Sujoy Ghosh's Blog: My Voice

Hi All

I am thrilled to share that my short read Fog Of Opium is available for free on your nearest Kindle for next few days till 22nd Sept. I would be honored if you could grab a copy. Please extend this message to anyone who would be interested in reading. I would be grateful.

An autumn evening, ill-fated Manek, a young custodian of the cremation ground, is in an everlasting dark place when he shares a chillum with a generous old fakeer and that exchange of smoke changes his life forever. Fog Of Opium is about Manek's quest for dignity in a society which lacks kindness for people like him.

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Hi All

I am thrilled to share that my book 'The Knock' and 'Jaba' are available for free on your nearest Kindle for next few days.

I would be honored if you could grab a copy. Please extend this message to anyone who would be interested in reading. I would be grateful.

Your feedback is invaluable, so please take a moment and share your thoughts and insights. It would make a world of difference.

The Knock

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Jaba

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Truman Capote had a troubled childhood but he ensured that the pain he internalized in his childhood sharpens his skill as a writer and bares itself in his storytelling. In her iconic book To Kill A Mockingbird, Lee, a friend and confidant of Capote, shows us a sliver of his life through the character of Dill. His loneliness and suffering leaves a trace of tear in Lee’s work. By the age of eleven, Capote was writing fiction with dexterity of a much older person.

In his much loved novella Breakfast at Tiffany’s, which was adapted by George Axelrod (writer) and Blake Edwards (director) for screen with Audrey Hepburn as Holly Golightly. Although a dozen socialites claimed to be the inspiration for Holly, there were similarities in the inherited traumas of Holly and Truman himself. Looking at it from a third person point of view, the writer/narrator, was a brilliant choice for a narrative choice. There was a sense of abandon, lack of judgment and some empathy toward Holly that elevated the story to a new level.

Holly is interpreted as a American geisha. Her life, as much convoluted it might seem, desires of simpler things. She ran away from the simplicity of her native for the charm of bigger town, in her spirit she is still a simpler person. The contradiction surfaced beautifully as the narrator peeled the layers of her personality and gets juxtaposed well next to Capote’s personal life underlining his desires and conflicts. Through Holly, Capote tells us about his pain and his forlornness, leaving behind a message that all the glitter and shine of the material world cannot overshadow the haunting loneliness of the soul just like the title suggest metaphorically.

As a writer, if I am blessed enough to devise a moment like this in my lifetime, I would gladly trade it for all I have. Over and over again.

Dear Friend

I am excitedto share that my book 'The Knock' is available for free till April 15th morning India time on your nearest Kindle. I would be honored if you could grab a copy.

The Knock is a story about Zain Chisti and his family who returned from the States to fulfil a dream - see their blood and flesh in Indian whites. When the dream was fulfilled, the family was hit with a tragic event and the last day of the Boxing Day test match becomes a trial of faith and human perseverance.

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Love
~Sujoy

“Call me Ishmael.”

First three words from Herman Melville’s iconic classic Moby Dick doesn’t tell you much about the setting of the voyage the reader is about the embark upon. However, it grabs the attention of every reader’s passive attention to the voice of the novelist. It has been over seventeen decades. The Great American Novel has seen Civil War, two World Wars, Civil Rights Movement and era of Technology; the universal popularity of Moby Dick has reached new heights. It is still one of the most widely read book in United States.

Opening lines seldom introduce the reader to the story. They introduce the reader to the writer. Opening lines might not tell anything about the journey, it does help you understand the person who is holding your hand during the ride.

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair.”

Charles Dickens’ lines in A Tale Of Two Cities is a master class in writing a memorable opening line. It is philosophical and poetic. It reveals the grain of the writer. The repetitiveness of the phrase ‘it was the’ brings about a rhythm to the prose and the closing phrase brings out the beauty of it. There is a dichotomy in the contrasting meaning of the part sentences (example: It was the best of times, it was the worst of times). The opening lines of this Victorian novel is almost like a stanza of a song.

“It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen.”

Imagine reading this. George Orwell in his book 1984 juxtaposed the absurdities to unsettle the reader. This is a great example where writer did introduced the reader to the writer. Written in ’48, Orwell chose a time in future which was not too far away where the reader is immune to the consequences and not too close where the reader feels the narrative unrealistic or conspiratorial.

