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Author Highlight: Amar Singh Discusses his New Novel ‘The Third’ and Stories from his Life

We are delighted to welcome a very promising novelist Amar Singh for a brief Q & A session at our website about his recent novel ‘The Third’.

In this Q & A session, he will be talking about his writing aspirations, inclination towards contemporary self-aware fiction, and the route to getting his novel published. Stay on...while we chat with him.

Would you mind telling a bit about your novel – maybe in two or three sentences?

‘The Third’ is a novella about an intelligent young man who sees for himself that he is conditioned, and that his life is full of conflicts, fear and sorrow. He is identified with his mind and tries his best to fight it out with life to finally realize that the root cause of all pains was his identity. Only when the mind gives up in response to unbearable sorrow, loneliness and visions inexplicable by the mind that he realizes his true self.

What inspired you to write this novel? Any tales...

I have always appreciated the scriptures for the kind of wisdom they have hidden in them. Personally, I struggled with several aspects of life and realized that what helps is experiences, not information. My inspiration is to make this wisdom of the epics, easier for the reader to assimilate through the format of a narrative.

How do you see the concept of ‘The Third’ as an individual?

It’s an absolutely important concept for each one of us. The moment we see ourselves as the ocean and not a mere wave rising in it, there’s no sorrow or pains in life. We transcend the limited nature of our being which is the cause of all sorrow in life.

Do you think that society is the major obstacle when a human being wants to evolve spiritually?

I would say the human being is the obstacle himself in his evolution. We are so engaged in the survival process because of our fear motivation that we refuse to simply be, all the time trying to become something that will make us feel safer. The society is no more than one human being repeated multiple times… The one thing that needs to go away for spiritual evolution is fear.

Did you do any research for the novel?

I have been reading these books as I mentioned earlier. However specifically, the books that helped in this are: Ashtwakra Gita and Mundaka Upanishad.

What was your biggest learning experience throughout the publishing process?

I learnt that publishing has to be planned well with outreach to the various publishers well in advance. I was so focused first on writing and then on getting the book out soon, that I didn’t spend any time on publishing efforts.

How do you handle the response of this book, especially from your friends and relatives and readers?

This is the same as likes and dislikes – I appreciate that people have biases of various kinds including for the person and for the subject of the book. So, both appreciation and criticism has to be carefully noted as that takes nothing away from the core message of the book. Secondly, my intention wasn’t to write a bestseller/ for the masses, but for the niche audience interested in understanding life and the human mind.

Who is your favourite character from the novel – why?

Devbrat – the grandmother of Aryan showcases resilience and wisdom that goes beyond education. She overcomes the ups and downs of life with immense faith and confidence. She has everything going for her to be the most likeable character.

What are you working on next?

I am working on a sequel of ‘The Third’. It’s an incomplete story to my mind as the self-realized Aryan can still showcase what it is to live like, post being realized. Also, there are characters in the book like Rajveer who have only been established but need to be explored further. This will also enable me to continue with my intent of making more of the scriptures’ wisdom interesting for the reader.

Connect with Amar Singh:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/amar.singh.b/
Twitter: @amarbsingh
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