New Delhi, December 12: In writing’Tin Fish’,’Red Sun’and’Once Upon a Time in Aparanta’and his new book’The Avenue of Kings’, journalist-writer Sudeep Chakravarti has been shifting between fiction and non-fiction, but his goal is simple tell stories that really need telling.’The Avenue of Kings’, sequel to’Tin Fish’, is a portrait of India dealing with change in the aftermath of Indira Gandhi and son Rajiv assassinations and the demolition of the Babri mosque.
“My new work is a series of stories of three distinct periods in the history of India which were a combination of utter chaos, despair and hope,”says Chakravarti.
Protagonist Brandy Ray is witness to a Sikh boy set aflame in the chaos following Indira Gandhi’s assassination; a house party raging in Kolkata while the country mourns the fading dream of Rajiv Gandhi and a young Muslim boy contemplating answering the call of militant fundamentalism in the wake of the demolition of the Babri Masjid.In the three edgy novellas The Avenue of Kings’,’The Cradle of Innocents’and’The Well of Three Wishes’ that form interlinked narratives, Chakravarti takes the reader on a rollercoaster ride, a journey of aspiration, longing, betrayal and the sheer joy of being alive.
About his writings, he feels he is quite at ease at both the genres.”To be frank, I am comfortable with both fiction and non-fiction. It seemed I was more inclined to fiction and writing’Red Sun’was like going back to journalism. It was very organic,”Chakravarti told PTI.”But fiction also surprised and fascinated me. As I experience the nuances with each work of fiction, I am getting used to it.”His next work is a narrative on the northeast that is expected to come out next year.”I like to tell stories which need telling.
Most of the issues of the northeast are not properly addressed and more writings are needed,”he says.Almost all of the characters in’The Avenue of Kings’, published by HarperCollins India, are fictional.”There are some characters based on people I knew and few instances like the riots that I saw personally as I was in Delhi during the time of Indira Gandhi’s assassination.
But otherwise, the characters are mainly fictitious,”he says.Chakravarti says he would love to take the journey of Brandy Ray forward.”I have more stories to tell with Brandy Rays character. I am quite comfortable for a third book on him.”Chakravarti’s bestselling first novel,’Tin Fish’, was published in 2005.
He has since published’Red Sun: Travels in Naxalite Country'(2008), a work of narrative non-fiction about India’s ongoing Maoist rebellion that was shortlisted for the Vodafone Crossword Non-fiction Award 2008, and a novel,’Once Upon a Time in Aparanta'(2008), a dark satire set in the self-proclaimed paradise of Goa, his home for several years.
–PTI