Ahan is a dreamy boy. People call him autistic. The world he sees is captured in words more through pen than through modulations of vocal cord. There are so many glimpses of this in the book inching towards a full-grown youth.
Srijan is a happy boy in teens. He has a knack of traveling. He enjoys music. He writes stories, poems and anecdotes on various topics in both English and Bangla. It rises from the inner depth of his mind. A person who is not like you should not be dumped in any acronym such as autism. Their woe is like yours, their happiness also. This book shows you that.
The Literature Times: Author, welcome to The Literature Times. Congratulations on the publication of your book! What feedback do you get from your readers? Please share your thoughts on this book.
Author: AHAN
Rare thoughts arrive lately but common thoughts come always to me. These reveal to us many facets of life. I get many characters from life that is codified in a new realm to be a part of my story. Common man has many limitations but he might also have flickers of nobility. He must be viewed in this complexity. That is the beauty of life. We hope my readers would get a glimpse of this when he reads it.
SRIJAN
This comes from my heart. I liked to think of these characters always in my mind. Ultimately they are my soul mates. They have come from my real experiences. But I have my mental layers. They are half of reality and half imagination. Books are reality baked in dream. This book is baked in my dreams and imaginations. They are my creations. I give them to this world.
The Literature Times: What motivates you to become a writer?
Author: AHAN
Can you tell why a bird sings? Why does a flower blossoms? I write because that is the way I express myself. I have many things to say. I am not a God-man. No one will listen to my sermons. In faint voice I tell some stories with the hope that somebody will listen to them.
SRIJAN
I strive to express my inner feelings. I do not know how they become books. I never created consciously. They have an existence of their own. I only documented them. They are so many. I can only document a few of them. Others fly away.
The Literature Times: What are your favorite writing topics? Please tell us a little bit about your literary interests.
Author: AHAN
Anything human attracts me. I like all that is centred on man as interesting. Nature is so beautiful because man feel it. I want to see all those subtle moments of a human life when he meets his soul. They give us rare windows into the human mind. I can use it to build my stories.
SRIJAN
They lie deep in my memory. Some have entered my unconscious mind. Their grip in me is so strong that I cannot tell what is so important and what is not. Only perspective that is important is the role of timeless development in our life. Even in our changing dynamic world, there are spots of timelessness. There are moments when small facts of life reveal larger truth. They are our moments of truth. They capture a deep peep into the life and world around us. As an author, I want to capture them.
The Literature Times: We were hoping you might tell us about some of the authors who have influenced you and whom you read!
Author: AHAN
There are many muses in my life. I have carried them all. Tagore has a great influence on me. He is a radiant source of endless energy. But I have gained from many. They are from many sources, many languages and many calibres. I took from great films, small films, from popular and cheap television sops. They filled me just as nectar fills a flower.
SRIJAN
All authors are important to me. Grand authors write masterpieces. Sometimes small authors tell grand stories. We do not know who wrote Cinderella or Snow White. But they are masterpieces. They all influence me. I love my vernacular language Bengali. It also has a rich treasure. I gained many things from it. The list is endless.
The Literature Times: The title is unique and appealing; how did you come up with it? Please tell us the story behind it.
Author: AHAN
The name came from one of my stories. It is my namesake. He is a repository of truth. He does not reveal it. He plays a pious role. This book is also a repository of truthful human emotions and frailties. Multitudes of characters decorate them. They come from the canvas of life. I merely depict them. I play a pious role.
SRIJAN
Very remarkable is the name! In ancient times, poets and singers played a pious role. They depicted lights and shades of life. Today this is taken by fiction writers. They paint all shades of life truthfully. They are pricking out false haughtiness of people. They show them the reality. Taru’s hate for history was based on a fake logic. The talkativeness of Tithi was based on ignorance. Het thought he was very intelligent. All these myths broke in these stories. They open up mirror in front of us. They play a pious role.
The Literature Times: What are your achievements so far? Tell us something about your writing career.
Author: AHAN
I love to write. I do not believe in achievement. It will follow automatically. I would like to enjoy my passion. I began to write as I felt the need to express myself. I continued on my journey as more passion needed to be expressed. These writings are my windows to life. They will always remain with me.
SRIJAN
Inside me is an urge to express what I feel for this world. The instinct in me wants to say something of this world. It is a clarion call to me. I cannot ignore it. I believe that there are things one should say about this world. I want to speak of this in loud voice. My stories will tell about them. I will speak of them through my characters.
The Literature Times: What is your current goal in writing a career? How do you see your future in writing?
Author: AHAN
I have seen many tragedies of goal driven writers. They melt out while pursuing goals. The journey of life is topsy-turvy. We do not know what lies at the end. Only we should never give up. We must carry on whatever happens.
SRIJAN
I cannot possibly change the society. But I can alert the society about its frailties. This is my only aim. My writings should leave whip scars on the society. It should alert the society about its pitfalls. This is my only aim in life.
The Literature Times: Do you have any other novels in the works? Please keep us updated on your future endeavors.
Author: AHAN
I have already in pipeline translation of a book of short poems by Tagore. This is done with my brother Srijan. It will capture a new side of Tagore. I have also written many poems and stories in Bengali and English. So far as I gain energy, I will write. At present, I feel happy to write.
SRIJAN
Our next book is interesting. In his prime of late thirties, the great Rabindranath Tagore wrote a book of short poems. This is not a writing of a person at his old age when powers began to leave him but of a genius at his prime. Undoubtedly it is no lazy creation. These are conscious creations. They speak of sublime thoughts. They are gems of poetic wisdom. We have tried to translate them.
Also we have a book on translation of many nursery rhymes and children poems at hand. This is now in the process of being preparation.
At present, I am writing stories in Bengali and English.
The Literature Times: How do you view Indian writing in the twenty-first century? What changes do you see in today’s writing style? Do you feel it has changed over time?
Author: AHAN
The Indian writing has found new shorelines in this new century. It has moved beyond the traditional set-up of an Indian family norm. It became more broad and inclusive. Writing pattern also included sub-altern languages and mode of expression. It moved away from a so-called high culture to encompass the low culture. It is now more heterogeneous.
SRIJAN
Current century have changed immensely from past century. It has different value system than the earlier century. It has a separate mind-set. So it has new types of outlook. It must have a new mode of expression. There is predominant use of local expressions. The focus is now shifted from a very holistic approach to a more specific localised approach. The focus is now more on untold stories previously hidden by grand agenda.
The Literature Times: How simple/difficult was it for you to publish your book? What message do you want to send to aspiring authors?
Author: AHAN
Good work is not very difficult to publish. In literature we have many such instances. The immortal Devdas was written by the great Saratchandra when he was an unknown teenager. The essay that did not give Rousseau the first prize changed the world forever. The documents that Kafka wanted to burn made him immortal. Rowling’s manuscript was rejected by many publishers before it was published. Rest is history.
I will say to prospective authors that please believe in your abilities. Try your best. Give your all. Leave the rest to the world. If you are able, you will definitely find a way out.
SRIJAN
Essential ingredient of a good publishing is good market visibility. A thing of art is valued only if people appreciated. Many books got unappreciated because it was not delivered properly. It might be due to the style of the author was so abstruse that few could fathom it. Or maybe the idea was too far ahead of time. Authors’ first interest is the readers. The book should win them. But that should not come at the cost of quality. Popularise with quality is surely difficult but every author should try to achieve it. Even a portion of it is a sure way to success.
