Ask any publisher and they will tell you that people do not buy poetry. I have never understood why it does not make commercial sense to buy poetry. When I look at my bookshelf the number of poetry I have is abysmally small as compared to works of fiction. Poetry is hard to appreciate if you do not have the same sensitivity about the subject of the poem as the poet. If that is not hard enough, it gets harder when someone translates the poems that someone else has written. UNLESS the one translating the book is Gulzar.

Mera saaya jab mujhse aage nikla

Mujhe maloom thha suraj ko peechhe

ChHor aayi hoon

मेरा साया जब मुझसे आगे निकला
मुझे मालूम था सूरज को पीछे
छोड़ आई हूँ

When my shadow

Overtook me

I knew

I had crossed the sun

Sukrita Paul Kumar‘s poems have been translated into the Urdu laced Hindi that is typical of Gulzar.

There is a constant

sound of footsteps

From behind

Looking back will

demolish all hope

सुनाई देती है पीछे पीछे
किसी के क़दमों की चाप पैहम
जो मुड़के देखूं …
उम्मीद भी कट जाएगी |

Gulzar

I tried reading some of the poems in English and then read the translation in the mirror page. And then read a few of the poems in Hindi to savor the experience of mentally translating the poem back to English to see how much of the poem matched the printed translation. And then I read all the poems in English.At one stage I lost track of which one was the originally written poem and which one was the translation.

Sukrita brings in the influences of her Punjabi family, of her childhood in Africa, growing up in Aurangabad and the influences of Delhi where she currently lives. She is an honorary fellow of the prestigious International Writing Program, University of Iowa. She knows the grammar and knows what makes for the soul of a poem. See this is what makes her poems resonate with the reader. The word “Sukrita” means born of good deed – this book certainly lives upto that name.

And if there is just one word to describe the translations by Gulzar, it is brilliant. And then you will say I am biased. Yes, I am.

His website describes him as “Gulzar, is a poet above all things. His style marks a sensitivity that is best reflected through his writing and treatment of films. He is one of those sensitive people whose work is laced with the lyrical but psychologically adept examination of human sensibilities.” It is this sensitivity that comes bridges the language barrier effortlessly.

Gulzar with his two day old stubble, white kurta and shawl and deep voice fits everyone’s image of the poet who sensitizes all of us as he narrates his poems. Speaking of his poems, here is a favorite of mine. Gulzar recites his poem as it blends in with the vocals of Shubha Mudgal in the film Raincoat – Kisi mausam ka jhonka thha (trans: A gust of wind it was perhaps that left the picture on the wall forever tilted). Visualize raindrops trickling down your window pane when you hear this poem.

किसी मौसम का झोंका था
जो इस दीवार पे लटकी हुयी तस्वीर तिरछी कर गया है
गए सावन में यह दीवारें सीली नहीं थी
न जाने क्यूँ इस दफा इन में सीलन आ गयी है, दरारें पड़ गयी हैं
और सीलन इस तरह बहती है जैसे खुश्क रुखसार पर गीले आंसू चलते हैं
यह बारिश गुनगुनाती थी इसी छत की मुंडेरों पर
ये घर की खिडकियों के कांच पर लिख जाती थी संदेशे
बिलखती हुई सी बैठी रहती है अब बंद रोशनदानो के पीछे
दोपेहरें ऐसी लगती हैं – बिना मोहरों के खली खाने रखे हैं
न कोई खेलने वाला है बाज़ी न कोई चाल चलता है
अब न दिन होता है न रात होती है
सभी कुछ रुक सा गया है
वह क्या मौसम का झोंका था जो इस दीवार पे लगी तस्वीर को तिरछी कर गया है ||

This is the skill of Gulzar. He removes the chasm between the original and the translation in the book Poems Come Home. Pick up the book. On a rainy afternoon, sit near the window, watch the rain and read the poems as the different moods of the rain from the drizzle to the torrential downpour all make the poems resonate just a little more.

Recommended

PS: I am now waiting for Gulzar’s upcoming book called A Poem A Day that will have 365 poems – from poets across the world, all translated by Gulzar. Can’t wait for that one.

