I am in conversation with S.V.Divvaakar, who recently came out with his latest novel, Beaten By Bhagath. The book has been receiving wonderful reviews and positive responses ever since it hit the stores.
Congratulations on your novel Sir. It was indeed a pleasure
reading it, and I hope to read more from you in the near future. Do provide us
with the opportunity to know more about you and your book.
1) Let’s start with the most basic
question first. How did you come up with the idea of Beaten By Bhagath?
Writing my first
book, I realized there are many easy- to- believe misconceptions about books
and writers. I realized through the journey of the book that many of us do not
even pause to think about all that goes into making that small object we notice
or ignore, spurn or acquire, and eventually cast out of our lives, moving on to
others. But a book also has the soul of the writer trapped inside, a soul that
seeks expression and at times acknowledgement of its existence, if not its
acceptance.
As for the story,
I wanted to portray the crowning glory on the one hand, and the unfulfilled
aspiration on the other, through the journey of two people who start with
similar backgrounds, even pursue the
same goal but produce completely different outcomes. And that is the reality of
life.
2) The story revolves around the
struggle of a debutante author, BB. Do you identify yourself with BB?
I identify with
BB of course. My guess is that most writers
would identify with BB until they become a KB. However, the BB in me is also a
friendly bloke being carried away on a stretcher, who instead of just groaning
in pain, actually sublimates by warning all other passersby to watch out for
the big potholes ahead on the road.
There is a big
world of loners out there who are not interconnected. BBB is an attempt also to
string the unsung BBs of this world, and give them the warmth of camaraderie. A
reinforcement that we are not alone!
3) When and how did you start
writing? What was the inspiration that motivated you to write?
I used to write
since childhood, mostly poems, later on short pieces, I have kept a diary
journal for eighteen years now. I am a prolific writer in my profession: I write
tons of reports for clients and governments (that part of BBB is true) But I
never ventured to write a novel until I turned fifty. It happened when I resolved at fifty to give
expression to my creative interests and re balance my workaholic life. I then made
a fledgling attempt with The Winner’s Price. The real inspiration was: I don’t
know how long I am going to be around. Let me fulfill all my inner yearnings
when I have the energy!
4) Your book also deals with the
competition between the traditional publishing industry that produces books
using papers in hard-copy format, and the modern e-book mechanisms which promise
to be environment friendly. What do you personally prefer?
I am a great
believer in putting back power where it should be: with readers and writers.
Everyone else is a middle man in the ultimate sense. I believe that gateways
should not end up becoming gate keepers.
I am all for
the e-experience, and am also following up on technology. We will soon have
solar-powered e-book readers which will be fold-able thin plastic LCD films
which feel and fold like paper, and can download direct. The price will
eventually be around two thousand rupees. I plan to buy and demonstrate
prototypes with BBB sometime.
5) Tell us about your background,
education and family. What are your hobbies?
Born in a south
Indian family, living in Delhi. Did
well at studies, went to do Engg at IIT Delhi, worked in the corporate sector,
spent few years as quasi entrepreneur in Dubai,
returned and set up an advisory service aimed at bringing foreign companies
into India. I
also do a lot of international monitoring and evaluations for UN organizations.
Hobbies:
passionate about food, travel, music and books. Also, some occult stuff: feng
shui and numerology. More on my website
www.svdivvaakar.in
6) How has your journey as an author
been till now? What are the pros and cons of being an author?
A see-saw, no, a
roller-coaster of emotions. But thereafter, a sea of calm. The journey has been
therapeutic and of late, hopeful.
7) How do you deal with negative
criticism?
Grin and bear
it. And resolve to do better next time. But it is never easy to forget it. When it feels
really bad, I draw comfort from Clint Eastwood’s dialogue in Dirty Harry:
‘Opinions are like a$%holes, everyone has one.’
8) Should an author write stories for
his readers or for his own satisfaction?
I might
consider that a tautology. No author can be satisfied if his readers are not
satisfied. An author’s barometer is the readers’ satisfaction; I don’t mean the
numbers, but imply the spontaneous reactions that a reader provides. An author
should strive for the satisfaction that he has done his best to do justice to
his reader’s faith, time and money put in the reading of his book.
