One day a man, a woman and a transgender get a call for police Investigation at the police station regarding an unintended, serendipitous accident. Police investigates the matter and call the three people in the police station. The three - a man, a woman and a transgender wait in the counselling centre without even knowing how their lives are interconnected with an event of watching the film "PINK " in the same theatre on the same day in the same show. Their stories and mysteries unfold in the counselling room of the police station and a connecting link between their stories is established. The mystery is associated with the film they watched and the time during which they watched it. What finally happens ?; - "The three get trapped more or move on with their lives or do they collude to come out of this and create a new move against the police to come out and chart out their own journey by being friends" . This story is all about these magical mysteries of life which are unexplained in their own ways and how they get more revealed when three lives with different sexual and gender orientations criss cross each other in a police investigation in the police counselling room.
How did you come up with the idea for your current story?
I have lived, observed and reflected through the shades stuck in between the binaries of truth and false of gender neutrality discourse for more than two decades. So, I have not got any new ideas but rather expressed my reflections by fictionalising it and with a quirk of mixing the storytelling somewhere stuck in between a diary, screenplay, linear and nonlinear narration - which are essentially nothing but reflections.
The book has three main characters with very different voices. How difficult was it to write the different voices/POV?
As I mentioned that the book is an expression of reflections with a tinge of fiction, mystery, crime written with a quirk of creating a storytelling somewhere stuck in between a diary, screenplay, linear and nonlinear narration and hence to do that I had often switched in terms of the voice, linear and nonlinear narrations while it was done through conversations between my characters. My experimentation was not only with the characters, but with the length, process of the story telling which can be somewhere in a space of a diary, screenplay, short story by editing the horizontal and vertical expansion of the characters and the plot (which again was told and retold in different narrative formats). I have intentionally changed the voices, switched between linearity of storytelling,phrasing and paraphrasing processes often sacrificing the vertical content of a so called literary narrative process. Yes it was difficult for me as I knew that I am taking a risk. I also knew the costs of taking such a risk. But I had to be honest to the reflections and they needed these process of voicing the reflections and there was no other way and so I took the risk.
What is your writing process? Do you follow a regular routine or do you have any weird, funny, or unusual habits while writing and what are they?
I try to write regularly by breaking the entire day into time slices. For that matter, every day I practise to write a succinct 500 word opinion piece on any thing (which I dont publish anywhere but sometimes I publish it in my blogspace - http://geekonomistdiary.blogspot.com/) . It's just like before playing a reverse handle shot in a T 20 match successfully you need to practise it at least 200 times in the nets continuously at different points of time. I have many unusual habits while writing and some of them are -
I often take frequent breaks while writing (depending on my mood) and will listen to old Hindi songs of 50s, 60s, 70s and 90s and then again will come back and write
I often take frequent breaks while writing (again the frequency depends on the mood) and will watch old cricket classic matches, matches (Test, One Day or T 20) of the Indian Cricket Team or any sports game and will come back to my manuscript and write
I often take frequent breaks while writing (again the frequency depends on the mood) and will switch to some cinema frames either on Netflix, Television and will come back and write
Do you ever suffer from writer’s block? If so, what do you do about it?
Yes, like any human being, I do suffer from it. I just don't think about it and keep on working on my other projects, music ideas, sometimes painting and on dance visuals or often play with dogs and watch cinema, music videos or anything else that attracts me. I also observe anything happening around me more minutely actually when I suffer from writer’s block.
What opportunities have being an author presented you with and share those memories?
I am grateful to share and communicate my expressions to so many people. I don't think I am a writer but yes I have been blessed with the love and affection of many who have thought me to be so. However, I strongly believe that I am just communicating my reflections and expressions and for doing that I will continue to create new forms of communication and will create more opportunities to create those forms. One of the best memories was when in my first children science fiction book launch of - “Lucy and The Train: Tryst with Sustainability” someone asked me if the book I am launching is only a precursor or a process to see my name - “I really felt that question was very important and exposed me to a much more inward reflective journey which I continuously do before communicating anything through words, melody, lyrics, visuals, …. - so to me that question is the best memory as it has helped me a lot in this journey - the why of any communication has to be very clear in the conscious and subconscious soul of any communicator”
What do you do if inspiration strikes in an inconvenient place like (car, restaurant, bathroom/shower, etc..) and how do you capture that moment before it gets away from you?
I am a very shameless person when it comes to drawing and absorbing an inspiration. For me, no place is an inconvenient place if it gives me inspiration. I also easily switch off and move on from a place when it stops inspiring me anymore as I don't like to hold on to anything but rather believe in experiencing the best of any place. For that matter, I have drawn inspiration from many more intriguing, fearful, bright, dark and inconvenient corners of the society and I continue to do so. The ones you have mentioned are the easy ones and in my list they are already there. However, my list includes much more than these places. To reflect, express and communicate honestly we have to go much beyond this list.
Do you believe there is value in a review? Do you believe they are under rated, over rated, or don’t matter at all?
A critical review is a must. However, I also do believe a reviewer or a reader also has a responsibility to be objective about any creation and be more thoughtful, reflective about understanding a creation. Having said that, it doesn't mean that a reviewer, reader has any moral obligation to do that. It is completely their choice. We have to accept that fact too. Review is a must and I dont want to give any rating to it. However, a balance has to be there. It is just like we live in the atmosphere of Earth because it has the right balance of every element in the air and so we are surviving. Once this balance goes out, humans and species move towards an extinction. Reviewers, readers and writers (if I may say so) also do share the same relationship of the right balance of elements in the air to survive.
What is your biggest fear about having a book published?
For that matter, I don't fear about the publication of a book. I often fear about why, when and how I will break and construct myself more or less or the same. It is that process which is essential to express something. I often have an apprehension of how to continuously do it through a sustained practice. I must say often in that practice, I falter which I don't want to.
Anandajit Goswami:
Anandajit Goswami has coauthored sci-fi book titled ‘Lucy meets Artificial Intelligence’, and authored ‘Lucy and the Train: Tryst with Sustainability’.
His latest release is "Pink Gender: The Story of a Man, a Woman and a Dream".
He is also a social scientist and has got a Masters in International Trade and Economics from JNU with a specialization in Development Economics, Advanced Trade Theories, Labour Economics, Resource Economics, Environmental Economics and Investment Finance. He has a PhD in Energy Economics and Policy from TERI School of Advanced Studies.
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