—————-

Watch this brilliant discussion on the evolution of Hindi film music at the Jaipur Literary Festival featuring Gulzar, Prasoon Joshi and Javed Akhtar Click Here

Rebirth is the second book by Jahnavi Barua that I am reviewing. I had read her collection of short stories called Next Door about two years back and was totally bowled over. You can read that review here.  I had the privilege of reading the early draft of this novel – see the advantage of having Jahnavi as a friend!

Jahnavi started writing as a full time writer in 2004. Initially it was short stories that were published in various anthologies and even wrote a children’s book called, The Boy Who Lost His Voice. This doctor won the Short Fiction contest hosted by British Council in ’05 and then the second prize in the Children’s Fiction category of the same prize. She was awarded the Charles Wallace Trust Fellowship to study Creative Writing in the UK in 2006. She is a “writer by profession, a doctor by education and a birder and gardener by passion”. 

The landscape of Assam features prominently in her prose. I saw that in her short stories and the same can be said for Rebirth. The protagonist Kaberi now married to an unloving husband in Bangalore speaks to the unborn child she is carrying and tells us about life back in Assam.

“We would all pile into Bipul Moha’s black Ambassador, the men in front, the women and children at the back, and drive away, usually on a cold winter morning. The boot would be crammed tight with battered suitcases, cloth bags stuffed with packets of biscuits and larus and home made cake, in case they ran out of food at the old Forest Lodge where we stayed.

Bipl Moha’s stately speed of forty kilometres an hour coupled with the fact that we stopped every half an hour for either Ma or Bina Mahi to buy vegetables or fish from village folks squatting patiently by the highway meant that it was late afternoon by the time we arrived at Kaziranga.”

Jahnavi’s style of narration is unhurried and yet the speed of storytelling never seems to drop. The little details of the variety of trees, flowers and birds that show up in her stories create a unique flavor of writing that is very enjoyable. As the protagonist’s mood changes so does the landscape. From the urban landscape and life of an apartment in Bangalore to the house built by Joya’s husband Bidyut on the banks of the Brahmaputra river, she describes it all with the skill of a gemcutter. The pace of the story in the first 150 odd pages is absolutely gripping. The resonance in the life of her mother and the parallels with Kaberi’s creates a much larger impact because it is unsaid and unspoken.

I personally struggle while closing a story in a novel. Life after all does not end in 203 pages. There is so much more that is happening and sometimes that is a trick that the authors have to master. The novel does not end with the same flourish as I expected. It is like having a fabulous meal and ending up with a slightly syrupy or not-so-sweet dessert.Nevertheless the main course was fabulous and demands a second helping!!

———————

You can order Jahnavi’s novels from Flipkart by clicking here

Chapal Mehra is a publishing professional with over a decade in the Indian publishing industry. He began is career as a commissioning person at McGraw Hill and later worked at the Oxford University Press and Sage Publications. His last full-time assignment in publishing was as Acquisitions Manager at Penguin India. He has worked on consulting assignments with Harvard Business School Press, United Nations Development Program  and the Global business Coalition Against HIV/ AIDS. He is a graduate of New York University and is currently based in New Delhi and works as a full-time strategy and content consultant. Ask Chapal about the authors he has introduced to the market and the list is impressive. The three he always mentions are (a) We Are Like That Only by ex-McKinsey consultant and Marketing thought leader Rama Bijapurkar was the bestselling book in the non-fiction and business category for over 2 years(2007-9) and still continues to be hugely successful book in its revised avatar.  Chapal had chaperoned that book into the market. (b) Arun Maira’s Remaking India was considered a path breaking book in the application of consensus building and conflict resolution in business to national politics and development. (c) The Romance of Tata Steel by RM Lala has been critically hailed as a definitive biography of this great Indian organization.

I thought it would be great to have his perspective that first time authors could benefit from.

Abhijit: What were you looking for when you commissioned those authors?

Chapal Mehra: I think some of the better known writers that I have commissioned at various times include Arum Maira, Rama Bijapurkar, Kaushik Basu, Santosh Desai and  Jerry Rao. Not all these books came to fruition but those that did were quite successful.

