Let’s Talk: with V. T. Rakesh, the best-selling author of The Thorough Check

 

We are in conversation with V. T. Rakesh, the best-selling author of The Thorough Check where he talks about the whole thought process behind his book The Thorough Check. He also shares with us his views on the way the concept of secularism and reservations in the name of secularism which is been practiced here in India. Have a look.

 

 

 

• Let’s Talk

 

Team WordBite (TWB):Welcome Rakesh, first of all tell us the whole thought process behind your book The Thorough Check.

V. T. Rakesh (VTR): From my little experience in life, I have somehow inferred that generalization is the root cause of all “-schism” and related violence in the society. We categorize that “those” people are all bad, based on somebody’s skin color, religion, caste, language or even food habits. In reality, two brothers despite being come out from the same womb, one can be good and the other evil. So how can we generalize an opinion about a set of people? There are good and bad everywhere, in all sects. I wanted to carry my thinking across to the hardliners, especially at this crucial phase of our great nation.

 

 

TWB: The Thorough Check elegantly narrated a story with terrorism in the centerline, when and why did you decide to really sit yourself down and start writing?

VTR: I was really disturbed to see the attack on Taj Mahal Hotel in Mumbai, a slap on our nation’s face. Many altruistic security commandoes and policemen died. The terrorists must have got support from within our country, which really perturbed my mind. I just tried to explore the genesis of terrorism, and started writing, distantly hoping that, one day, we Indians will rise above our differences as a single society to fight the evil of terrorism.

TWB:Tell us something about your early life in Kerala and your subsequent migration to Gujarat.

VTR: I spent my childhood and education in a picturesque place in Kerala’s Trissur district, full of paddy fields, Sarpakavu (Snake temples), footballers and a scent of Che Guera.  My DonBosco School stood like Cambridge amongst the Malayalam medium schools around, giving us the aura of a stiff upper lip, and pushed us into the big bad world of English speakers. I wish I had studied in a Malayalam medium school which would have given me the contentment of being a village-officer somewhere. Carrying an Engineering degree in a state which has no industries is really a burden. Fortunately, Gujarat, which was shining in all its glamour, in the post-liberalization India, came calling in 1994. And I never thought of leaving this wonderful place of entrepreneurs, falling in love with its air of business and festivals.

TWB:It has been said by many that it’s hard to get published, why is it so?

VTR: Publishing is still in a very nascent state in India. We are yet to have a culture of literary agents. And given the plethora of submissions the publishers must be receiving, and considering the very small market of English book readers, getting published is like hitting the jackpot. The solution is to increase the market size by bringing back the fashion of reading books.

TWB:We have read this book and it is truly intriguing and beautiful. How do you feel when you get to know that a certain section of the society reads and praises your book? Are you content with the response your book has generated until now?

VTR: It is a great feeling of fulfillment to get acknowledgement from the readers. I am aware that the book appeals only to right-thinking and level-headed people, and within that, the applause has been encouraging. I look forward to a greater response since it is only a few months now.

TWB: What are your views on the way the concept of secularism and reservations in the name of secularism is been practiced here in India?

VTR: India has an immature democracy, so is its secularism. The concept of vote banks is so narrow-minded and selfish. We have to come out of that and focus more on human rights, than on minority or majority rights. For that matter 50% of the population, the women, live the most repressed lives in this country. Nobody speaks up for them. Let us have the full freedom to follow our respective religions, but at the same time have equal respect for others’ beliefs as well.

TWB:What research work have you done for writing this book?

VTR: I have closely watched the fishing industry in Veraval, interacting with some of them. The Whale-shark conservation is effectively taken up there. I studied it from close quarters. I had also referred some forensic science books to gain knowledge on explosives.

TWB:Give us a little sneak peak of your upcoming books.

VTR: I am presently doing the finishing touch-ups for my second book – “Deliverance of Sarpameru”. It is a futuristic crime-thriller, which also ends with a social message.

TWB: How has been your journey till now in this industry?

