Tuesday 27 February 2018

MY JOURNEY INTO THE WORLD OF WRITING – XII

Psst…a personal secret. Do not reveal it to anyone. Okay?

Horror stories and movies frighten me, even at this age.

The stories I read and the movies I saw during my youth (sigh…sigh…sooo looong ago…) were ineffective (most of them I did not understand, anyway).


Even “Rose Mary’s Baby”, Roman Polanski’s all-time classic that was considered the best ever horror movie, had no effect on me, for I did not understand it, then. I was not much into reading English novels or watching English movies those days.







Then, I came across two of the best movies in the genre, William Peter Blatty’s “The Exorcist” and David Seltzer’s “The Omen”. Many more came and went, many more will come and go, but they will all remain but puny pathetic patches on these two. Even the sequels paled in comparison to these two.






While I regard “The Omen” to be in the genre of frightening supernatural stories, I place “The Exorcist” in the genre of pure, unadulterated horror. It frightens the daylights out of me, even today. This being the case, when I myself took to writing, how can I not be inspired by it? Tell me.

***

With this backdrop, I continued my journey towards my next station. I longed to pay tributes to William Peter Blatty through the medium of a horror story. Thus came into being my “OUIJA ADVENTURE”.

There isn’t much of suspense in it but an attempt at horror. Pazuzu, a daemon in Assyrian and Babylonian mythology, became my prop, as it did with William Peter Blatty. Remember, this was the daemon, which possessed and tormented the little American girl, Regan Teresa MacNeil. However, my story does not enter the realm of possession or exorcism. It is much simpler than that.

A group of four school friends with a grossly misplaced sense of adventure decides to experiment with an Ouija board and invoke the daemon Pazuzu. The experiment goes horribly out of control and the four friends meet with terrible consequences.

I kept the narration simple without going overboard with the supernatural and horror stuff. This narrative style of mine may be the reason why many readers feel my writings to be anaemic :( . You tell me.

I gave the story an open-ended denouement. Does it mean that there could be a sequel, say OUIJA ADVENTURE-II? Who knows, there could be. In fact, there was, a year later. However, that is food for later thought. Let us, at present, enjoy the first Ouija Adventure; be spooked would be a better of expression.

Well, see you later, friends, boo… ;-)

***


Friday 23 February 2018

MY JOURNEY INTO THE WORLD OF WRITING – XI

The next station in my journey was “Mission Accomplished (Over and Out).” Sounds like Forces’ language, right? Right, it is.

My knowledge of the Armed forces and their operations was/is rudimentary, derived from books and movies. I was, am, and will always be in awe of the Forces and their selfless sacrifices to the cause of preserving and protecting our nation. I wanted to express this sentiment and my gratitude to them through this short story.

The story itself was a simple one. A Captain is assigned an important task of blowing away an army fuel and ammunition storage yard of the enemy (guess who). How he and his two junior officers of the team achieve it forms the story.

You are right. What is great about this story? We have read innumerable books and watched innumerable movies on the subject, maybe better ones. My purpose behind this narrative was different from the ostensible one of army action. I have realised long ago that I eat, sleep, and live under the protective blanket of safety provided by our armed forces. Period. As a common man, I do not get a chance to acknowledge this fact and say, “Thanks,” every day and hence, this story. In fact, I made my point directly by the statement of the Defence Minister, which goes thus: “…It is because of your vigil at our borders that we citizens are able to sleep fearlessly and peacefully in our homes across this great nation…We are beholden to you…”

My purpose achieved, I went on to add a twist, a huge twist, to the story. This is based on the key phrase - “…in our homes across this great nation…” - of the Defence Minister’s speech. I brought this out through a name, Alka. I admit to you that this became inscrutable and caused immense confusion even at the draft stage. Even my near and dear could not understand my point. I thought, ‘This is disastrous,” and went on to amend it by adding two place names. Even the amended version was confusing but spoon-feeding was anathema to me; it still is and will always be. The reader is intelligent and smart.  She/he must understand it on her/his own.

The story received a modest readership (Reads: 248 and no likes and comments till date). Follow the link I furnished at the beginning of the post to read the story. I hope you enjoy it.

***

I am a student of Late Alistair MacLean. He is a great influence on me through, what I call his “descriptive prose” and his deliberately paced action sequences. This story relies less on the spoken word and more on imagery and descriptive prose. I sincerely hope that you like it.

Oops…I almost forgot to mention something important (to me, at least).

In this series, I am posting my short stories in the chronological order. I request you to follow the series carefully. It will give an insight on how the writer in me evolved (if at all) over a period of time. Who knows? One of my readers may even find it useful! Unreasonably hopeful, eh?

See you again with my next post. Until then stay safe, folks.


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Wednesday 21 February 2018

MY JOURNEY INTO THE WORLD OF WRITING – X

Leave behind the long, continue in shorts…oops…short, I mean!

Having gained a semblance of confidence in writing in the short(er) format I moved on into fiction writing.