I think the fundamental qualities  that one looks for in an author is a deep understanding and passion for the ideas that they want to write on, an innovative perspective on the subject and a reasonably good writing style along with a fair bit of flexibility. New ideas are very, very important  as is context which makes it relevant to the immediate market that you are addressing. A book as you know is a collaborative process. A writer entirely left on their own is often insular. Unless of course, s/he is an absolute genius. But how many of those exist?

Abhijit: As a writer how does one know which publishing house is the right one for me?

It works differently for different genres but a few simple rules apply.

A natural point is that the publisher should a considerable presence in the market you wish to address. Every brand, however big, has specializations or sub brands. Make sure you are with the right brand which has the infrastructure to bring you to your reader.  A big brand which is not player in the area you are writing on is useless for you . For eg. An academic book is well-regarded when it comes from a university press instead of say Penguin.  The next, of course, is that the publisher should have substantial content or similar books like yours, for eg. you cannot do an engineering book with a social science publisher . It would be lost. So having a companion list is important. Having a companion list ensures that the subject area gets enough attention by marketing and promotion and also your book rides along with other books. You also need to look at what the publishers strongest points are – editorial, marketing or sales? You have to understand your partners strengths and weaknesses and what they can provide you best.

Finally, your publishing house and editor have to believe in the idea that you wish to write on. It has to be a combined passion of sorts. You cannot start your first book with someone who doesn’t share your excitement. The sad thing is that in India this paddling pool is tiny.

Abhijit: Should the first time writers have agents?

Chapal Mehra: Sure. If you can find one you like and who delivers for you. Its tricky especially in India. You need to know the following : What is the role of the agent? What do you want them to do ? What do you see them providing are all things that need to be discussed before you embark on the agent relationship. It also depends on the agent you get.

Whenever I have acted as an agent I draft a strategy with the writer before we sign anything and make it clear to them what it is that I can deliver. And there is usually a follow up plan . As an agent the fun for me is to over deliver. I am also brutally frank with authors whose work I don’t think has international audience. Its better of they hate you now rather than later. We start with clear goals and work towards them instead of having some hazy idea of making you rich and famous.

Writers often overestimate the service that agents can provide. Every agent is not going to take you international with a  big fat advance. And really do you deserve that? Also you must learn from other examples worldwide. How many authors travel internationally across the world to you? Does everyone have that potential? Clearly not

Before you get an agent, you need to be sure and clear about what you want the agent to do for you. There are a lot of editorial inputs that agents can give. They can also open the right doors for you in the publishing companies and advise you on the appropriate marketing and publicity strategy. But there are agents and agents so please be sure what you want from them .

Abhijit: How should a writer choose an agent?

Chapal Mehra: Like I said earlier, before you choose anyone be objective and determine for yourself what you want for your book. If you are not Murkami, Ishiguro or Rushdie you need to be a little bit realistic in the goals you set for your work.

So for starters, your vision of the book and the agent’s vision of YOUR book have to match. You have to agree on who the primary audience is, where it should be published and how it should be marketed. Again its like a long-term relationship. You need to be sure you want the same things and agree on a  common set of goals and these can include things such as specific deliverables such as advances and marketing  .

And in case you don’t know what you want, then you have to be guided by your agent but also do your little bit of research. Agents are like all other consultants, some deliver exactly what you want, some deliver more, some just don’t deliver. Remember the list of deliverables that you draw up helps the agent and you. Michelangelo didn’t paint the Sistine Chapel by accident –he planned it.

Abhijit: What are the most common mistakes first time authors make? How should one avoid doing those?

Chapal Mehra: Oh they are endless:

1. Wrong agent
2. Wrong publisher
3. No idea of what they wanted for their book except that it  should get published
4. No idea of the terms of the agreement they signed
5. No idea of their intellectual property subclauses
6. Not enough discussion on how the book will be marketed and promoted

Most assume that the publisher is doing them a favor by publishing their book. Hence they refuse to ask any questions and later complain about how they were tricked. This is at heart a business transaction. So you need to be sure what you are getting into. No one is doing you a favor.  It is also an intellectual transaction so you need to be doubly sure that your ideas are cared for and promoted.

