Rituraj Verma's Blog: Subtle Differences
November 11, 2012
LPH in the media
DNA Nov 9, 2012, rated ****
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/72521277/Med...
HT Cafe July 25, 2012, Choose your own ending.
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/72521277/Med...
HT Cafe Dec 9, 2012 Book recommendations
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/72521277/Med...
Sakaal Times Dec 16, 2012 Interview
http://epaper.sakaaltimes.com/SakaalT...
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/72521277/Med...
HT Cafe July 25, 2012, Choose your own ending.
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/72521277/Med...
HT Cafe Dec 9, 2012 Book recommendations
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/72521277/Med...
Sakaal Times Dec 16, 2012 Interview
http://epaper.sakaaltimes.com/SakaalT...
August 12, 2012
The Parent-Child bond
Dear Reader,
Across all the 9 short stories in my book, one of the themes that I have carefully explored, and repeatedly used is that of the relationship shared by the new-age Indian parent and child. Why, you ask? Well my fascination for this particular theme stems from the strange nature of this relationship.
Gone are the days when you, dear reader worshipped the very ground your parents walked on. Today you don’t feel the need to take your parents advice on every subject; in fact you often appreciate it when your parents keep their opinion to themselves. On the other hand all of the above mentioned, and many other reasons, don’t stop you from living with your parents, even after you are a fully grown, mature adult yourself. And even those of you who don’t, find it very easy to turn to your parents for comfort the minute you are faced with a dilemma. From losing a job to suffering heartbreak, a parent is expected to help a child deal with it all – even though the child himself may be a 30-year-old, grown man!
On the other hand you have the parents. You may be the smartest young person in your neighborhood, and your annual pay package may be a matter of pride for them; and yet their ultimate aim in life is to see you well-settled (read married)! Don’t get me wrong dear reader. I am not trying to pass judgement on anyone. In fact having been both, a child and parent myself, I have passed through all the above mentioned phases and stages of life. Perhaps that is the reason I felt so compelled to pen my ideas down.
I would like to sign-off by saying that I hope at least one parent-child relationship in this book reminds you of the relationship you share with your parents. And if it does dear reader, then I shall consider my attempt to capture this bitter-sweet relationship, a successful one.
Across all the 9 short stories in my book, one of the themes that I have carefully explored, and repeatedly used is that of the relationship shared by the new-age Indian parent and child. Why, you ask? Well my fascination for this particular theme stems from the strange nature of this relationship.
Gone are the days when you, dear reader worshipped the very ground your parents walked on. Today you don’t feel the need to take your parents advice on every subject; in fact you often appreciate it when your parents keep their opinion to themselves. On the other hand all of the above mentioned, and many other reasons, don’t stop you from living with your parents, even after you are a fully grown, mature adult yourself. And even those of you who don’t, find it very easy to turn to your parents for comfort the minute you are faced with a dilemma. From losing a job to suffering heartbreak, a parent is expected to help a child deal with it all – even though the child himself may be a 30-year-old, grown man!
On the other hand you have the parents. You may be the smartest young person in your neighborhood, and your annual pay package may be a matter of pride for them; and yet their ultimate aim in life is to see you well-settled (read married)! Don’t get me wrong dear reader. I am not trying to pass judgement on anyone. In fact having been both, a child and parent myself, I have passed through all the above mentioned phases and stages of life. Perhaps that is the reason I felt so compelled to pen my ideas down.
I would like to sign-off by saying that I hope at least one parent-child relationship in this book reminds you of the relationship you share with your parents. And if it does dear reader, then I shall consider my attempt to capture this bitter-sweet relationship, a successful one.
Virtually yours
Dear Reader,
I am astonished by how the Internet has become a real world, only without boundaries.
From making friends to getting married, social networking is the new age society, whose norms we abide by. And breaking one is as much a taboo as ignoring your relative at a family function!
It really is a web in the true sense of the word. Once in, you are trapped. From minute-by-minute status updates to putting up pictures of each moment as soon as you finish living it, the internet has made us all addicts. Gone are the days when two people on a Vespa were called lovers. Now it is all about a relationship status update.
Befriending the right person, deleting the wrong, blocking the known and inviting strangers are the ways of the virtual world. Privacy is now a setting to hide from the very people you share your homes with. And yet, pictures of you doing unspeakable things at a party are open for the entire world to see. Don’t get me wrong dear reader. I don’t mean to be judgemental or preachy. This is merely an outside observation of what the virtual world taking over the real world, looks like today.
And some of these observations have been captured in one of my 9 short stories titled ‘The Facebook Stalker,’ in this book. Read the story and decide for yourselves the dilemma that is the virtual world, both a boon and a bane to relationships and people today.
I am astonished by how the Internet has become a real world, only without boundaries.
From making friends to getting married, social networking is the new age society, whose norms we abide by. And breaking one is as much a taboo as ignoring your relative at a family function!
It really is a web in the true sense of the word. Once in, you are trapped. From minute-by-minute status updates to putting up pictures of each moment as soon as you finish living it, the internet has made us all addicts. Gone are the days when two people on a Vespa were called lovers. Now it is all about a relationship status update.
