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SOMETHING ABOUT THE AUTHOR
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*Appeared
in Something About the
Author,
vol. 63, page 35-37, Gale
Research,
USA.
SIDELIGHTS: "I have often been asked why, how, and when I became a writer,
and I have always said `go and ask any flower why it spreads its fragrance
around,' or `ask the moon why it delights people with its silvery beams,' or
`ask the birds why they sing early in the morning.' It is like asking me why I
breathe. It may be a compulsion or a deep desire to share my ideas, knowledge
and experiences with others. I don't know the answer in a simple and
straightforward way. However, when I began going deep within me to analyze this
question, I started sensing that it may be a touch of my parents which has
shaped me as a writer.
"My mother was a school teacher and a good
storyteller. She was very particular about our education and, therefore, gave
special attention to our regular attendance at school and tried her utmost to
keep us away from the influence of the children who were disinterested in their
studies. My father, a good bread‑earner, edited a religious magazine for a
while and was unusually interested in writing letters.
"Yet, I hated school and played truant whenever I
could. I hated my curriculum and classroom, but that does not mean that I hated
books. Rather, I loved to read anything, except the text books. I loved to
read, especially fiction. Our home was full of books, and my father was a
zealous subscriber to several dailies and monthlies. In that environment, I
became a voracious reader from my early childhood. When nothing was available,
I would borrow or buy materials to satisfy my thirst.
This habit remained a part of me for whole life. l
read the Bible several times.
"In the later part of my teens, I began to move
among writers and would‑be writers; nearly all of them were older than I
was. Some of them had published material to their credit. Our chats often ended
in discussing literary topics. I always
listened attentively to their comments on a story, a poem, or an author. I
still cherish some of their ideas.
"Due to my unusual zest for books and the protective
nature of my mother, which kept me away from other children, I became lonely
which helped to sharpen my thinking and imagination. l
never felt loneliness because I enjoyed dwelling in the domain of my
fancy, like Simon who dreams of the Snow
King and his castle.
"My aloofness during my childhood and later, to
some extent also in my teens, may be largely responsible for my feeling ill‑at‑ease
in a dialogue when I am alone with a stranger.
I am reasonably
relaxed when I give a talk or a lecture to a crowd and more so when I am behind
a public‑ address system.
"It may be a factor that has affected my writing
in one area at least. A reader may not be able to detect it. I am not reluctant
to admit that I find it difficult to develop a conversation in a story between
two or more characters. I have to do much thinking and rewriting to do this. I
lose my patience because I prefer to describe or narrate. Consequently, I use
dialogues or conversations sparingly, enough to break the monotony of
continuous narration.
"On the other hand, ideas appear to me easily.
They are diamonds, rough in their original form; I have to chisel and polish
them in order to make them presentable. Though it is a painful process, I do
not give up easily. I keep revising and editing them till I am nearly
satisfied; usually it takes six to ten times of rewriting or editing. My next
step is to let my writing simmer or settle down for weeks or months before I
take it up again to read it afresh to polish it further. I consider this to be
an important stage, because it breaks my emotional bonds with that particular
piece of writing. Once I feel somewhat happy over the outcome of my labour, I
begin showing it to others‑- two or three friends‑-asking them for
their blue pencilling. I enjoy doing revisions.
"I believe that a writer for children should not
forget that his or her readers, the future citizens of their country, are
passing through a most formative period of their lives. This thought is ever
present in my mind when I write. Therefore, I do not hesitate to sprinkle hints
wherever it is possible for the self‑improvement of my readers.
"The story of Simon and the Snow King did
not occur to me suddenly over a cup of tea, or while driving, or having a
shower. It was in my mind for a long time. I carried its seeds as a pregnant
woman would her fetus. It began to take shape when my
son Ajay, during his childhood, insisted that I tell him a story every night.
The well of my imagination soon went dry. That was the time when I began to
admire the fertile imagination of my mother, who used to tell me always
something new with a moral before I fell asleep. Because my son was the source
of inspiration for this story, I introduced the real names of my children, Ajay
and Rekha, which blend very well with the ingredients
of the tale.
The Blessings of a Bird also contains a
moral‑- more obvious this time. The story was inspired by a
newspaper article about birds and flowers and their psychological impact on the
environment. The leading characters I modeled on the
lives of some welfare recipients who were my neighbours when I was a student
and rented a cheap room in Montreal. I molded
everything in the smithy of my imagination.
"My friends and the people I meet even most
casually, often appear in one form or another in my writing. I am sure most
writers do the same. After all, we writers have to borrow material from
somewhere to build our worlds. However, the real persons have to pass through
the chamber of the writer's mind where their clothes and costumes are changed-‑
sometimes to such an extent that even the proto‑types fail to recognize
themselves."
HOBBIES AND OTHER INTERESTS: Giving talks,
promoting world peace and understanding.
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