That having been said, first time authors can also be real nut cases. Some of them think that the Nobel Prize for literature is theirs and drive their agents and editors nuts with questions queries and endless heckling. There is a limit to everything . I always tell such authors if you think you are such a genius. Go elsewhere. And truthfully, when such a genius arrives every editor or publisher puts up with their tantrums. So if I am not putting up with yours. You should take the hint.

Abhijit: What are some of the watchouts for first time writers when they sign a contract with a publishing firm?

Chapal: Most professional publishing firms have standard contracts which they are not open to amending. It is the way they do business and these cannot be altered to every author’s requirement. In fact they are mostly standardized across organizations with a few changes here and there. As a first time author you need to know what you get into a contract with the publishing firm for :

Copyright: Understand the difference between copyright and  the right to publish.

What territory are you signing the book deal for? Do you want to keep US and UK or Europe rights for yourself?

Please check the royalty clause. Are you happy with what the standard royalty is ? Usually it’s the same across publishing firms

Please check the subsidiary rights.  Do you want to give up or keep –translation rights, film rights, tv series rights etc. In most cases I would advise its best to let the publishing company keep these unless you want to do something with them or you think it will have enormous potential which you have a strategy to exploit.

If its an advance contract what are your dates of delivery? What are the conditions associated with non- or late delivery?

Its always good to discuss the contract with your editor to also understand why the organization is offering the contract that it is . Most large professional publishing firms are not out to rob you. But its important for you to understand their thinking.

Abhijit: What are the typical amounts payable as advance to writers. How does one get these million dollar advances that one hears of?

Chapal: Before we discuss an advance lets understand the nature of it. An advance is a monetary commitment to a writers work. This work is a product that the publisher hopes to sell. The advance is built on the foundation that the book will sell in certain numbers. Some authors labour under the impression that large advances are always doled out . Its only a fraction of writers that get such advances. It depends on what genre, the potential and the ability of a publisher to pay. Some advances from international publishers seem big because you multiplied them by 50 really! Its not too high in India unless you are a well-established writer or the book has huge potential. It can range from Rs40,000 to a few lakhs . In any case, these huge advances are only possible if the mathematics are done properly.  Most standard advances in fact are adjustable against future royaltyThere isn’t a standard strategy to getting that multimillion dollar advance. It depends on the potential of your work and the capacity of your agent. I know of people who have written to a big publishing firm directly and been offered reasonable advances because their work is good. others usually get it through agents.  So there isnt a single strategy. And what are multi-million dollar advances? I million dollars is the equal of 5 crores in India .Which Indian writer has received these recently? Only a handful …

——————–

My favorite website in this respect would be http://www.advicetowriters.com/ They have loads of stuff you will read and learn from. Must read.

Should you have an agent and such vexing questions answered here http://www.thehindu.com/arts/books/article611600.ece

I found this article useful Ten rules for writing fiction

“Let us imagine that you had bought, in secret, the world’s most precious jewel, the Eye of Empire, a massive ruby known to have left a trail of lives—violently lost—behind it as it journeyed across harsh lands in the care of desperate men.” So begins Samit Basu‘s new book Terror on the Titanic – his first Young Adult novel.

Meet Samit, India’s first fantasy novelist and the first well-known Indian author to cross over into comics. He is the author of an extremely popular trilogy of fantasy novels, the GameWorld Trilogy, comprising The Simoqin Prophecies (2004) The Manticore’s Secret (2005) and The Unwaba Revelations (2007). He has written comics for Marvel Comics in India. Outlook featured him as one of the Indians under 25 to watch for along with Shreya Ghoshal – India’s top playback singer and Konkona Sen Sharma the brilliant actress. He got inspired to start a career as an author during a dull class at IIM (Ahmedabad) while pursuing his MBA. Read on what this talented writer is all about.

