WHEN STORIES ARE DAZZLING AND MAGICAL

Chirdeep Malhotra . Updated: 11/6/2018 2:34:51 PM Books and Authors

Author Interview: Abhirup Dhar

Abhirup Dhar is a banker by profession. Born in Kolkata, he is filmy to the core and reviewed movies for a few portals. He is passionate about writing and that itself led him to pen his first book “Once Again… With Love!”. He has come up with another book “Stories are Magical”. In a candid chat with Chirdeep Malhotra, he talks about his latest book, Indian English short story genre, his favourite books and authors, and much more.


Please tell us more about Abhirup Dhar as a person.
Quite a simple guy, actually. I enjoy my space; can be reclusive as well as outgoing and social, as my mood permits me. May be, a little different from many but then again, everyone is different in his/her own special way.

Being a banker by profession, you have forayed into writing fiction. Can you tell us more about your writing journey?
When I was a child, I used to write stories and keep them to myself, and some for the school magazine. Too young to probably understand it was my passion, I continued writing in college as well; used to pen reviews for certain portals. I did so after joining job as well. Talking about my first book, I had written the first manuscript during a three months break between the end of my MBA course and joining my first job. I still have fond memories of the time when I literally locked myself up in my room for over a fortnight and wrote ‘Once Again… With Love!’, a romcom. I had no plans of getting published back then and I had written it for the sheer joy and creative satisfaction I derived from it. A few years later, I happened to share it with a few friends who told me how it struck a chord with them. That’s when I thought I should go ahead with being a published author apart from pursuing my profession.

Can you give us a brief overview of your book “Stories are magical”?
‘Stories Are Magical’ or SAM as it is lovingly called, is a celebration of storytelling. There are six stories in it, of six different genres. So, you get some mushy romance here, a ghost story, a murder mystery, drama with a dose of Bollywood, some emotions that might get you teary, and there is a dog’s take on Life against the backdrop of Mumbai floods.
I have always believed that reading should be fun and relaxing. And may be, quick too. Often some people, mostly non-readers get bored reading a big book. I want to make it simple and relaxing for them along with giving something new to readers. Short stories can be a great format. And it was then that I thought, why not tell six different stories? Kept it deliberately inconsistent so, you have a ghost story right after a mushy love story, the first one here and so on.

How has the response of readers been to your book?
It’s been great. I was a little apprehensive at first but the risk has paid off, with readers having a fun and relaxing read.

What do you think is the perfect recipe for an engrossing short story?
It is a difficult format for sure. So, for a novella or novel, you have certain number of pages to develop your characters and narrate a plot. In a short story, the challenge is to do it too but quickly and by not compromising on any aspect. The perfect recipe for both a short story and novel is the same- interesting relatable characters, a compelling setting and an enjoyable plot.

What makes short stories so famous among the readers? What, according to you, are the recent literary trends in the short story genre, particularly in Indian English fiction?
I guess, the fact that both readers and impatient non-readers can have a good time while reading a short story makes it so famous. Come to think of it, the short story genre isn’t tapped too well these days. Publishers aren’t too keen to go ahead with short story collections. The ones which give a nod might have a few conditions, tell you that there should be a link between all the stories or say, they should be set in the same city. I’m thankful to Hawakal Publishers, based at Kolkata, for traditionally publishing SAM.

Which book or books are you reading currently? Which are your favourite genres, books and authors?
The last book I read was Neil D’ Silva’s ‘Right Behind You’ and it was lovely. I’m currently reading Marc Manson’s ‘The Subtle Art Of Not Giving A F*ck’, though self-help and non-fiction don’t really interest me much. My favourite genre is horror. Favourite books- Let me begin with two of my books. Jokes apart, these include 'Devdas' by Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay, 'Great Expectations' by Charles Dickens, 'Misery' by Stephen King, 'The Da Vinci Code' by Dan Brown. I had also enjoyed reading 'Five Point Someone' and ‘2 States’ by Chetan Bhagat.
My favourite authors- Stephen King is undoubtedly the king of horror. Among the legendary ones, it has to be Charles Dickens for me. I also like Ruskin Bond for his sheer persona. I'd also like to mention Chetan Bhagat here for at least three of his earlier books. He made reading cool and simple, got a huge first-mover advantage too. Trolled a lot, but let's acknowledge the good part and well, the film deals.

What are your other interests apart from writing?
I’m a movie freak and love watching them. Also a foodie and I like traveling.

Are there any other literary projects that you’re currently working on?
It’s too early to talk about them now. The idea is not to hurry into anything. Writing requires a lot of patience, can be an emotionally draining process and more importantly, you need the perfect plot which shapes up well when you write! I’m a visual writer. Unless I can visualize my characters, setting and locales, I can’t convince myself to take it forward. If I don’t enjoy my writing, others won’t too.

With so many books releasing every year, many new authors coming up, how difficult is it to make your book visible to an average reader?
Honestly, my only competition is with myself and I say this with all humility and not at the cost of sounding pompous. I want to get better with each book I write. I believe if my book is good, it should find its readers. I can also go all out to make my book visible, garner mind share. But what matters the most to me is the content and that people like my book.

There are many new writers and poets who are aspiring to get their work published. What would you say to them?
Write for and from your heart! Things will fall into place. And when you are a published author, don’t make it a rat race. It’s your passion that you will pursue here. Have fun at it.

Can you share with our readers a motivational quote that keeps you going? What keeps you motivated?
There are many quotes that keep me going. I really can’t choose one but if I have to mention one here, it should be related to books and writing. It is “If you don't see the book you want on the shelf, write it.” - by Beverly Cleary. Not what but who keeps me motivated? I must tell you here that I’m a huge SRK fan ever since I was a child. He is a huge driving force in my life and I look up to him.


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