Ratnadip Acharya:"I was completely unaware of chick lit literature that young Indian readers love" (Interview)

Ratnadip Acharya have written a very wonderful and shocking book recently which is purely based upon life of a deer where the protagonist is itself a deer. I am amazed by his work which compelled me to take his interview to know the author better. A very straight-forward answers has been given by him. Do read to know what he feels about his writing journey. 

1. How’s life after becoming a published author? What changes do you feel?

Answer: Life has not changed much since I became a published author. I am a loner and deeply enjoy my solitariness. Only change, if at all it can be called a change, is that now I write with more conviction as I know there is a handful of people who will definitely read my work. When you love someone you get courage and when someone loves you, you get confidence. So is it with my writing. When I know some readers love my work I get confidence.  You can call it the only change.   

2. How has been the response to your first book “Life is always aimless….”?

Answer: It was better than what I had expected. At that time I was completely unaware of the entire world of contemporary Indian reader. I did not even a facebook account. I grew up reading British classic like that of Somerset Maugham, Graham Green, A. J. Cronin and many more and was completely unaware of the trend of chick lit literature that young Indian readers love to read. My first novel introduced me to a new generation of readers. 

3. Tell us something about your 2nd and latest novel, “Paradise Lost and Regained”?

Answer: It is always a heart-warming feeling to talk about this book. Frist of all, you need immense courage to write an entire book on a small deer or any other animal when everybody is writing on Romance, suspense, thriller and retelling mythological story in their own way. I do not think in the history of Indian literature there is any other novel where an animal is telling its story with which we can all relate ourselves. I do not think any reader will regret giving its time to read this work of fiction.  

4. Didn’t it worry you how will a concept based on story of a deer be accepted?

Answer: No, I definitely did not worry. Should I worry I could not have written this large novel effortlessly. As the book says ‘trust and worry do not coexist’, I did not have an iota of worry while writing it. In fact I did not even think if anyone will ever read it. I knew the idea was entirely a godsend idea and I must deliver my best. In fact, while writing, I often felt, someone is guiding me to write. It is an inexplicable feeling.   

5. What kind of research you did to understand the lifestyle of a deer?

Answer: I did not do any research apart from reading a bit about deer to bring authenticity to my work. In fact the novel which are based on research work (I do not wish to name any author here) though appear well-informative, when it comes to love and passion for life, they are empty and hollow. I read a good deal of novels based on research. I find them shallow. They are good for learning English language but stories are mundane and lack spark. To my understanding, greatest novel ever written in any language is Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy. He did not do any research to write that masterpiece, nor did he do any research work to write War & Peace. Read it and you will find it has voluminous information, intertwined with complex characters. But Tolstoy did not do any research for it. Tolstoy rightly said, ‘What we really need to accomplish anything successfully is deep love.’ 

  

6. Why do you always attempt serious novels with no humour and punches in between?

Answer: Brother, I am not a chick lit fiction author. Even if it does not qualify me to reach bestseller list I am perfectly okay. I do not wish to write predictable shallow stuff. Secondly, I do not want to add unwanted humour or cuss words to my work to garner more readers. For me, most important thing is if I really believe the story that I am narrating. I do not voluntarily make them serious or humourless. I write every word that I stand by. I do not know if sincerity pay off or not. But I am a genuine and sincere author. I do not know what you mean by punches. But if you mean by it unpredictable turns and twists in the story, I believe, Paradise Lost & Regained, has no dearth of it. However, I do not know how the readers of chick lit fiction will take it. 

7. It’s been two publishers with two books, why so?

Answer: Just a stroke of luck. I do not even know if I will write any other book or not. I do not even know if one day any publisher will accept it or not.  

8. Tell us something about your next book that you are currently thinking/writing about?

Answer: It is a very premature stage to talk about it. But, well, I can say is that novel, probably, too, will have no human being. Probably, again I will create another mystical world that I have developed in Paradise Lost & Regained. The prime thing is that I must write something that I love. Otherwise the entire journey is joyless. If I cheat myself as an author just to please readers I am already emotionally a dead man. What the use of becoming a bestseller author then?

9. How do you see yourself as an author after 5 years?

Answer: Probably you remember those lines from Paradise Lost & Regained. ‘All my understanding sums up in three words… Trust, Hope & Love’. I have a deep trust in myself. Otherwise I would not have written such an unusual story. Every day I live with hope. Pray one day readers will experience deep love in my work.     

10. Any words for your fans who have liked either of your books.

Answer: Be with me in my future endeavour, too. I assure you I would never produce a commonplace stuff and fail you.