With a degree in Eco from Presidency College, Kolkata and having got admission to IIM Ahmedabad, you dropped out because you had figured out the ending of your first novel Simoquin Prophecies. Then went on to write a trilogy. How did your friends and family react to your decision? Did they always suspect you would do something like this – if the past is any indication?
SAMIT BASU: They were all surprised. It happened in circles I think – immediate family and close friends were immensely supportive, which surprised me in turn – I remember that my mother, all those years ago when I told her I was serious about dropping out, said ‘Good.’ It was also a great source of relief, and I don’t know if I could have gone through with it without that support. Outside that inner circle, there were plenty of people who had lots of opinions to share that I wasn’t particularly interested in – how my life was ruined, how it was such a shame because I had seemed intelligent, and was I taking drugs? It was funny when it wasn’t irritating. But it was easy to deal with because the people who knew me believed in me.
It sounds strange to say it, but it really wasn’t such a big deal. I could have finished my course and gone on to write – just like so many successful B-school writers. It was a wave that started then. Maybe there was something in the water. The reason I chose not to finish the course but to drop out was that I really didn’t want to wait two years, and even more, to start now that I had finally worked myself up to a point where I was ready to start writing. It was really all I wanted to do. Also, the people I met at IIM, my fellow students – they really wanted to be there. They were really interested. I wasn’t.

You did a course in broadcasting and documentary film making from University of Westminster, London. What prompted your interest in documentaries?

SAMIT BASU: It was more journalism and broadcasting in general than documentaries in particular. I did work as a journalist when I came back to India – I really enjoyed that, it’s such a great line of work. I had to quit when I just couldn’t find time to write, because journalism, especially the early years, really sucks up your life. I found out Simoqin was getting published before I returned to India, so I didn’t even try working in TV. Those people never have any time.

Your profession is listed as novelist. You have written three fantasy novels, graphic novels, childrens stories etc. How easy is it for a novelist to switch genres?

SAMIT BASU: It’s easy enough to write something if you’re genuinely interested in the medium. I wasn’t a literature student, so no one told me which were good and bad media to consume – I just read and saw everything I got my hands/eyes on. Which is why, at this point, its easier to work across media. I’ve written screenplays as well – they are sitting with producers who were kind enough to ask me to write them, and will hopefully be produced some day. I’m also now actually on the verge of writing a video game. Since I don’t do anything other than write, it’s very rewarding to work across media because each kind of writing is very different from the others. I loved learning how to write comics; writing screenplays is much easier once you’ve picked that up. In terms of sheer writing pleasure, though, there’s nothing like writing a book. You’re free to do what you want there.

That said, there’s also much joy to be found in collaboration, especially for those rare projects when the finished work is so much better than something you could have done on your own. Switching genres is also much fun because it’s like acting – you find a different voice for a different story, you see the world through the eyes of a completely different type of person, and that is another of the really rewarding things about getting deep into writing. I have two new novels this year – one is a Yung Adult historical/fantasy/crime book, Mowgli’s son solving a mystery on the Titanic, another is a more mainstream novel, not fantasy, but a superhero story for adults, set in India, Pakistan and England. Both of these are completely different from the trilogy, and both have been great fun to write

You write comics for Marvel comics or was it Virgin? Tell us about the process of writing the plotline for a comic. How does it differ from writing a novel or a short story or a children’s book? How do you break up a story into frames? Do you write it like the script of a play? What does that look like?

SAMIT BASU: I wish I wrote comics for Marvel. Alas, they’re unlikely to ever ask, because they already have an overflowing list of supremely talented writers. Writing comics is a multi-step process. You give your editor the idea. She likes it. You write an outline, a list of characters and descriptions. The artist starts work on character design. You start work on a detailed outline, a beat sheet. It’s much more structured and rigorous than any other kind of writing. Then you break it down into even smaller sections, including sub-plots and so on, and then fight with your editor over that issue’s standalone story and its place in a wider story arc. Then you write the script. Then you rewrite it until it’s shiny. Then the artist does his thing. In several stages. Then lettering, colouring, cover, and voila, comic. It was much fun. I hope I get to do it again soon. I”m focussing on books at present though, because really, that’s what I’m best at.

What does it look like? Here’s a sample set of two panels.

