and the story turning out to be stale. However, I moved ahead with all the distractions and the book saw the light of the day and is being very well received.
Santosh Q 4. I know that the book has been very warmly received by the readers. Tell us something about the protagonist of your novel. Does he take after someone you know?
Piya: Gautam, a young Bengali boy is the chief protagonist. His character is based on a real-life friend of mine who dared to break stereotypes. His passion and perseverance inspired me to write this story. He is a character with whom every average Indian boy can relate. He has his own dreams and refuses to give up on them. The beauty of this character is his simplicity, honesty and dedication. Readers are simply adoring Gautam.
Santosh Q 5. What is the next book that is churning in your mind and what is the advice that you would like to give budding writers?
Piya. As for now, I haven’t thought about my next book. However, some of my readers feel that I should write a sequel to When Fate Kicks. They found the story quite gripping and got hooked on to Gautam’s story. They are curious to know what happens in Gautam's life afterwards. Maybe, I might write about it. But, I do want to write a thriller someday. I am waiting for the right content.
Piya: My advice to all the budding authors is that they should read as much as possible. Not only classics but contemporary literature too. Be a good observer and listener. Then only can you master the skill of expressing. Using heavy vocabulary is not necessary, but it is more important to touch the hearts of your readers with your lucid language and expressions. Writing straight from the heart is more important to make your story linger with the reader for a long time.
Santosh: Yes, I agree with each word of yours. You
know, I was aghast when one student in my creative writing class told me that
he had never read a novel in his life and yet, had written a novel, and then he
added with a cocky air, “Madam, I am sure my novel is going to be a best seller.
Could you go through it once?”
Well, when I went through it, I could not find my way back. I was absolutely lost in the jargon that my young friend had filled the book with. Had he read extensively, he would have known his caliber and where he stood. The problem is that the youngsters don’t want to read, they want short cuts to everything, which can be quite detrimental in the long run. My advice to the budding authors also is, “Read a lot! It is not going to harm you.”
Piya, it
was a pleasure interacting with you. Here is wishing you all the best for your
future literary endeavors.
An interesting and informative interview! Kudos to you both, Piya and Santosh Ma'am, for having enlightened us with your witty and incisive ideas. Here's to many more books, and interviews, Piya!
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