Befriending the right person, deleting the wrong, blocking the known and inviting strangers are the ways of the virtual world. Privacy is now a setting to hide from the very people you share your homes with. And yet, pictures of you doing unspeakable things at a party are open for the entire world to see. Don’t get me wrong dear reader. I don’t mean to be judgemental or preachy. This is merely an outside observation of what the virtual world taking over the real world, looks like today.
And some of these observations have been captured in one of my 9 short stories titled ‘The Facebook Stalker,’ in this book. Read the story and decide for yourselves the dilemma that is the virtual world, both a boon and a bane to relationships and people today.
A male author speaks for women
Dear Reader,
I have always claimed that the nine stories in this book are stories of life in urban India of today. They are stories of people dealing with the complexity of everyday, volatile relationships. As a male author writing these stories from merely a man’s perspective would have been the most predictable thing to do. But doing the expected is never challenging enough, is it?
So of the nine stories in my book, four revolve around male characters and the other four are stories centered on female characters. Why female characters? Is because I, as a fairly well-educated, liberal, modern Indian have come to believe that I understand the urban Indian woman of today? Or is it merely a cleverly thought out strategy devised by me, to create a buzz around the book? Truthfully my reasons are none of the above.
As a writer I was simply looking to do justice to my claim that this book is a work of fiction based on urban relationships. And in what relationship may I ask, does a man play a greater role than a woman or vice versa? And who says that stories centred on women cannot be well-written when penned by a male author?
Don’t get me wrong, dear reader. I don’t claim to know or understand women completely…no man can! But I do claim to have gone through a multitude of experiences that have helped me understand people – both men and women – better.
So here’s what I think: be it a man or a woman, ultimately what each human being seeks in his or her life is Love, Peace and Happiness. And that is what forms the crux of each of these nine stories. I’d like to thus sign off by saying just one thing: read these stories as stories about people – and not merely men or women. If these stories then succeed in touching your heart, I will consider my purpose for writing this book, served.
I have always claimed that the nine stories in this book are stories of life in urban India of today. They are stories of people dealing with the complexity of everyday, volatile relationships. As a male author writing these stories from merely a man’s perspective would have been the most predictable thing to do. But doing the expected is never challenging enough, is it?
So of the nine stories in my book, four revolve around male characters and the other four are stories centered on female characters. Why female characters? Is because I, as a fairly well-educated, liberal, modern Indian have come to believe that I understand the urban Indian woman of today? Or is it merely a cleverly thought out strategy devised by me, to create a buzz around the book? Truthfully my reasons are none of the above.
As a writer I was simply looking to do justice to my claim that this book is a work of fiction based on urban relationships. And in what relationship may I ask, does a man play a greater role than a woman or vice versa? And who says that stories centred on women cannot be well-written when penned by a male author?
Don’t get me wrong, dear reader. I don’t claim to know or understand women completely…no man can! But I do claim to have gone through a multitude of experiences that have helped me understand people – both men and women – better.
So here’s what I think: be it a man or a woman, ultimately what each human being seeks in his or her life is Love, Peace and Happiness. And that is what forms the crux of each of these nine stories. I’d like to thus sign off by saying just one thing: read these stories as stories about people – and not merely men or women. If these stories then succeed in touching your heart, I will consider my purpose for writing this book, served.
Then and now
Dear Reader,
One of the stories of this book – A High, Like Heaven – was first written 23 years ago. How does an author write the same story 23 years later you ask?
For me the transition was a fairly smooth one. For some strange reason, the story always stayed with me, even though I had written it almost two decades ago, as a younger writer and human being.
When I decided to write this book a few years ago, I had lost the original draft of my story, which was much shorter. But when I picked up the pen again, the story flowed out almost exactly the way it had been written so many years ago.
Maybe this is something every writer experiences with his old stories, maybe not. For me though, while the story changed, and it took a few rewrites, the essence of it remained largely unchanged. It would be no exaggeration to say that the soul of my story remains intact even now, as you, the reader are finally going to read it in print. Perhaps that’s why I am glad that this is the story with which my book begins. In a way the story signifies the beginning of my first book as an author, as well as the beginning of my journey as a writer, a journey that began 23 years ago.
One of the stories of this book – A High, Like Heaven – was first written 23 years ago. How does an author write the same story 23 years later you ask?
For me the transition was a fairly smooth one. For some strange reason, the story always stayed with me, even though I had written it almost two decades ago, as a younger writer and human being.
When I decided to write this book a few years ago, I had lost the original draft of my story, which was much shorter. But when I picked up the pen again, the story flowed out almost exactly the way it had been written so many years ago.
Maybe this is something every writer experiences with his old stories, maybe not. For me though, while the story changed, and it took a few rewrites, the essence of it remained largely unchanged. It would be no exaggeration to say that the soul of my story remains intact even now, as you, the reader are finally going to read it in print. Perhaps that’s why I am glad that this is the story with which my book begins. In a way the story signifies the beginning of my first book as an author, as well as the beginning of my journey as a writer, a journey that began 23 years ago.
Subtle Differences
The blog on the experience of publishing a book with subtle, experiential differences
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