WRITING ENGROSSING THRILLERS, WITH THE ACTION-PACKED NARRATIVE BEING A LAGNIAPPE
Author Interview : Rajesh Shankaran
Rajesh Shankaran writes action packed crime thrillers, is a trivia buff and is regularly found creating pub quizzes and occasionally hosting them. He founded one of the most active writer’s groups in Pune- Write Here, Write Now. He is the author of Freefall, a crime thriller which is available on Kindle. He has come out with his latest book “Switch in time”. In a candid chat with Chirdeep Malhotra, he talks about his latest book, his writing journey, his favourite books and authors, and much more.
Please tell us more about Rajesh Shankaran as a person.
I have been on the corporate treadmill for a while now, and it has been a rewarding experience throughout. As a writer, those experiences have held me in good stead, especially discipline and focus, the sanctity of a deadline, working with people to accomplish something and the ability to switch hats in an instant, all key skills which are invaluable to a writer.
I have also been an avid terrace gardener and have had a variety of harvests like strawberries, mulberries, turmeric, tomatoes and parsley. I also brew my own wine every winter, and this year I made strawberry wine with organic produce from Mahabaleshwar in Maharashtra.
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?
I have always liked the idea of understanding and exploring myself through words. Writing is, first and foremost, an uninterrupted and solitary act and secondly,it is or can be as expansive as you want it to be. You can take your time to frame and construct your line of reasoning, looking at all sides of the argument.
On the other hand, if you ever try having a reasonably involved conversation in a group chat, then before you know it, everyone is typing into their app and now you are reacting and responding and talking at each other. Every piece of writing has its roots in an emotional space, a point where you feel something needs to be said but has not yet been done. So whenever I have felt the need to make a point, I have done so through my writing.
Can you tell us more about your book “Switch in time”?
“Switch in time” is primarily a story about fathers and daughters. A daughter discovers that her biological father had abandoned her years back and is consumed by the idea of revenge. But that desire for retribution is tempered by a yearning for acceptance by that same father. So the daughter is haunted by these two conflicting emotions and she takes steps to achieve them both.
My protagonist, Bushra Khokhar is an Inspector with the Mumbai police and she struggles with the challenges of being a single mother in the city where crime never takes a break. She is the daughter of a local politician who has never approved of her choices. “Switch in Time” is the story of these two women, two daughters each trying to prove a point to their fathers, but in very different ways.
How has the response of readers been to your book?
The words “gripping” and “unputdownable” are being used frequently to describe the book by readers, which is always very heartening when you have written a thriller. Lots of people wrote in to say ‘I stayed awake till four because I could not sleep till I finished it’. A thriller is a bit of a sinful indulgence like a piece of cake that you sneak into bed with you after a dinner of quinoa and kale sandwiches. It is not a very respectable thing to carry around, compared to say a large tome of polemical essays or a thick book on global economics. But done well, a thriller can excite, educate, entertain and also leave you pondering. I do hope I have succeeded in some measure in achieving this.
What type of research went into writing this book?
The book is primarily set in the hospitality industry. So a lot of research went into the industry, the challenges and the day-to-day crises in this industry. One of my characters is a yoga expert and it took me a lot of time to understand how that part of the world functions. Some scenes are set in a block of shanties near Andheri and I had to research that part as well.
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?
As an Indian writer in English, one consistent challenge you face is that you are recording dialogue, thoughts and emotions, almost always in a language other than what the characters would actually do so. For example, most urban Indians now think and speak in Hinglish or Gujlish or Tamlish and so on. But it would be very clunky to have your characters speak that way throughout a book written in English. Similarly, rural characters or recent immigrants to a city would speak in their native languages and some of it is always lost in translation when you write in English.
I enjoyed writing about Bushra Khokhar, my protagonist and super-sleuth. She is variously, an exasperated mother, apologetic neighbour, embittered daughter and tough cop. It was a challenge but also a great experience to see life through her lens and examine what it means to live a life like that.
What do you think is the literary scenario in contemporary Indian English fiction?
There is a lot of talent and a lot of competition. For some time, it looked like new authors were stuck either in those campus romances and reunions or various characters from mythology getting re-examined, both being legacies of two of the most successful Indian authors. But we seem to be moving forward from there.
My favourite among Indians has to be Anita Nair, Manu Joseph and Vikram Seth, each of who have in very different ways set the bar very high and very aspirational. Anita Nair’s ‘Cut like wound’ is a wonderful place to start for anyone trying to experience Indian crime fiction. I founded a writer’s group in Pune called Write Here, Write Now and now I see it grown organically into a very vibrant, energetic space for writers. So it is not just about being published, but lots of Indians, of all ages, want to distil their life experiences and the resulting worldview into the written word.
What are your favourite books? Can you share with our esteemed readers about the genres that you like and your favourite authors?
My favourite genre has always been the crime thriller, in part because the thriller always starts with the order of the universe being disturbed in some way, and it usually ends with some kind of a justice restored. To me, that is a metaphor for life and I know that we won’t get the endings we want, but done well, it will be just, restorative and satisfying. Among authors, I have greatly enjoyed Ian Rankin, James Patterson and Grisham. Also Agatha Christie is always wonderful to go back to.
There are many new writers and poets who are aspiring to get their work published. What would you say to them?
It is important to get your basics right, especially in long-form fiction like novels. If you don’t understand concepts like conflict, rising tension, point-of-view, inciting incident and layering, then you will find that you have run out of steam a third or half-way into your book. Your hard drive is littered with beached carcasses of half-finished manuscripts. When you abandon your book, it is almost always, not because you ran out of things to say, but because you ran out of ways to say it.
Can you share with our readers a motivational quote that keeps you going?
Here are two that helped me through my process of writing - “A professional writer is an amateur who did not quit” by Richard Bach and “Don’t tell me the moon is shining. Show me the glint of light on broken glass” by Anton Chekov.
The first is simply a reminder not to give up. The second is Anton Chekhov showing us the importance of the adage of “Show, don’t tell”. Do note, he is showing and not telling us about it.