VTR: I’m that proverbial boy playing on the sea-shore or even lesser than that, when it comes to this industry. Like any other industry, here also, it is the big brand names that work. Goes without saying that for a new comer, surmounting this entry-barrier is the key.

TWB:When was the last time you did something for the first time? And what was it?

 

VTR: I finally said No, when it came to bribing a Railway TC or a Traffic Policeman, instead asking for a full receipt paying more money, and by even travelling in a general compartment.

 

 

• Rapid Fire

 

TWB: Your favorite Book(s)

VTR: Love in the Time of Cholera, Where Eagles Dare

TWB: Your favorite Author(s)

VTR: Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Alistair Maclean

TWB: Describe yourself in three words

VTR: Forthright, emotional and just.

TWB:Thank you V. T. Rakesh for this interview, we wish you a great life ahead. J

 

• Buy his book from the following link

http://www.flipkart.com/thorough-check-travails-indian-muslim/p/itmdun2wfzcbahyx?pid=9789383562053&affid=bookgeekso

Book Review: By the River Pampa I stood by Geeta Abraham Jose

Today, in an all new session of THE READING ROOM, we are going to review By the River Pampa I stood by Geeta Abraham Jose

 

 

• Book Description             

 

 

‘There is an ethnic Christian community with two millennium old heritage in the southernmost part of India, where nature had endowed the land and the people with an abundance of grace and beauty. The people belonging to this community are known as Syrian Christians or Nasranis. This novel features a typical Syrian Christian family-its great history, its traditions, its joys and sorrows, its secrets… The story spans over a century and gives an insight into the life of the Syrian Chrishtians of Kerela, which is steeped in traditions dating back to the time of the apostles of Jesus. They are a breed of people who abide by age olf conventions and ancient laws and abhor changes. The caste feelings and feudal hierarchy prevalent in the first half of the twelfth century and to some extent to this day are analyzed carefully as we progress through the story.’

• My View             

 

The book has a story to tell on its own. We all know about the way (in the past and at places even now) there are differences made on the basis of caste and creed. This book is an insight to it. The Syrian Christian family which is talked about here is a very old and privileged family which has a wonderful heritage and an even better lineage.

The lineage is so old that the ancestors have written a book on it which they fondly call their family tree.

 

Interesting as it seems, this book is a witness to the family’s joys, sorrows, births, deaths, pleasures and even pains. What happened when a person opposes the family traditions? Whose life is shattered and whose life is left untouched. How a death can make a person and so on. Every page is a saga of emotions carved in wonderful words which make this book a page turner in itself.

 

This book, along with its reference to the time of the freedom struggle also runs parallely with one heir of the family living in the present. Another person who has been bold enough not to bow down in front of the family traditions. Who had the courage to break the traditions!

 

Apart from the fact that the book is a roller coaster ride, I would also like to state that the book could’ve been better at a few places. The book had loads of ‘aww’ moments which made my expectation raise more for the book.

 

Since I had huge expectations from this awesome debut book from page 1, I felt that in the middle chapters, a bit descriptions were needed which would’ve made this book just perfect!

 

My rating: 4.5/5

Title:     By The River Pampa I stood

Author:  Geeta Abraham Jose

ISBN-10:  8188575917

ISBN-13:   9788188575916

 Genre: Fiction

Publisher: Srishti Publishers

Buy this book online

  http://www.flipkart.com/river-pampa-stood/p/itmdyv3m5hqvuu4x?pid=9788188575916&otracker=start&q=By+the+river+pampa+I+stood

 

So here we come to an end to today’s session of Reading Room

Reviewed By:  Sharanya aka Vanya (Team WordBite)

Let’s Talk: with K. Hari Kumar, an Award Winning Short Film-maker and an Author

He is an award winning short film maker, an agripreneur in his beautiful hometown in Kerala and a year ago his widely acclaimed debut novel, When Strangers Meet…was released and thus started a new journey for him as an author. We are talking about K. Hari Kumar a young, dynamic 20 something person and we got an opportunity to have him with us for an exclusive interview, where he talks about his passion in film making and how he wrote a novel adapted from his own film.

