ON WRITING ABOUT LOVE, HOPE AND HUMAN RELATIONSHIPS

Author Interview: Anush Ravindranathan

Anush Ravindranathan is a consultant oral and maxillofacial surgeon, and is presently settled in the small town of Pandalam. He was born in Madhya Pradesh and moved to Kerala after schooling. He is a storyteller who likes to tell stories of human relationships, and has a critical outlook towards the divisiveness in our society. He has recently come out with the book “Samsara: Reflections of a Life”. The other novel that he has authored is “Born Again”. In a candid chat with Chirdeep Malhotra, he talks about his latest book, his writing journey, his favourite books and authors, and much more. Read on!



Please tell us more about Anush Ravindranathan as a person.

I am a straightforward person with a laid-back and positive attitude towards life. I am a maxillofacial surgeon settled in Kerala with my parents, wife and our three years old son, Ayan.



Has writing always been a part of your life? Or did you chance upon it later on and then instantly fell in love with it?

Although I was always interested in stories, I had never dreamt or planned to write novels. It just happened by chance. I used to write few Hindi poems, short stories or drama scripts for school and college competitions, but I was never much serious about them. In fact, ten years ago if anyone had told me that I will publish novels in English or about this interview, I would have laughed it off as an imagination. I got interested in novels and books about six years ago after my final year post-graduation exams when I had lots of time to kill. It didn’t take much time before I was moved by their magic. I found that it was a powerful and beautiful medium to tell my stories and express my viewpoints, so I started writing more seriously and more regularly. Since then I continuously strive to improve my writing work.



Please tell us more about your book “Samsara: Reflections of a Life”.

‘Samsara: Reflections of a Life’ is a book about hope. In life many times we feel hopeless as if nothing right is happening in our lives and there is nothing more to look up to. But if we take a look back into our lives we shall find that we have survived many such moments of small and big failures and setbacks. If we could have survived those moments then we shall survive these moments too. All we need to do is to believe in ourselves.
Kuttan, the protagonist, is at one such juncture in his life where he has lost everything he loved all of a sudden, and so he decides to quit. How he realises his self-worth and the role that different people play in his life form the story.



How has the response of readers been to your book?

Considering the difficult times, the response has been pretty good. I have received support and shares from many people whom I have never seen or spoken to. Three months after its release, the book remains on the top of the publisher’s – Saikatham Books – bestseller list. I believe that an English novel topping the bestseller list of a reputed regional publisher for straight three months is a good sign.



In terms of the complexity of the character and the nuances of the dialogues, the character development of whom was the most difficult in this book?

The protagonist, Kuttan, is a very complex character with lots of good qualities and he has many faults as well. He is emotionally very vulnerable and his life is full of ironies. He is like any of us who seems more complicated than he really is. To manage those changes in different phases of his life was difficult.



Where did you get the inspiration for writing this book?

All my stories are inspired from people and circumstances around me. They are all work of fiction but the inspiration to write a story is triggered from what I see, read and hear in the society. I believe that we all have wonderful stories to tell and we do it in one form or the other: some write, some speak, while some others draw and so on. In this book I have tried to tell one such story of a person who thinks low of himself, but in reality he is not a failure at all.



What challenges did you face while writing this book?

The biggest challenge that I faced while writing this book was time management. My profession as a practising Maxillofacial Surgeon keeps me quite busy. Also, my son was born during the same period. All of these meant many episodes of short and long breaks. To overcome them was difficult and hence, it took me about two years to finish the first draft.
Another challenge which I faced while writing was to manage the delicate love hate relationships of the protagonist while intermixing his past and present life. All these were supposed to be written without affecting the continuity of the story which I found demanding.



Can you recommend five books from any genre, for our readers to add to their reading lists, that you particularly cherish?

In Classics- ‘To Kill A Mocking Bird’ by Harper Lee. In Indian Writing-‘The Legends of Khasak’ by O V Vijayan which is the translation of the author’s Malayalam novel ‘KazhakindeItihasam’ and ‘The White Tiger’ by Aravind Adiga. In Fiction- ‘The Alchemist’ by Paulo Coelho and ‘Norwegian Wood’ by Haruki Murakami. In Short Stories- ‘Malgudi Days’ by R K Narayan.



There are many new writers and poets who are aspiring to get their work published. What would you say to them?

Don’t get disheartened and just keep on writing for the love of it. Getting published is a long journey; the key is constant and focused hard work. There are so many options available to get published but not all options out there are to help authors, in fact most of them are not. Do your research before making a decision.



What are your other interests apart from writing?

My surgeries and helping people through them is something I cherish the most. Before writing, one thing that I loved the most was playing cricket. Now, I play with my three year old son. Other than that, depending on the mood, I like to travel with friends, family or solo. Reading books is another interest which drives me forward.



What are you working on next?

I have started working on the draft of my third novel which is the story of a successful man trying to understand his life through the prism of lost loves. The story is mostly set in the nineties and early twenty first century. I am excited to write down my perceptions of the people and life style of that period and the changes which followed. I hope it would be fun.



Can you share with our readers a motivational quote that keeps you going?

‘It always seems impossible until it’s done’ – Nelson Mandela.