ON WRITING REALISTIC AND DARK HUMAN STORIES, ALBEIT BRIMMING WITH HOPE

Chirdeep Malhotra . Updated: 12/15/2020 1:38:11 PM Books and Authors

Author Interview: Ravi Valluri

Ravi Valluri is an officer of the Indian Railway Traffic Service. He is presently posted at Prayagraj as the Principal Chief Operations Manager, North Central Railway. He is also a faculty of the Art of Living, and is a regular blogger at The Speaking Tree and WordPress. He has also authored many books, and has recently come out with the book “Heartbreak at Coffee Shop: An Array of Tales”, which has also been translated into Hindi. 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 Ravi Valluri as a person.

We all have several dimensions to our personality and I am no different. I belong to the Indian Railway Traffic Service and am currently posted as the Principal Chief operations Manager, North Central Railway, Prayagraj. I was an alcoholic and recovered from the pestilence through the grace of H. H. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar and am a faculty of Art of Living. I conduct Happiness Programmes and counsel and conduct rehabilitation programmes for alcoholics and drug addicts. As a person I am sensitive, forthright and love travelling and exploring the human mind and it's various shades. I have written 7 books of which three have been translated into different languages.



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?

Well I have been always interested in theatre and quality cinema and that was my first love. During school and college, I participated in several music theatre workshops and began my dalliance with artistic pursuits. It was my fortune to work under the tutelage of eminent people like Barry John, Pankaj Kapoor and Param Vir and attending workshops at NSD and watching stellar performances of artistes like Naseeruddin Shah, Manohar Singh, Surekha Sikri and interacting with greats like BV Karanth, Girish Karnad and UR Ananthamurthy which shaped my thought process. I also learnt Hindustani classical music. With this background I used to write, but only in 2013 took up writing seriously.



Please tell us more about your book “Heartbreak at Coffee Shop”.

This is my first work of fiction. It has 26 short stories, 10 drabbles and 2 plays. It was an Amazon best seller and explores the darker side of human personalities. As it was written during the Covid period, there are several human tales – some of them gut wrenching. There are innumerable twists and turns which readers will enjoy. Recently it was translated in Hindi and now both the versions are available in the market.



How did the idea of writing this book originate? When did you start writing this book and how long did it take you to finish it?

I had written some stories and the plays earlier. During the lockdown, I was writing short stories on different platforms, when suddenly I received a call from Ms. Neelam Saxena Chandra, a fellow railway officer based in Pune and a prolific writer. She asked me to compile the work into a book, as she feared that the stories may be stolen or morphed and in turn connected me with the publisher (AKS) and promoters (Jashn Events) and soon the voyage began. It took around 3 months and was edited by my wife Lakshmi Valluri. I am grateful to all of them.



What are the themes that you have discussed in the short stories, drabble stories and plays in this book?

Looking at reality, underbelly of the society and the darker side of human life, especially since we were going through lockdown when I wrote some of the stories in this book. But eventually there is a glimmer of hope. I look at luminosity from the lens of tenebrosity.



What kind of research did you do for the book?

As the Principal Chief Operations Manager, North Central Railway, I had a ring side view of transportation of migrant labour and essential commodities by railways. These find a mention directly and indirectly in the book. Second, reading the heart wrenching stories of people during the Coronavirus lockdown provided several real life stories to think about and ponder about for the narrative.



What were some of the challenges while writing this book?

To ensure drabbles are within 100 words, it was a challenge in ensuring there were twists in the stories and they do not go overboard. Also, it was difficult to try to be both realistic and surrealistic while writing the stories.



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

“The Story of My Experiments With Truth” by Gandhiji, Walter Isaacson's “Leaonardo Da Vinci”, Somerset Maugham's “The Razor's Edge”, C Rajagopalachari’s Ramayana and Mahabharata, and Irving Stone's “Lust for Life”.



What are your other interests apart from writing?

I like classical Hindustani music, theatre, to run on the treadmill, do meditation and yoga, and doing Art of Living work.



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

Keep reading and writing everyday, enrich your vocabulary, do blogging on safe platforms like Quora, LinkedIn, Word Press, Speaking Tree. Send sample chapters to literary agents (be cautious), be thorough with the terms of agreement or self publish only as a last resort (be sure of a good deal). Write letters to editors and send articles to magazines and papers. Beware, writing is a lonely profession.



What are you working on next? Any new literary projects that our readers should look out for?

I am working on a reality fiction, which is a tale of a Chinese woman, who in search of discovering herself travels westwards to India. I reckon it has been the toughest project I have worked on. Thereafter I intend to write a couple of short stories.



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

“We are shaped by our thoughts; we become what we think. When the mind is pure, joy follows like a shadow that never leaves.”
“There is nothing so disobedient as an undisciplined mind, and there is nothing so obedient as a disciplined mind.” – These two quotes by Gautam Buddha.


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