ON HOW THIS AUTHOR WENT ABOUT WRITING A MYTHOLOGICAL FICTION

Author Interview: Jai Shukla

Jai Shukla was born in a small village in post-independence India. He joined the Indian Air Force and spent over a decade working on India’s foremost technology including first generation computers and indigenous fighter jets. After voluntarily leaving the IAF, he built a career in banking and international finance in India and the UK. Post retirement, Jai and his wife Rani shuttle between their hometown Kanpur and Mumbai to spend time with their two children. He has recently come out with the book “Kaikeyi: The Warrior Queen of Koshala”, which is a mythological fiction. In a candid chat with Chirdeep Malhotra, he talks about his book, his writing journey, his favourite books and authors, and much more. Read on!



Please tell us more about Jai Shukla as a person.

I believe I am a versatile person with a life lived well enough to give me vast experience in almost all walks of life. I am an IAF veteran, and have worked on fighter jet maintenance from the deserts of Rajasthan to the forests of Assam and Nagaland. My second stint was that of a seasoned banker, and I worked in India and the UK, with expertise in large corporate finance and international trade. In my current avatar, I would call myself a modern farmer living in my ancestral village and engaged in organic farming for the last six years.



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 never thought of becoming a writer. I have been an avowed reader since my childhood. After retiring from the bank, I devoted myself to the study of the scriptures. This idea of writing originated from there. I am a deeply spiritual person and writing stories of the Supreme became my way of worshiping him. To me, writing about the ‘lilas’ of the gods and goddesses is a spiritual voyage rather than a literary journey. My writing desk is my temple and writing an act of devotion.



Please tell us more about your book “Kaikeyi: The Warrior Queen of Koshala”.

There are very few characters from the Ramayana with names that are instantly recognisable, Kaikeyi being one of them. Kaikeyi’s part in the whole narrative of the Ramayana is as important as the three other leading characters namely Ram, Sita and Ravan. However, when I looked deeper, there was not much to be found about her, except her notoriously scandalous role in the banishment of Ram. My Kaikeyi is different. She is a warrior and nationalist ready to sacrifice herself for the country of her birth and the kingdom of Koshala, her country after marriage. She is the one responsible for transforming Ram from a prince to a God. Her efforts led a young, inexperienced prince to become a very successful king of Koshala and eventually to Chakravarti Samrat Ram who ruled over united Akhand Bharat.



How did the idea of writing a novel in the genre of mythological fiction come about?

Mythological literature remains one of the most interesting and exciting genres in all cultures of the world since time immemorial. In India, there is a long tradition of reciting and writing such stories in the Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain religions. I realised that there are innumerable stories of lesser-known characters in the epics and the Puranas that can be further developed. These characters played important roles in the stories, but their details are not chronicled. As an author, it was extremely tempting for me to write about them and add my little input to the grand storytelling traditions of our culture. Kaikeyi is one such character, important but neglected. This applies almost equally to all the women characters of the Indian mythology, probably with the exception of Dropadi.



What type of research went into writing this book?

I did a lot of research before I started writing, by reading all possible literature on the subject. The mythological books have been written over a period of thousands of years. Hence, there is a lot of inconsistency in the contents of the different books. There are major differences between Tulsi and Valmiki Ramayan, and Aadhyatma and Anand Ramayan. Kamban Ramayan in Tamil is very different from any other Ramayan written in Hindi and Sanskrit. It is, therefore, very important to be confident about what one is writing, and it comes only from reading different versions and researching thoroughly. I read all these sources in order to get my basics correct. My research notes are perhaps larger than the book itself.



What challenges did you face while writing this book?

Most of the elementary work on the Indian mythology is in Sanskrit. It is difficult to get their authentic translation in English or Hindi. Further there are wide differences in the versions of different books. This is both a challenge and an opportunity for an author to tread on this self-made path. In the beginning of Shrimad Ramcharit Manas, Tulsidas has put it aptly. He says, ‘nana puran nigamagam sammatam yad’, which means what he is about to write is in conformity with the Vedas and Puranas. But he then adds ‘kwachidanyatoapi’, meaning ‘and something else as well.’ For an author of the genre of mythological fiction, this ‘kwachidanyatoapi’ is the key. He must write what is already in the books, but more importantly he must write something of his own. For me, striking this balance was difficult. Additionally, getting into the mindset and thought process of my young, female protagonist was not easy. I took a lot of help from the women in my family to check and recheck whether my assumptions about her behaviour were likely and continuously updated by manuscript in accordance.



Which books are you reading right now? What are your favourite books in the mythological fiction and historical fiction genre?

Since I started writing, I haven’t read a mythological fiction outside those written by the group of my friends and fellow writers. My books require so much research, and I read only scriptures – translations of ancient scriptures, various Ramayans, Puranas, Upanishads and versions of the Mahabharat. My favourite books in mythological fiction are “Mahasamar” by Narendra Kohli (in Hindi), “Yajnaseni” by Pratibha Roy (in Oriya), and Mrityunjaya by Shivaji Sawant (in Marathi). In historical fiction, I am a fan of William Dalrymple’s writings. However, the book that I have spent my lifetime reading and can recite even in my sleep is Shrimad Ramcharit Manas by Tulsidas, so perhaps that could be called my favourite text.



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

My readers are enquiring about the sequel of “Kaikeyi: The Warrior Queen of Koshala”. The manuscript is ready, and the sequel “Kaikeyi: The Architect of Akhand Bharat” may be out by the year end. I am also working on other texts, with a narrative about Shiva, and another new project where the protagonist, like my previous book, would be a lesser-known woman character from the Bhagwat Purana. However, both of these works have some time before they take their final shape.



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

Getting a book published traditionally is a herculean task, much more difficult than writing one. But one must not give up. It is certainly better to move through a literary agent who would guide you through the process. Publishers are often overwhelmed with too many enquiries to be able to open each mail and check the submissions. All major literary hits were rejected and discarded not one, but many times. So, my advice to first time authors is that you must not give up, if you have a story to tell there are people ready to listen, just keep working till you reach your audience.



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

There are one thousand ways to do something and only one hundred excuses not to do. Search for one out of the thousand. Don’t get waylaid by one out of a hundred.