9) Which book are you currently
reading? Who are your all time favorite writers? Which authors do you think
have made the maximum impact in recent times?
I read quite a
lot but I am not a ‘heavy stuff’ reader. My all-time fiction favorites
chronologically: Enid Blyton, Nancy Drew, Harold Robbins, Alistair Maclean,
Arthur Hailey, Sidney Sheldon, Robert Ludlum, Ken Follet, Frederic Forsyth,
Jeffery Archer, Dan Brown.
Unfortunately, I can only pick favorites among books, not authors. Each
of them is unique and I love that uniqueness and diversity. Unlike marriage, it
is not an exclusive relationship between reader and author, and promiscuity is
not necessarily a bad thing in reading. The more the merrier!
I am currently
reading many books simultaneously. A rather diverse list: The Indian books I am
reading: The Anza Deception by P R Ganapathy (debut writer), Patriots and
Partisans by Ramchandra Guha; and The Subtle Art of Dharma by Gurcharan Das.
I do not wish
to judge any one by their impact, as it is counter to my very approach in
BBB. I love the garden of flowers, not
an individual rose.
10) If you are given the power to
change anything in your book, what would you like to modify?
I believe I do
have the power to change things in my book. In fact, I have been getting inputs
from independent people who have cared to read and review the book. If there is
a second edition, I would like to flesh the e-book part a bit more, and dive
deeper into BB’s tryst with it. But I was constrained by size as well as
conscious not to make it too esoteric for the general book lover as opposed to
aspirant writers.
11) How different is Beaten By
Bhagath from your first book The Winner’s Price?
They are about
as different as chalk and cheese. The Winner’s Price is a tech-rooted
business-political thriller based on the lives of IITians who meet at a reunion
event twenty years after passing out. It is a serious book that presents a case
that ‘For Justice to be served, Truth must bear its own witness.’
As my first book,
The Winner’s Price is very dear to my heart. The second, revamped edition is
under preparation, and a Portuguese translation is almost complete, done by an
award winning author in Brazil,
due for publication in 2013.
BBB is more my
attempt to share the story of the journey of the writer beyond the writing. It
is a deliberately simple, down to earth, ‘Charlie Chaplin’ type story. Good guy, but .. Life moves on…
12) What are your views on marketing
via social media like Facebook and Twitter?
I think that FB,
Twitter and Google are all wonderful tools and have the potential to be great
equalizers between large and small entities. Today’s author has the best of
technology on his side. However, tools can be put to good or bad use again by
human greed and ego. So, the eventual results of social media campaigns-
whether genuine or faked, are in the hands of humans that operate them. A great
vacuum exists in our understanding of how these tools work. That needs to
change. And even social media makes its money from ads.. so it will become a
money bags game like all others.
13) Are you currently working on any
new plot?
I have willed
myself one book per year. My third manuscript is in its first draft, and going
through major changes following good advice from my editor/mentor. I hope to
have it ready by end 2013. It is, again, a first-of-its-kind story. I am also already plotting my fourth book,
which is a political thriller based on our Constitution.
14) Did you learn anything from
writing your book? What is it?
Never never
never give up. Eternal quest, Eternal faith.
15) Finally, what would be your
message for all aspiring authors?
Honestly, without
actually self-promoting my wares, my sincere advice: read BBB. At least the
first page and the last page. My message is all in there. However, as for the writer’s quest, I would
say that our love for writing for self-expression should be far more than our
desire for recognition. Every one of us has at least one story to tell, in our
own way! So, we must be honest about our
purpose: Why are we writing? What are we seeking? If that is sorted out, the
rest is not a problem. And the options are only increasing to put your wares
out there in the universal cloud!
I hope you had
a pleasant time answering these. All the best for
your present and future goals!!!
Thanks Amrit. I
really appreciate your taking the time to read and even review BBB and I am
gratified that you empathized with it. BB will always take up the cause of
other writers, in times to come. Consider BB your friend for life.
