Rahul Rai, an IIT graduate has recently authored a book called The Myth of Hastinapur. The book is based on the greatest epic of all times, Mahabharata. The well articulated book is based on great research and depicts good story telling. We recently had an interview with him. Have a look at what we discussed. Also, visit here to read our review of his debut book.
Where do you belong to? Our readers want to
know about your education and family.
I am an IIT alumnus
and after my graduation, I have been working as a data scientist for more than
10 years. My hometown is Lucknow where my parents live now while I am located
out of Gurugram. My father is a retired civil servant while my mother is a
housewife.
Tell us about your book
The Myth of Hastinapur is based on one of
the greatest epic in the world, Mahabharata. It contains stories around
different incidents which eventually culminated into war while the end chapters’
deal with guilt, remorse and reminiscences of few main actors in the war. Each of
these stories can be read independently though they follow a sequential order
to maintain the continuity of the tale.
What is your writing journey like, where and when did you start? Are you a writer by choice or by chance?
Since childhood, I have loved telling
stories to people around me. I had a blog (now defunct) of my own where I used
to share my stories with my near-ones. But I lacked discipline of writing a
book. It was around 3-4 years ago that I decided to follow a more organised
approach towards writing which helped me come up with The Myth of Hastinapur. I would like to keep on writing more in
future so would like to classify myself as a writer by choice.
As a new author, what is your favorite part
of the writing/publishing process? Least favorite?
I consider myself as a very picky learner.
Even in my professional career, I don’t like things which are a black box about
which I don’t have much knowledge. I try to decipher them till I am able to
break their code. I was able to complete this book around October last year but
I took a lot of time in understanding the publishing process. From editing,
illustrations, book cover, ISBN assignment, online distribution etc., I found
everything exciting considering they were quite novel to me.
Needless to say, a lot of people helped me
through the process. I liked your review which talked about how The Myth of
Hastinapur seems to be edited well. I am highly indebted to Alka Ranjan for
this. She painstakingly took up the task of editing which was not limited to
just looking for grammatical errors and sentence correction, which in
themselves are hugely demanding tasks, but also provided me with great ideas
about the overall flow of the stories and suggestions to improve upon certain
scenes.
Like editing, each of the different
processes were a learning experience for me and I enjoyed them all be it
learning from Vikas’s thought process when he was sketching illustrations or
co-ordinating with Abhilash when he was trying to create the cover of the book.
Are you an avid reader as well? What kind
of books do you read? What is your frequency of reading?
Yes, I am. I really love reading fiction.
Paul Auster, Vladimir Nabokov (you need a dictionary along with his books),
Haruki Murakami are few of my favorites. The Book Thief, One flew over cuckoo’s
nest, The Bridge on the river Kwai, Mrityunjai are few of my favorite books.
Which
is your favorite book and why?
It would be difficult to point to a
particular favorite as there are so many but would like to talk about the ‘The
Book Thief’. It is based on the 2nd world war and revolves around a
German family. Very few protagonists come closer to the endearing portrayal of
characters like in the book thief. This book in its pages brings to life each
and every human emotion and I would recommend everyone to read it.
Do
you pursue any other profession apart from writing? How do you manage
everything?
Yes, I am a Data Scientist by profession. I
think everyone tries to find time for their hobby which is writing in my case.
I like writing. It helps me at many different levels and has definitely helped
me to grow. So, it is not that difficult to find time for it. The Myth of
Hastinapur was written when I was enjoying my holidays or when I was engaged at
a client location or when I was travelling. I tried to find time for it
whenever I was free from my other priorities.
How
do you overcome writer’s block?
There is only one way (at least for me) to
do it; to keep on writing. ‘Tears of Rudra’ was one of the stories with which I
struggled. I think I spent almost 15-20 days thinking about how few of its last
pages needed to pan out where each day started with writing a paragraph and ended
with deleting it. And it was only after a fortnight that I started making some
progress. So, as a writer, I think you should keep on pushing yourself to write
good content.
How
long did you take to finish this book? What was the process like?
It took me almost a year to finish this
book though few of the stories like ‘Yudhishthira’s Dilemma’, ‘Wrath of Draupadi’
took shape couple of years back. Writing is not always enjoyable even if you
have written tonnes of stories, novels etc. It requires a lot of patience and
self-motivation. Like any other activity which someone wants to get good at,
writing requires one to give his undivided attention and remain focussed.
What
were some of the challenges you faced on the road to publication?
Each step was a challenge considering it
was a totally new venture for me. I followed a sequential approach to each of
the steps (editing, cover design etc.) as I was a bit busy on personal front
but it helped me gaining deeper understanding of the whole process. Considering
the amount of time I have invested and the information and knowledge I have
gained about the whole process, I think I am ready now to establish a
publishing house J though I intend to remain a writer.
What
kind of research have you done for the book?
My research is mostly internet based. But
for The Myth of Hastinapur, I had my repository of knowledge ready about
Mahabharata, Puranas, Ramayana which I had studied in my childhood. But
internet helped me refresh my memory. Also, I tried to remain as close to the
facts as possible.
My whole idea was to while remaining closer to the incidents
as written in Mahabharata to humanise the whole façade and make it more
realistic with a belief that each one of us has the capacity to become
Yudhishthira, Draupadi, Arjuna or even a Krishna. Needless to say, each one of
us can become like Duryodhana or Shakuni as well and should remain aware of
this fact.
Do
you have any blog or website the readers can visit?
I am present on
Facebook and made a recent profile on Goodreads.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rahulrai.iitkgp
