Skip to main content

Author Highlight: Rajiv Mittal Discusses his New Book ‘The Panchatheertha Part 1’ and Stories from his Life

We are back with another author interview. Today, with us, we have Rajiv Mittal – the author of ‘The Panchatheertha Part 1’. In this interview, Rajiv Mittal talks about his writing aspirations, the route to getting his book published. Stay on...while we chat with him.

What motivates you to write?

All the goodly stuff that is in my mind that I believe is more interesting than whatever is on the internet.

How did you handle the response of this book? 

Pehle, I read the reviews.  Woh acche lage.  Fir socha, ab dekhte hain isko padne wala koi hai bhi ki nahin.   Aur uska jawaab?  Woh kya gaana hai - ‘Intehaan ho gayi, intezaar ki …’

Why did you choose to write a novel inspired by The Panchatantra?

The Panchatantra offered me tremendous scope to be funny and philosophical without worrying about anyone taking offence.  Animals can’t be bothered with those sort of issues.

What are some of your favourite novels and authors?

Favorite novels:  The type Scott Rogowsky reads on the subway.

Favorite authors:  The chap who wrote Calvin and Hobbes, the scriptwriters of the initial seasons of Two and a Half Men & The Big Bang Theory.  Also classic BBC comedies.

Do you think writing a book from the comfort of bedroom is possible?

It is nobody else’s business but I would hazard a guess that any male writer’s performance in the bedroom is not bestseller material other than in a comedy.

Where do you write from? Do you go to some specific place, like beachside or into the hills?

Go to the beach to write? Saudi Arabia mein shayad ho sakta hai, koi distractions nahin hongi.  Kevin, waise have you ever tried removing sand or seawater from a computer keyboard?  Try karke dekh lo ek baar.

The hills? Is there anyone you know who has ever done that? I think even Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing descended from Mount Everest before they thought of writing something.

I write mostly at home, sitting on a sofa.

What inspired you to write this book? Any tales to tell…

Pehle socha tha koi mythological figure ke baare mein likhoon – lekin sochte sochte dere kar di yaar – koi baaki hi nahin raha!  It seems they are all taken.  Then it struck me – folktales are unexplored territory and always relevant.

What was your biggest learning experience throughout the publishing process?

How to use Microsoft Word.

Looking back, what did you do right that helped you break in as a writer?

I told myself that all decision makers in the traditional publishing industry are fakes.

Any best piece of writing advice from your side that we haven’t discussed?

I hesitate to offer advice.  But since you asked, this is what I would tell any new writer:
  • If you are looking for writing advice then that could be the reason why you are struggling.
  • If you become successful as a novelist, you can immediately become an inspirational speaker and start saying profound things.  Particularly in India.  Lekin abhi don’t try to do that in your novel.

Something personal about you people may be surprised to know?

Anyone who buys and/or reads my books makes me very, very happy. 

Any future books that you would like to discuss now?

I plan to write Panchatheertha Part 2.  And till then, it would be great if there are readers for Panchatheertha Part 1 and/or my debut novel Brahmahatya.  By the way, I have written a third which I am silent about in the hope that people will now go searching for it also.

Connect with Rajiv Mittal:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/v.rajivkumar/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Rajivmittal63

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Book Review: The Blue Umbrella by Ruskin Bond

Among all Ruskin Bond books, The Blue Umbrella has, so far, gathered immense applaud from readers and critics alike.  This is a short novel, but the kind of moral lessons it teaches to us are simply overwhelming. This is a story of Binya, a poor little girl living with her mother and an elder brother, Bijju, in a small hilly village of Garhwal. One day while herding her two cows back home, she stumbles upon some city people enjoying the picnic in the valley. She is enthralled to see them well-groomed and rich. She craves to be one like them and among many other things of their, a blue frilly umbrella catches her attention. She begins craving for it. On the other hand, the city people get attracted by her innocent beauty and the pendant in her neck. The pendant consists of leopard’s claw – which is considered a mascot widely in the hills. Binya trades her pendant off with the blue umbrella. The blue umbrella is so much beautiful that soon it becomes a topic of conversatio...
65 comments
Read more

Poem Summary: Where The Mind Is Without Fear by Rabindranath Tagore

Poem by Rabindranath Tagore: Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high Where knowledge is free Where the world has not been broken up into fragments By narrow domestic walls Where words come out from the depth of truth Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way Into the dreary desert sand of dead habit Where the mind is led forward by thee Into ever-widening thought and action Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake. Short Summary: This poem is written by Rabindranath Tagore during pre-independence days, when India was a colony of the British. The underlying theme of the poem is absolute freedom; the poet wants the citizens of his country to be living in a free state. According to the poem, we see that the poet is expressing his views there should be a country, like where people live without any sort of fear and with pure dignity…they should ...
68 comments
Read more

Character Sketch of Binya from ‘The Blue Umbrella’ by Ruskin Bond

The Blue Umbrella by Ruskin Bond is a popular children’s story. It features Binya as the main character, though there are other important characters as well, but the story revolves around Binya and her little beautiful umbrella. The story is widely popular among children, thus it has also been included in the schools’ syllabus all across the country. Since it is often taught in the school, thus the character sketch of Binya is often demanded by students from year to year. Character Sketch of Binya from The Blue Umbrella by Ruskin Bond Binya is the main character of the novel ‘The Blue Umbrella’ by Ruskin Bond. Her full name is Binyadevi. As in the hills or anywhere in India it is a kind of trend to call children with their short nicknames. Binya’s elder brother’s name is Bijju, whereas his real name is Vijay. Binya aged eleven is a hilly girl. She lives with her small family in the hills of Garhwal. Her father died when she was two years of age. For sustenance, the...
41 comments
Read more