Neha Sharma: Hello Sir, firstly congratulations on the release of your new book – Right under the nose – which is a murder mystery. How is the response so far?
R. Giridharan: It has been overwhelming and deeply satisfying. Thanks for your wishes and compliments.
Neha Sharma: How long have you been writing and what inspired you to write the very first time?
R. Giridharan: I wanted to write a thriller where innovative murder methods were used. I wanted to use typical Indian milieu and locale. I also wanted to emphasize that imagination can any day trump hi-tech and big bucks. I have been writing articles and case studies for some time but a full- fledged book project began in 2016-17.
Neha Sharma: What all learnings you grasped through the journey of bringing-out this book, from pre to post publishing?
R. Giridharan: (1) A winner never quits and a quitter never wins.
(2) The world is waiting for your story, so don’t hold back.
(3) Getting a publisher might be more back-breaking than writing, so never lost heart.
Neha Sharma: Writing a murder-mystery needs an extra shot of creativity to make it come-out different than the usual. How did you manage that in the case of this book?
R. Giridharan: The book is a murder mystery thriller. It is a cast in typically Indian conditions and the locale in Nagpur, a tier 2 Indian city. The characters are those with whom readers can easily identify. The murders, however, are amazing. A man is killed twice at the same moment, in the middle of the road. Two scientists drink from the same glass, the same liquid at the same time in front of 100 people, one dies and another survives. A man enters a room and dies immediately due to poisoning and no one has entered the room and poison was administered in the room only.
There is also a love blossoming between the male and female leads. This is the first book with a male and a female detective being given equal importance.
I promise that the reader can’t put down the book, once he reads it.
Neha Sharma: You are known to have performed international sports commentary with All India Radio as well. Having covered many test-matches and one-day internationals in that, how was the experience, Sir?
R. Giridharan: It was also a childhood dream coming true. I love the passion and energy in those environments. You cannot afford a slip-up as millions are hearing you live and it teaches you to be on your toes all the time.
Neha Sharma: And what about your experience working as a general manager with the Reserve Bank of India?
R. Giridharan: It instilled a discipline in me. I also needn’t worry about my finances as it is a lovely employer. I made lifelong friends and they have helped me in my endeavors.
Neha Sharma: How do you maintain balance in life generally? Working in so many classy areas altogether I mean.
R. Giridharan: I plan my day and waste very little time. I look at each profession as a complete passion and I get a thrill from every second that I spend training, writing or commentating. The passion finds solutions.
Neha Sharma: How do you deal with writer’s block which is usually a dilemma for every writer?
R. Giridharan: Get on to the field, when you are tired of writing and you will find new things to write about. I met toxicologists, doctors, forensic experts, snake charmers and stage magicians and new ideas cropped up from those interactions which melted the writers block.. I saw a peculiar face in a dead body in a morgue and the forensic expert told me that the dead man suffered from a peculiar syndrome. When he narrated the features of the syndrome, I got an idea for the murder. I met and spent days with a snake charmer, acquainting myself with his skill sets and methods of training the reptile.
Neha Sharma: Who is your favorite writer/author from the past or present of the literature world?
R. Giridharan: Amar Chitra Katha and Tin Tin were my early influencers. The day of the Jackal and The Hound of the Baskervilles, apart from Agatha Christie’s books left an impact on me. Now my favorite author is Keigo Higashino.
Neha Sharma: What would you like to suggest/convey to the aspiring authors of these times?
R. Giridharan: Please have some aims and objectives. In my case:
1) I wanted to write original Indian crime thriller.
2) I wanted to prove that imagination can trump hi-tech and big bucks.
3) Most answers lie right under our nose.
There is no substitute for actual research on the field . For my book: I had to do a lot of research on :
1)Snake Charmers
2)Toxicology
3)Morgues
4)Forensic Practices
Neha Sharma: What are your plans for future in the field of writing? Is your next book already in process or still there is time to go for that?
R. Giridharan: There will be at least 2 sequels to this murder mystery. Apart from that, I would be co-authoring books on anger management and sports commentary.
Neha Sharma: Thank you for your time and efforts to make this interview happen. Best wishes for your present and future endeavours.
R. Giridharan: Thanks a ton, I NEED YOUR WISHES.
