Having authored six bestselling novels, Ravinder Singh is back with a hilarious, moving story of friendship and adventure in ‘The Belated Bachelor Party’. The author’s eight-year-long IT career started with Infosys and ended in Microsoft, where he worked as a senior programme manager before deciding to pursue writing full time. He was in the city for the launch of his book. In a tête-à-tête with Aviral Mishra of Orissa Post, he talks about his work and future plans. Excerpts:
Tell us about your new book. How is it different from your earlier works?
It’s based on a real-life reunion trip of four friends to Europe. It’s about living a missed opportunity that they realize after getting married. The characters have been in two of my previous novels as well. The book is a fun read where boys want to play smart. However, they turn out to be a bunch of losers at every twist and turn.
Your works usually depict love and romance but you haven’t touched the theme in this one. Why is that?
All my books are different in their own sense but this time I have changed the genre itself. I wanted to challenge myself and try something different. In order to see how people react, I made my story around four boys and did not feature even a single girl. I’m glad that response from has been fabulous.
The characters are made out of real people. All four of them are Punjabi. One of them is based on me while the rest are Harpreet, Amardeep and Manpreet.
Is it risky for an author to change his style?
It could be suicidal but we live in changing times. Things are evolving and the taste of people varies with time. You cannot stick to any one formula. You have to think out of the box. When you change the content, it’s crucial to get you reader’s attention. You have to bring something incredibly good.
You were brought up in Odisha. Does that influence your writing?
Most of my works are reflection of my life in Odisha. ‘Like It Happened Yesterday’ is all about my childhood in a small town of Burla. My first book ‘I Too Had A Love Story’ also talks about staying in Bhubaneswar and working here at Infosys. For me, Burla is the same as Malgudi for R K Narayan.
Before pursuing writing full time, you worked in various firms. How did you manage time for both?
I always found time for the things I wanted to do. It’s all about time management. When I used to work at Infosys, I saw people staying in the office even after their work. I was very clear about my decision. Where there is will there is way.
Multiple Indian books have been adapted into movies. Which actor would you like to see as one of the characters if your work features in movies?
To correct you, not a lot of books are adapted into movies, it’s a fallacy. Around 100 books are coming up every day and adaptations show the tip of an iceberg. It’s actually sad that Indian cinema doesn’t adapt as many books as Hollywood does. But if my book were to be adapted, I would love my characters to be portrayed in fresh ways. I would also love my work to be shown on platforms like Netflix and Amazon that has a cult following rather than the mainstream media.
A lot of youngsters in India prefer spending time on social media to reading. How do you feel about that?
Developing a reading culture in the country is challenging because videos have taken the charm of reading. It’s very important to bring something really gripping that would attract readers. Reading a book always opens your imagination and makes you open to ideas.
Speaking of social media, you have generated huge following in various platforms. Does it shape your opinion?
No it doesn’t. I’m a rebellious individual. I like to speak my mind. Twitter is one forum where I make a lot political statements. I get different reactions from my fans. Being an honest taxpayer, I am entitled to voice my opinions on the ruling dispensation. Creativity shouldn’t be shaped by political inclination.