The title chosen by me was “Till Death Do Us Unite”. The phrase “Till Death Do Us Part” had always intrigued me. It is a vow, which a Christian couple takes at the time of wedding. It means that nothing other than one partner’s dying can end the marriage or separate them.

While the vow is for living married couple, my story has a twist, which is not revealed till the very end. It was all rather complicated in the beginning and I did not decide upon the title initially. Finally, what I wanted to convey through my story – i.e. the husband and wife are united by death – gave me the title!

To end my verbal diarrhea on a philosophical note, it is widely believed that, in every human, there is a soul (atma) that is imperishable and eternal. After a human dies, the soul dons another form and is reborn. Until such time, it lingers. So must be the case with the husband and wife of my story, right?

Follow the link given above to unravel the mystery of love-after death!

***

The next one was “Mission Accomplished (Over and Out).”

Well that is fodder for thought in my next post.

Auf wiedersehen.

***

Wednesday 14 February 2018

कल, आज, और कल


कल आज हुआ और आज कल,
आज कल दिल--जिगर हैं बेकल
पल पल  कण कण में है हलचल ,
महबूब हो गया है ओझल
अब  यहां रुक एक पल,
रूह--मजरूह, जहां से चलाचल

         ...श्याम सुन्दर बुलुसु 

Tuesday 13 February 2018

MY JOURNEY INTO THE WORLD OF WRITING - IX



The long and short of it

The initial period immediately after my retirement in 2010 was hectic, what with our having to quit the Government Quarters and move into a rented apartment; I was not bored with me. (It reminds me of a famous quote in Readers Digest, way back in the early seventies. “Keep your company to yourself. If you cannot tolerate it, why inflict it on others?” Ref. OLD AGE and LONELINESS - II).

I was doing some sketching randomly and started getting bored. It was then that my second angel inspired (bullied would be a better choice of word) me into writing (Ref. MY JOURNEY INTO THE WORLD OF WRITING - II) and the rest, as they say, is history, even if a depressing one as is in my case.

I started to write.

During the period 2010-2012, “Dance of life”, “The Kidnap”, “Embers of the pyre”, “Intersections”, “Misogynist interrupted”, and “Soul mates” came out into existence, in that evolutionary not revolutionary order, albeit in our (me and my family) minds and on the hard disk. They would continue to do so - I mean, exist on the referred places - until 2014, while I got busy with the nitty-gritty of publishing them. (That is a completely different story and I shall deal with it later.)

Given our precarious pecuniary position (aah…a soul-soothing alliteration) I was looking for a “traditional” publisher, which became an obsolete practice and was unavailable, especially for a first-time author. I didn’t even know what “self-publishing” meant! It will not be a hyperbole (Please visit my “I LOVE ENGLISH” page on my Facebook profile) to say that there may be no major publishing house that I did not contact; some responded, many did not. However, the positive fallout of the process was, I learnt what “self-publishing” meant. However, the quest ended there, as self-publishing was expensive and I did not have the required money.

***

The beginning of period 2012-14 once again saw me drift and slip into depression-causing inaction. My efforts for traditional publishing were not yielding any result, positive result, I mean. Then, purely by chance, I came upon an Internet advertisement on my Facebook page, that of Your Story Club.com. I gathered details of the process of submission of short stories to them. Despite having written six novels, I was unsure of dabbling in the shorter version of storytelling.

I wanted my debut, my first step into this format of storytelling to be as risk-free as it was with my first novel. A major reason for this diffidence was none of my novels had been published and consequently none of them had been read or scrutinised by editors, readers, et al. Submission for publication on this website meant that the stories would be read; they would be scrutinised by the editor and the readers!  I pondered over the matter again and again for several days. Ultimately, I decided upon the idea of putting on page some of my memorable experiences.

I called my first step into this world, “I-CON ONE”, a simple anecdote of my first experience with a conman. This was accepted, published, and read (Reads: 264 till date) by some; liked and commented upon by a couple of readers. The takeoff was anything but sensational, but it was a takeoff for me in this short-story world. That’s the long and short of it as far as I am concerned.

***

I-CON TWO” and “THE INTERVIEW”, two more of my memorable experiences, followed. The former was, once again, ‘a simple anecdote of my experience with a conman’, wherein I knowingly allowed a stranger to con me, as I had explained in my story. This attracted a modest readership of 242 till date; there were no comments or ‘like’s. My writing style and the topics probably were too anaemic.

The latter was on a completely different topic, although a personal experience. Inter alia, it dwelt upon the rigours of school admissions. However, that was only the background. The main aspect, the crux was something else. How many times we find little innocent children innovating based on their limited experiences and knowledge! This story was a humorous window to look at my experience. Please read it and you will understand. This story had a better readership of 846 and a couple of likes and comments.

I take liberty with your time and patience to quote another example to support my theory. In 1970 or 1971, I was tutoring my little nephew. (It is a different matter that he is an extremely erudite individual and…grrr…an unflinching critic of my writings. He is an unseen editor of all my novels, by the way; another is my second daughter.) I had taught him some aspects of geography and maps, and a few words like “foreign”, “East Germany” and “West Germany” (yes, they were separate countries then). Sometime later, I found a paper, upon which he had practised writing what he had learnt. I had stomachache laughing at what I had read; “East Germany”, “West Germany”, “East Foreign”, “West Foreign”, etc.