Page 1 Panel 1

Wide shot. The CRITIC, a Buscemi-esque young man in a crumpled shirt and jeans, unshaven, stands at his desk, looking in horror at Abhijit. We’re in the Critic’s office. Desk, computer, lots of books lying around, maybe a Filmfare or two. A potted plant, unwatered and dead. A picture of Kafka on the wall, framed and garlanded. We don’t see Abhijit in this shot; we can see him from behind in the lower right, or as silhouette, or have Critic looking at the reader

CRITIC: What is the meaning of this?

ABHIJIT: I know authors aren’t supposed to respond to reviews…

Page 1 Panel 2

Abhijit, full length. His shirt is torn, his muscles rippling, his face calm, maybe a slight smile. In his hands is a chainsaw.

ABHIJIT: …but hey.

What is the comic that you co-authored with Mike Carey of X-Men and Lucofer fame. How was that experience different from writing a comic by yourself?

SAMIT BASU: If you were a guitarist and you suddenly got to play with someone like Santana? It was like that. I’ve been a huge fan of Mike’s since I started reading comics, so the prospect of working with him was both a dream come true and extremely intimidating. I would have been happy to just let him do the whole thing and have my name on it; I would also have been happy to do all the work just to have his name on it. As it turned out, we both wrote different halves, then rewrote each other’s halves to make it all fit in better. For someone that successful, he was incredibly nice and patient. It was a really fascinating experience, and I learned a great deal.

If someone wants your advise on choosing between doing an MBA. making documentaries, writing sci-fi, blogging, doing comics, writing columns and becoming a novelist, what would you suggest they choose?

SAMIT BASU: Whatever they feel like at the time. I do get asked this sometimes, but there’s no way I’m going to take responsibility for anyone else’s choices. I don’t know if my own were perfect. I’m muddling along myself, and am in no position to give advice.

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Check out Samit’s website  samitbasu.com,  You can follow him @samitbasu on twitter.

Pricing does matter. Especially when it comes to books. It is probably a sign of the times that Harper Collins (Full disclosure: They publish my novel Married But Available) has decided to price Karan Bajaj’s upcoming second book at Rs 99/- almost $2 for a paperback version. That I think is the sweet spot for pricing as Chetan Bhagat has showed us with his novels. The yet-to-be released thriller ‘Johnny Gone Down’ by Karan Bajaj is set to make publishing history with a first print run of 50,000 books, billed as one of the biggest ever in India for a work of fiction.

The book narrates the racy tale of 40-year-old Ivy League scholar, Nikhil Arya, who is broke, homeless and minutes away from blowing his brains. An innocent vacation turns into an intercontinental journey that sees Nikhil first become a genocide survivor, then a Buddhist monk, a drug lord, a homeless accountant, a software mogul and a game fighter.

Karan is also the author of ‘Keep off the Grass’. You can read his interview done just before he launched his first book by clicking here

According to Yahoo News, ‘Books such as ‘Almost Single’, ‘The Zoya Factor’, ‘Bombay Rains’ and ‘Keep off the Grass’, ‘Married But Available’, ‘Secrets and Lies’, and very recently ‘Keep the Change Year After Year‘ have been a series of titles from Indian authors for the Indian audience that end up doing big numbers,’ Lipika Bhushan of Harper Collins said.

So what is the inspiration behind the novel?  Karan says, “‘I was influenced as much by the dark, gritty mood of films like ‘Oldboy’, ‘The Deer Hunter’ and ‘Amores Perros’ as by the incredible journey of ‘Forrest Gump’ (which is one of my favourite novels and a mighty decent film as well) and the surreal adventures of Sonchai Jitpleecheep, the Buddhist detective-protagonist of John Burdett’s Bangkok novels, ‘Bangkok 8′, ‘Bangkok Tattoo’ and ‘Bangkok Haunts’.

I asked Karan what he thought of the Rs99/- pricing for this novel. He said, “Pricing is the publisher’s decision with the author having little to no input in it. But I’m pleasantly surprised. Paradoxically, as the quality of my writing improves, the price keeps going down. At this rate, my next novel may just be available for free!”