We are back with another author interview. Today, with us,
we have Saurabh Kudesia – the author of ‘Aahvan’. In this interview, he talks
about his writing aspirations and the route to getting his books published.
Stay on...while we chat with him.
What made you to write a novel in Hindi?
I started writing Aahvan in English as early as 2009.
After spending more than 8 months and completing almost 30-40% of the book, I
realized that I am not able to express the ancient characters in their true
colors particularly when using Sanskrit text/references. The difference in the impact was so profound that I decided to junk the English version completely
and switched over to Hindi.
What inspired you to write this book? Any tales to tell…
I was always fascinated by the art of writing and its
ever-lasting impression on the readers. It was my deep curiosity about the
Mahabharata that triggered the whole idea of this book series in 2003. It took
me another 15 years to research the subject, collect the scattered pieces of history,
and integrate them into a coherent story.
What message would you like to convey through this book?
Irrespective of the circumstances we always have the
freedom to choose our actions and change our destiny. As the story unfolds, you
will realize that this message is deeply rooted in all the characters of my
book.
Since this novel contains information which is limited to mass, well then how you did the research for it?
I spent almost 15 years researching on the subject of the
novel. This includes more than 40 major Vedic literature and contemporary
research work. In addition to subscribing to different libraries (including New
York public library), I purchased some rare literatures to cover different
aspects of the story.
What else drives you other than writing fiction?
I like travelling, visiting new places, and meeting
people. I love reading about the latest technologies and experimenting with them.
Currently, I am exploring Machine Learning and developing Information models
based on Natural Language Processing. I am also an application developer and
have implemented multiple tools and process models to improve efficiencies of
my teams. One of my best selling application was “Shrimad Bhagwat Gita” written
in Hindi and Sanskrit and distributed on Windows Phone.
How did you find your writing chord, or were you a born writer?
I used to write short stories and screenplays as part of
my language practice since class 4th. I was passionate about my handwriting
that won me many accolades (a big accomplishment at that time). My passion for
writing continued in my later years and I worked for some of the prominent
technology magazines covering articles on different aspects of technology for
masses. I can now look back and say that I wasn’t a born writer, but I choose
to be a writer and followed my heart to reach where I am today.
How do you handle the response of this book, especially from your friends and relatives and readers?
That is the most interesting part! I have blessed to have
some of the most enthusiastic readers who keep sending me messages about how
they feel about certain aspects of the book, or about why a certain character
behaved in a way different than his personality. It is interesting to note what
they like or dislike and how aligned their reactions are with the thought
process that was driving the story development. I keep a small log of
interesting feedbacks that provide me insights about my writing/narration style
and other aspects of the book. These inputs are important for me to improve
different aspects of the upcoming books of the series.
What are some of your favourite novels and authors?
I am inspired by the epic works of Acharya Chatursen
Shastri, Shri Bhisham Sahni, Shri Narendra Kohli, and Shri Rajkumar Bhramar.
What was your biggest learning experience throughout the publishing process?
Finish what you have started and never give up. There were
many challenges during the writing and publishing process that almost left me
broken hearted and almost put me almost at the edge to abandon the whole
project. The whole writing process was an altogether different experience with
full of ups and downs, frustration, disappointment and what not!
However, after publishing the book and getting extremely
positive response from readers, I am glad that I didn’t give up. All those
setbacks were just part of the whole process to make a successful book and
surviving them meant a lot to me.
Looking back, what did you do right that helped you break in as a writer?
I keep improving my abilities to understand things and
situations from different perspectives. Understanding the characters (whether
the story is technical or fictional), your audience (technical/non-technical),
and their need is the basis of any story development. As long as you have these
aspects in control, you can write any story. Of course, to master these factors
you need a lot of patience and practice.
Sometimes it may also lead to information overload and/or complete
breakdown.
Any best piece of writing advice from your side that we haven’t discussed?
As a writer, you should not only understand your
characters, but also be confident enough to give them ‘freedom’ to let them
show their true self when placed in certain situations. As is evident in my debut novel, I have only designed situations
and the characters, but provide the complete freedom to my characters to choose
how they would like to interact in certain situations or how they would like
to behave with other characters. This thought process helped me establish
unique relationships between them, which is vibrant, yet fuzzy and enigmatic,
leading to richer and engaging storyline.
Where do you write from? Do you go to some specific place, like beachside or into the hills?
For me, writing is a state of mind. My writing work is therefore
independent of place. If I am not writing, or the place does not allow me to
write, I start creating visuals of my story in mind about major events, and use
them to create a story outline. When I have the opportunity to write, I expand
these outlines and fill more details to expand the story.
Something personal about you people may be surprised to know?
I can’t think of any! I am an open book. If you notice
something surprising about me, don’t forget to share it with me.
When is the next part coming?
Stay tuned! I am working with my publisher to release the
second part as early as March 2020.
Any future books that you would like to discuss now?
Although I am excited about the upcoming second part of
the series, I would like to keep the story in wrap so that you do not miss the
excitement that is waiting for you.
Connect with Saurabh Kudesia:
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/authorsaurabhkudesia/
Twitter: saurabhkudesia
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