***

Well folks, I shall stop this post here. I shall exit my personal experiences and enter the world of short fiction in my next.

Be seeing you!

***


Thursday 8 February 2018

MY JOURNEY INTO THE WORLD OF WRITING-VIII


The word “misogyny” is centre-stage of late.

mi·sog·y·ny  = n. Hatred or mistrust of women.

This is a millennia-old masculine mental malady (sigh…Alliteration, my weakness). No society, oriental or occidental, is untouched by it.

However, that is a topic for another day.

***

Presently, I shall take you through the labyrinthine path of my own “misogynist”. His misogyny degenerates to such depths that he simply destroys his female victims.

Come, walk with me the dark streets of Chennai and track his perverted mind and moves.

Oh, be careful. Do not dither during the eerie, dark night, for danger lurks on every dusty street, at every dark corner.

***

To admit a truth, this one genre troubled me no end. Personally, violence against women and children disturbs me deeply. My family (especially my late wife) had a tough time handling me whenever I came across news reports or movie scenes depicting such violence. That being the case, how did/could I undertake such a topic?

At the very outset of my journey into the world of writing, I decided the genres in which I shall write my novels. The other reason was, as a writer I was determined to test my mettle/ability to handle every possible genre/topic. It will be appropriate to quote here the remarks of Mrs. Srichandra Mukherjee Venkataramanan, an ardent reader of my gibberish. She wrote (read THE ANTIQUE):

Sir, I am a ‘Malgudi Days’ kind of reader…having grown up on a staple diet of sleepy villages, rowdy children and characters who are super heroes in the garb of a common man…so this latest offering from you is an absolute delight for me…I loved this story of an extraordinary man wrapped in ordinary …And I also admire the fact that you attempt every genre of writing….be it a thriller, love story or a one with a social message. Good Luck for your next one….

***

Having decided upon the topics in each genre, I embarked on my journey with my misogynist, however much repulsive the fellow was. With the experience of five novels under my belt, I mean virtual pen, the opening scene was a cinch. My long and wide exposure to English novels and Hollywood movies came in very handy in giving a form to my ideas on this story.

As is my wont, I refrained from the hype that I see around me in movies and TV serials and stuck to a straightforward narration of my narrative. In this aspect, I would like to mention Alfred Hitchcock, the guru of thrillers. Suffice to say that, even after five decades, his movies are unbeatable in suspense and horror, narrated in a simple, straightforward style. Psycho, Rear Window, North by Northwest, The Man Who Knew Too Much, Torn Curtain and Dial ‘M’ For Murder are but a few of his straightforward masterpieces.

Moving on in my journey, I had to create the predator’s character, physical personality, background, and modus operandi. The story opens with a murder by the psychopath; the victim is his tenth. While I briefly mentioned the characters of the previous nine victims, Nandini, the tenth victim was different in that the story begins with her murder and, therefore, I had to create her character in detail. It must be believable, down-to-earth, plausible, and match the mindset of the predator, for he chose her as a victim.

***

Then comes the background of the story itself, the why’s and how’s of it. A tricky scenario arose, for I had already decided to entrust the investigation to a Private Investigator (PI), Mr. Azhzgan, a former IPS officer. This is simply not done in our country. In my “The Kidnap”, I intended to do it but gave up for the same reason. This time around, I hit upon a neutral ground and handed over the case to my PI, the protagonist of the story.

Another aspect I had to handle deftly and as seamlessly as possible was “how the case comes to my PI”. The DCP, who was investigating the previous nine murders, becomes the collateral victim of the serial killer. He is forced to quit the Police Force in ignominy and approaches our PI. You must read the story to appreciate this.

Then, our PI’s organisation, if it could be called that, given its precarious pecuniary position (OMG, Alliteration again), must be believable and credible. I took lot of pains to create the organisation. The style of introduction of the PI and his organisation is completely couched in sardonic humour à la James Hadley Chase - a challenge for me. I had to make the characters and the office, everything in it, laugh at themselves. This flippancy, the sardonic humour was the most difficult for me, especially to convince my readers. As time passed by, and as I got into writing short stories, I acquired a semblance of control over this aspect of writing (Read LIPSTICK, FIRST NIGHT, and CURIOUS CASE OF A MISSING BUTTON).

***

Well the investigation by my PI progressed smoothly until it hit a roadblock, a seeming cul-de-sac and I hit my first writer’s block. I racked my brain for several days! The story just would not move ahead at all. I was at my wit’s end. I kept going over my (limited) knowledge in matters of criminal investigation. Eureka! Ultimately, I found the solution to the impasse I found myself in! I shall not reveal what it is; suffice it to say that it was an important part of investigative matters. With that important aspect inserted at the appropriate position, the story took off once again and raced ahead to its bone-shattering climax.

***

Well, that is talking a lot of shop. I shall let you read the novel and judge for yourself.

Happy reading, friends.
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