Sanjiv Behera's Blog - Posts Tagged "settings"
Writing Vikram - Oh, the places you'll go!
One of the things that excited me about writing Vikram... was the number of settings I had to choose from for the story. India is a phenomenal country, filled with so many fascinating places of both cultural and historical significance, that is was easy to draw inspiration for many parts of the book.
For example, the cave of murals is derived from the monastic caves at Ajanta, the temple in the jungle from the sun temple at Konark, the palace on the lake from Lake Pichola Palace in Udaipur, and the Buddhist sanctuary from Sarnath. Even the village and jungle scenes were derived from places that I have actually been to!
But, out of all the settings in Vikram…, one in particular continues to beg the most questions from readers. "What's with the two trees?" or "What do the trees mean?"
In the story, while on their adventure, Vikram and his friends stop to rest next to two towering Neem trees: one rich with lush leaves and teeming wildlife, and the other, barren and skeletal. Here's a brief excerpt from the novel:
This setting was depicted to exhibit the stark contrasts found in India. During my visits there, I clearly remember the poor being extremely poor. And the rich being filthy rich. India was home to gorgeous and wild forests. But minutes away, vibrant metropolitan cities flourished. Ascetics shared the streets with small-time pickpockets. Bitter melon and sweet papayas were both consumed by people with equal fervor. And in the middle of a hot, cloudless day, monsoon rains would appear within a flash.
So at an early age, I was taught that the world was full of contrasts, each incredible in their own right. The biggest lesson however, was tolerance. If a single country could tolerate such broad extremes, we as people should be able to tolerate a few differences between us.
That's all for this time. Thanks for reading!
-Sanjiv
For example, the cave of murals is derived from the monastic caves at Ajanta, the temple in the jungle from the sun temple at Konark, the palace on the lake from Lake Pichola Palace in Udaipur, and the Buddhist sanctuary from Sarnath. Even the village and jungle scenes were derived from places that I have actually been to!
But, out of all the settings in Vikram…, one in particular continues to beg the most questions from readers. "What's with the two trees?" or "What do the trees mean?"
In the story, while on their adventure, Vikram and his friends stop to rest next to two towering Neem trees: one rich with lush leaves and teeming wildlife, and the other, barren and skeletal. Here's a brief excerpt from the novel:
Vikram couldn't decide which one he liked better. The live tree, at first glance, was kinder on the eye. Its leaves were a beautiful shade of green, and there were birds and squirrels perched on many of its branches. The bare tree, on the other hand, had nothing to hide. It was transparent; each one of its flaws was clear for him to see.
This setting was depicted to exhibit the stark contrasts found in India. During my visits there, I clearly remember the poor being extremely poor. And the rich being filthy rich. India was home to gorgeous and wild forests. But minutes away, vibrant metropolitan cities flourished. Ascetics shared the streets with small-time pickpockets. Bitter melon and sweet papayas were both consumed by people with equal fervor. And in the middle of a hot, cloudless day, monsoon rains would appear within a flash.
So at an early age, I was taught that the world was full of contrasts, each incredible in their own right. The biggest lesson however, was tolerance. If a single country could tolerate such broad extremes, we as people should be able to tolerate a few differences between us.
That's all for this time. Thanks for reading!
-Sanjiv