There are no rules which dictate how an Opening Line has to be written. Some great books have ordinary opening lines. Some mediocre books chance upon something really brilliant. In the end, the success of a book lies in the ability of the writer to build upon the narrative once the reader gets over the opening line.

~S

Dear Friends

I am thrilled to share that my book 'The Knock' is available for free from Feb 2nd through the weekend till Feb 4th on your nearest Kindle. I would be honored if you could grab a copy. Please extend this message to anyone who would be interested in reading. I would be grateful.

The Knock is a story about Zain Chisti and his family who returned from the States to fulfil a dream - see their blood and flesh in Indian whites. When the dream was fulfilled, the family was hit with a tragic event and the last day of the Boxing Day test match becomes a trial of faith and human perseverance.

Your feedback is invaluable, so please take a moment and share your thoughts and insights through a review on Amazon and Goodreads. It would make a world of difference.


Links for getting the Book:
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Best
~Sujoy

Whenever I read or see an interview of an author or a poet, almost always there is a question about the writing process and techniques. Frankly, a number of good writers are able to deconstruct their process to the bare bones. I won’t lie, I am jealous.

A few years back, I was at Charles Dickens Museum at 48 Doughty Street, London. Behind the eye-catching red door was the home of arguably the most iconic English writer since Shakespeare. For me, personally, it was a pilgrimage. In the considerable time Dickens spent there, he struggled with health and financial issues. I was trying to understand his writing process from the prism of the humble residence and his difficult life. In my opinion, it was his personal experiences which enriched his writing. It was his struggles which shaped his writing process. It took time but the legacy will probably survive till the end of the time.

Dickens mostly wrote in a serialized manner. There was strict adherence to a routine. He dedicated hours to his writing and walked through the streets of the city while taking breaks. Without the strict routine, Dickens would have struggled to meet the demands of the publisher within the defined timelines. This formulaic manner of writing was a product of the time he lived in and he somehow managed to make it work for himself. To give characters arcs and define plot lines, Dickens largely relied on rough outlines and short notes. In his process there was a certain rhythm and high level planning backed by rich human experience and some brilliant writing skills.

Unfortunately, I had a rather privileged life and never pursuit writing beyond a hobby. I work in corporate as a technical manager in reputed IT consultancy. But I love writing, probably way more than reading.

When I imagine a story, I visualize the images which act as plot points and pivots of this story. The first act of writing is define the outline of the story. Then I spend some time drawing a back story for each of the primary characters. In these two steps, I compile the bible of the story. Then the writing begins. Once I have completed the first draft, I take a few weeks off and revisit the first draft. In this revision, I identify ideas which need to be dumped and plot points which need to be fleshed out. These notes act as the foundation for the second draft. The process repeats till as a reader I am not satisfied. This Agile method works for me. Probably has something to do with my long experience in IT sector.

I think identifying a writing process is a personal and intimate aspect of writing. It works well when the process comes organically to the writer; rather than being taught in a classroom or influenced by a blog post. And eventually it boils down to the relationship between the writer and the audience. The legacy of writer is built upon that relationship.

Stay blessed.

The Inspiration Behind The Book

As a child I heard about a story of a cricketer whose grandfather wanted to see him play for the national side but by the time the cricketer wore the blue blazer, the grandfather had passed away. The cricketer was Mohammad Azharuddin. This story stayed with me for years. A few years ago, Rahul Dravid was asked the question – who will you ask to bat for your life? The legendary batsman named Sachin Tendulkar as a testament for his trust in the defence of arguably the greatest batsman to walk on the planet. The moment which blended these two independent ideas was the story of Bob Blair.

The Knock is a love letter to the game my father loved. The Knock is a love letter to my father who passed away a few years back.

Character Influences

Chistis are us. In the anecdotes which build the core of the story, I have borrowed from the experiences of my father and father of my friend Ali. They lived most of their prime in pre-globalization India. They were aspirational but always had welfare of family in mind. There are elements of modern aspirational India but their nature is reflective of a more humble era.

