Saurabh
Garg was probably unprepared for the turn his life would take before he decided
to quit his job and pursue writing. But then, as I personally believe, life is
a serendipitous affair. His debut novel ‘The Nidhi Kapoor Story’ promises the
votaries of crime fiction their fair share of page-turning nights. Backed by
the reputed publishing house Grapevine India, Garg is caught up between hope
and ambition. An interview by someone seated on the other side of the screen
may appear impersonal but the author lets out a deluge of words and lets his
keyboard do the talking……again
Q1] Hi Saurabh. How does it feel to
hold your first novel? Has the feeling sunk in?
Saurabh:
Incredible! To say the least. I had this huge lump, the size of a football in
my throat when I saw the book.
Of
course I could not cry because I had to deliver the first few copies to friends
and mentors who made it happen.
And
it hasn’t sunk in to be honest. When I look at the book even now and wonder how
did I manage it! Odds were stacked against it and there were tons of
impediments on the way. But I did it.
Q2] The title of the book ‘The Nidhi
Kapoor Story’ seems to have a biographical element to it. Is it a pure fiction
or have you borrowed from real life somewhere?
Saurabh:
Pure fiction.
Of
course real-life people have inspired the characters. But the storyline, plot,
events and everything else is my imagination. Oh and I do believe that noting
is original. All we do is recycle our experiences, our life-view of things and
things that we’ve read (or heard or seen or experienced).
And
yes, it’s a biographical narrative. Of three key characters – Nidhi, Prakash
and Rujuta.
Q3] Every writer goes through several
ups and downs during the process of penning a book, especially a debut
novel. What was one major obstacle you
faced while writing this book?
Saurabh:
Money.
To
be honest, when I took a break from work to write, I thought I had saved
enough. I thought I would be comfortable. I thought I’d be able to pay my rent,
manage my lifestyle, travel and yet have some left to be comfortable.
But
I was wrong. So very wrong. The money got over faster than I could imagine. I
had to take up part-time assignments to pay my bills but the part-time work ate
a lot of time. It’s one thing I wish I could undo about the entire writing
process.
So
yeah, if I had enough money, I would’ve been happier.
Oh,
I am back to working now. And I am writing my second already. Money is still a
challenge. Hope some day, some rich uncle dies somewhere and bequeaths me with
a few millions. Pray for me :)
Q4] Being an unknown name in the
larger Indian market, a casual reader may not be willing to pick your book. Why
do you think they should read you? What message do you wish to impart to that
unknown person who is in two minds whether to invest his money on your book or
not?
Saurabh:
I am actually struggling with this one. Since I am a Joe Nobody, no retailer is
willing to stock my book, no distributor is willing to buy stock and no media
outlet wants to feature my book. I don’t claim to be the best author there is,
but I need a chance. I need an opportunity to reach out and talk about my work.
Once people pick it up, they can decide to read, dismiss, ridicule, love,
share, spread my work. But I need a chance for that.
That
chance is what I get if people read my books.
In
the ancient times, all the kings and rulers doled out generous support to new
artiste helping them focus on their craft. I need such patrons. Who would buy
my books and encourage me and allow me to pursue my craft!
In
terms of a message, all I can say is that I have put in a lot of hard work in
the book. I have not left any stone unturned to give my readers a story that
they’d enjoy reading.
Q5. Talk about your personal life. Is
there any inspiration behind your decision to take up the pen? What triggered
your interest in writing?
Saurabh:Not
really.
I
just loved it when I wrote. And I got addicted to it. Like that rush that you
get when you are high on something, I got addicted to that high of seeing my
thoughts appear on my laptop screen. Or on those scraps of paper where I often
take notes.
From
there on, I guess it was a logical leap to work on a book.
Q6. My interviews are usually brief
but I never let go before asking a completely out-of-the-blue question. So,
tell us, who is your latest author crush
xP
Saurabh:
Oh, I am all for crushes. I have a lot of them. The latest author crush is this
lady called Gillian Flynn. She wrote ‘Gone Girl’. Closer home, I really want to
take this Pakistani author Shandana Minhas for a coffee some day.
Apart
from that, can I also talk about my celeb crush please? Sonam Kapoor. If not
her, Deepika Padukone!
(as
told to Ritesh Agarwal)
More About the book:
Nidhi Kapoor is a famous Bollywood actress. One day, she
comes home to find the deadbodies of her beloved pets in her study. Along with
the mangled remains of her two dogs and a cat, there is a letter threatening
Nidhi and her family.
Scared for her life, she calls up the police for help. The case lands on the desk of ACP Prakash Mohile who is the most decorated policeman in Mumbai. A photo-journalist, Rujuta Singh is tailing Prakash for a story and inadvertently gets embroiled in the chase.
Despite
intervention by Prakash and Rujuta, unwarranted incidents continue to happen
happening around Nidhi. With each incident, the attacks get more vicious and
dangerous. It's only a matter of time before Nidhi would get seriously hurt. Or
even get killed!
The question
thus is, can Prakash and Rujuta solve the mystery and save Nidhi?
Links for the book
Web: www.tnks.in
Flipkart: www.bit.ly/tnksFK
Amazon: www.bit.ly/tnksA
