Born in the revolutionary surroundings of the historical place of freedom struggle chauri chaura, distt- Gorakhpur Mr. Balendu Dwivedi found solace in the soothing fragrance of the triadic garland of the Ganges the Yamuna and Saraswati ie Prayag where he learned his maiden lectures of philosophy under the lotus feet of renowned teachers and postgraduate from the university of Allahabad.
The revolutionary zeal that he innately carried from his native place, his intrinsic pious sensibility, and the wisdom of philosophy made him a literary personality of eminence.
His first creation emits such a glaze that it simply mesmerizes and captivates to the extent of catharsis. His novel Madaripur junction enjoys itself pinching the backside of the self-appointed religious-caste representatives as it flows boisterously through the by-lanes of rural India. A village in eastern Uttar Pradesh, Madaripur Junction, is the centre of the plot of the novel, which is not only the playground for rogue characters but also where various kinds of the burlesque meet. In this respect Madaripur -Junction is essentially a junction of a variety of social anomalies and bizarreness.
An Interview with Mr. Balendu Dwivedi
The Literature Times: What prompted you to take up writing?
My father was an artist.so art was in my blood.it is another thing that it reflected in another art form.my real inspiration was my father, his life and my village too, where did I lived.
The Literature Times: What about writing do you enjoy the most?
Every art form has its own satisfaction. Writing is an art also.so if you write from your soul, you get satisfaction automatically. So writing and satisfaction both are the same thing for me. I write for satisfaction, and when I am satisfied with my writing, I enjoy it more and more.
I want to say another thing: I can’t write without the deep imagination of a village. It’s my own village. My village is the main inspiration of my writing, and it is everywhere in my novel, Madaripur Junction.
The Literature Times: What is the story of your novel ‘Madaripur junction’?
The story of the novel Madaripur Junction is totally based on rural politics in North India. It is a satire. This novel enjoys itself pinching the backside of the self-appointed religious-caste representatives as it flows boisterously through the by-lanes of rural India.
A village in eastern Uttar Pradesh, Madaripur Junction, is the centre of the novel’s plot. It is the playground for rogue characters and where various kinds of burlesque meet. In this respect, Madaripur Junction is largely a junction of various social anomalies and bizarreness.
Chhedi Babu and Bairagi represent the so-called upper castes in Madaripur along with many companions who accompany them like shadows. All these characters not only are present in their completeness of naked display of the lowness of their beings but also are found laughing aloud shamelessly at their cheating, trickery, deceit, and double-dealings.
On the other hand, there are those few belonging to the low castes who are slowly becoming aware, trying to stand up for their rights, and struggling for their rights.
The Literature Times: What are the pros and cons for being an author?
I think there is no harm in a writer, but it is only those who write very nicely who are harmed. Nowadays, readers are more aware and studious. They know what is good writing and what is bad writing.
The Literature Times: How has writing shaped you personally and professionally?
A good personality is a prerequisite for becoming a good writer. A good person shapes his book first, and then his book shapes his personality second.
The Literature Times: How was the interaction with Nasreen and does she inspires you in any way?
Renowned writer Taslims Nasreen inaugurated my book at the Indore Literature Festival. We met at the festival, and I gave him my novel and discussed its content. She was so impressed that she said she would be happy to inaugurate the novel Madaripur Junction. Then, she asked for the organisers for it.
That day was a very big incident for me because, from the beginning of my writing, when I was studying at Allahabad University, his novel ‘Lazza’ was published. The plaza was based on real incidents, and Tasleema Ji’s writing style was simple and attractive.
It was a great inspiration because reality and simplicity were two major elements of creative writing. I have read all of her literature, and finally, her writing skills and temperament impressed me.
The Literature Times: You told that your novel is under translation in different languages? How does it happen?
‘Madaripur Junction’ will be translated in Odia, Urdu and English too. Impressed with the plot and story, Mr. Shankarlal Purohit, a Retired Hindi professor from Cuttack University, is translating the book, Dr. Aslam Murtaza kakorawi has translated it into Urdu. And the renowned columnist Sanjay Dev translated into English of the novel.
The Literature Times: Please tell me about plays based on your novel.
The novel has become so popular that a group of Allahabad ‘the third Bell’s started plays based on it. They have performed it at Allahabad, Lucknow, and Unnao. A play group of Bhubaneshwar named ‘Mukti’ is also working on a play based on my novel.
The Literature Times: Your advice to aspiring authors?
The young generation has a lot of energy for writing, but they need more experience because most have never struggled. Experience comes from the struggle of life, so all new writers must get experience through struggle if they want to write realistic literature.