That Moment

There is a father-son moment in the early chapters which kept me awake the night I wrote it. It broke my heart as a writer. For a moment in there, I felt like I was speaking to my own father. It was a little overwhelming for me as a writer as well. In the climax there is scene which I cannot disclose here because of the spoiler nature. That scene kept me awake for the whole night. It was difficult to not over-elaborate the scene. The scene is retained just as it was written in the first draft.

Takeaways

What are stories if not little time capsules. With The Knock, I tried to capture some moments from the history of Indian cricket with the socio-economic situation of the time the characters lived in. I hope that in the end, my readers feel a little emotional and spare a moment to reflect upon their lives and people around them.

Stay Blessed

The Knock

India must play out the last day of the Boxing Day test match in Melbourne, Australia. Aussies have a formidable bowling attack, and India has lost its best batsman. A young man is about to take the bat with his career literally hanging by a thread. Can he make it?

Alman Chisti is a successful IT consultant working for a top business. Alman’s father Asad was an excellent spinner who never got the opportunity to play at the top level. Despite his good performances, the limited opportunities he received at the beginning of his career failed to land him a position in the Indian squad. With his son, Alman wants to fulfil that dream.

Before the start of the day, Zain receives a call from his brother. Alman had a heart attack and is about to undergo surgery. For reasons explored in the story, Zain believes that if he bats well, no harm will come to his father. He hinges his batting on this faith, putting immense pressure on himself. He has to bat the day out to save India from losing the test match and his father from losing the battle in the operation theatre.

The Knock

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If you have to pick someone to bat for your life, whom will you trust with your life?

Against the fiercest of the bowlers, on the most hostile of the pitches; whom would you pick to bat in defence of your life? Whom will you choose to stand between you and your judgment day?

When most cricketers answer this question, they pick a player they admire or adore but rarely that answer is tested; after all, it’s a gentlemen’s game. In the history of this marvellous game, never did a cricketer bat to defend someone’s life. They might have played a game or two to evade taxes but never it became a matter of life and death. No one ever even came close to it.

One morning in the month of December, as it was summer down under it was a bright dawn; one player showed the world that he can be trusted with life, almost literally. He can stand between life and death and dare to stare into the hollowed eyes of the Lord of Dark in its all glory. The knock was etched into the memories of the players of both the sides, who witnessed an inning of grit the world would not have to come to know about lest someone decided to chronicle the journey.

The origin of the story lies in four consecutive balls off the Lord’s turf during a first-class match in the summer of ‘67. India was touring England and a rookie was given the ball for the second time in the day’s play after the openers for the county side made over two hundred runs in less than two sessions. The Rookie had gone for forty runs for eight overs he tossed during his first spell in the first session and it was unlikely that another spell would do any wonders. He was plainly outsmarted.

The rookie was not supposed to be in the team. It was just a matter of chance. The team already boasted four top-quality spinners in the squad who struggled to play together as the team, for practical reasons, would usually take the field with three spinners and two medium pacers who could swing the bat at times of need. It was the 60s and India was still opening up to the World as a young democracy. On the 22 yards, India was still a struggling side when compared to the older cricketing nations and their strength was concentrated in one department – spin bowling.

In a country where citizens struggled to make ends meet, cricket was a luxury only a few wanted to afford. Some of them were former royalties and only a handful of them came from humble backgrounds. The selection into a team at state and national level was heavily tilted towards the people of means. For most families, cricket, for that matter any sports, was a hobby for a casual break from routine life. A career in sports was rarely sought.

The struggle was not just limited to the talent. Infrastructure was just as modest. The pitches were rarely tended to in the most parts of the country. As result, the surfaces available for practice resembled the sorry surface of Mars more than Earth. Spin ruled the domestic circuit and consequently, carried the weight of the national team. Bound by the circumstances, the national side was making the most of it. Born with handicap, Indian bowlers excelled with sheer determination and ensured that the world notices their immense potential. Even on hostile pitches, Indian bowlers bamboozled the best in the business with confounding variations in the flight and playfulness of the googlies. Their skill was rightfully dubbed as pure artistry with the ball.

Rookie was a chip of the same block.

The Knock

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