K. Hari Kumar, Courtesy: Google Images

 

• Let’s Talk:

Team WordBite (TWB):Hello, Hari, first of all tell us everything about how it all started- the film making?

K. Hari Kumar (KHK): Now, for that we gotta go back in time. I guess I must thank my parents for taking me with them to movies when I was just a baby, my mother tells me that unlike other kids I would watch the entire film without crying or falling asleep.

 

TWB: Usually a book is adapted into a screenplay for a movie, but in your case you wrote a novel from a screenplay. Tell us the story behind this story.

KHK: I was not keeping well and there was a point in life when I wanted to do what I always wanted to do, and that inspired me to make that rusty first short film, and later the same motivated me to write a novel based on it. This was the first book that I completed, and I believe the motivation pumped me.

TWB: Sometimes all it takes is stranger’s tale to bring your life back on track, so did you have had any stranger’s influence in your life?

KHK: Everyday!

 

 

TWB: Your book When Strangers meet, narrates a very hard-hitting story filled with suspense and a great drama. It revolves around the father-son relationships from the viewpoints of three different strata of our society. What made you write on this topic? And most importantly, what made you write a story in a never-read-before way?

KHK: My own life, my state of mind at the moment in life, how my father who was once a hero for me back when we were struggling in life (financially) How he had started shaping himself as the greatest villain during my late teen till adulthood, which also coincided an ascent in our financial status. The grief and a yearning for a son’s acceptance in the eyes of a father paved the path for a book that hustles for the same.

TWB:There is a very beautiful line in the book, “You are a little man… having a modest dream… but a big heart”. In a current scenario when people our running behind mindless things how should one relate to this line?

KHK: Well, if people are running after useless things, then definitely the dream aint modest, but immature. But having said that, I believe that having a dream is nothing but ordinary, what defines a person is if he/she has the caliber to work hard without getting distracted. Not all of us are served on a silver platter; we must use our bare hands if we don’t have one.

TWB: Share with us something about your life in Kerala, your upbringing, and the inspiration, influences for carving out these beautiful stories.

KHK: I was brought up in Gurgaon and I am proud to call it my home. Kerala is a scenic destination for a weekend getaway, and that’s all I would say for the place. My inspiration comes from the stories my mother would read me on those lazy afternoons in my childhood days.

TWB:Making films or writing a novel? Why?

KHK: The only way one can experience God.

TWB:How was it working with Shristi Publications and also tell us something about your next book

KHK: Srishti, under the patronage of Jayantakumar Bose, is a well-established platform for writers and with Arup’s arrival it’s getting a complete makeover.

TWB:What’s next? When will we be able to see you directing a mainstream feature film?

KHK: Fingers crossed.

TWB: When was the last time you did something for the first time? And what was it?

KHK: I am giving an interview on Wordbite right now, that’s a first here. 

TWB:Rapid Fire

• Your favourite film(s) :

KHK: Parosh Pathor, The Da Vinci Code, Planet of the Apes (1958), Vertigo, Guru, Vinnaithandi Varuvaaya, Transformers, Signs and the list goes on.

• Your fabourite author(s), book(s) :

KHK:   Dan Brown, Albert Camus, S Radhakrishnan, Satyajit Ray, Paulo Coelho, Michael Crichton, Stephen King, Khaled Hosseini, Arthur Conan Doyle & Roald Dahl.

Deception Point, The Da Vinci Code, The Stranger, Witches, The Alchemist, Hound of Baskervilles, Pet Sematary, The Afghan, Kite Runner.

• If When Strangers Met was made into a Bollywood Movie, whould would you think would be the actors essaying the characters.

KHK:  Prakash Raj – Iyer

Dhanush – Young Iyer

Varun Dhawan – Jai

AbhishekBachchan – Pathan

Asin – Padma

Alia – Tanya

Nasser – Iyer’s Dad

 

TWB:Thank You! Hari, for this interview, and we wish you loads of success and peace in your life. Good Day J

KHK: Totally my honor J I wish you and team WordBite all the very best.

• Buy this book online

http://www.flipkart.com/when-strangers-meet/p/itmdk733ruzqxtyw