Why Do I Write?: A Guest Post by Rajiv Mittal

Last month, I read a terrific, concise review on Tracy's book blog, Pen and Paper, about a novel with "simple yet powerful language" that's "incredibly rich in human emotions", Brahmahatya by Rajiv Mittal, published in 2017.  Like Tracy, I'm not familiar with Hindu scripture or mythology (I studied Hinduism only briefly in high school), but the book sounds fascinating to me.  Author Rajiv Mittal graciously sent me a copy of his novel, which I hope to read and review before too long.  The author also wrote an exclusive guest post for this blog.  Like me, I think you'll find it strong and compelling.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Why Do I Write?

A Guest Post by Rajiv Mittal

 

You asked me if I would like to write a guest post.

The first thought that came to my mind is, ‘Why do I write?’

So why do I write?

First of all, a random rant …

Because there are six billion humans in this planet. I cannot handle that number. A novel is a universe which usually contains a manageable population and the main ones are generally interesting.

If I switch on the TV or surf the internet, I read about how mankind is destroying the planet. And the more dramatic of such portrayals show heart-rending photographs of children in great distress. Where on earth are the parents of these children? What made them produce children if they could not offer them lives better than their own? When I write, I feel happy that I am not under pressure to feel outraged at everyone other than the real criminals.

And they are?

‘Produce more children for our vote banks,’ continue to exhort our political people. ‘Consume more,’ continue to exhort our corporate people. The real world now seems to be held to ransom by people with maniacal eyes hysterically expostulating the beauty of their religions. It seems most of these people have spent a great deal of time and effort trying to look ugly. They have succeeded spectacularly. I don’t want to see them, hear them or argue with them. I smell decay and their touch is not healing. What do they do to earn a living? What were their grades in school and college? What qualifies them to be the prophets? Just ugliness, it seems.

What makes for a good story? I am told it is the following:

Theme. A theme is something important the story tries to tell us—something that might help us in our own lives. ...

Plot. Plot is most often about a conflict or struggle that the main character goes through. ...

Story Structure. ...

Characters. ...

Setting. ...

Style and Tone.

The real life story is the worship of fecund reproductive organs and its ending worries me, it is not something that interests me.  Books are the triumphant outcome of the uncontrolled mind.

That is why I prefer to write. I am in control of my universe.

•~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~•

How Brahmahatya happened:

I would visit my father in his retirement home during his final days. Seeing all the residents, I would wonder – what are their stories? And are they all really who they say they are. Also, spending time at a retirement home made me question a lot of things about life. And the story evolved.

Strange to say, but once I started writing it, the book took on a life of its own. It sounds clichéd but it is a fact. It was almost as if the book got its own aatma (soul) and I became another character in its life journey – the character of the author.

A personal experience related to the book: 

There was time to spare and the tuktuk was chugging past the Theosophical Society en-route to Phoenix Mall in Chennai. I had a suspicion it had no business being there but the tuktuk driver was canny and I was clueless. On an impulse, I asked him to stop near the gate and paid him off.

I had last gone inside the Society gate with my dad. He had wanted to show me some banyan tree - one of the largest in Asia. I was seven years old and I was very happy to be alone with him even though it was only to see some stupid tree. I remember I had then been very scared of it (it was a huge presence with strange limbs). I wanted to see it again now, no... I wanted to relive the memories. I recall (now as an adult) that it was massive, majestic in its silence and even the forces of nature (the waning twilight rays, the gentle sea-breeze and the noisy birds) had fluttered nervously around it, as if seeking permission.

My steps quickened as I reached it. The signboard said, ‘The Great Banyan Tree.’ I looked around, puzzled. A lone security guard walked up to me and said, ‘Sir, the tree fell down in a cyclone many years ago.’ I stared at the vast green space in the center where it had stood, quite uncomprehendingly. I felt very angry. This was very wrong. The tree had no right to die. It was meant to be eternal.

I again looked at the emptiness where the tree had lived. The younger trees, its descendants, stand proud and tall, seeming to preserve and protect the bare space.

When I walked away, I again felt the presence of my dad, very frail in his final days but very strong in my memories.

Some words that echo the philosophy of the book:

        •   Whomsoever you encounter is the right one.
        •   Whatever happened is the only thing that could have happened.
        •   Each moment in which something begins is the right moment.
        •   What is over is over.

                      Author – Unknown


The quiet, unhindered steady chant that treads through the book:

“Brahmanda bhramite kona bhagyavan jiva. According to their karma, all living entities are wandering throughout the entire universe…”

 I hope Brahmahatya will form part of your life journey, however small. Thathasthu. (It will be so).

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Books are the triumphant outcome of the uncontrolled mind"!  I relish the idea of making order and art out of disorder and chaos.  Your personal story about the Great Banyan tree is very powerful and touching.  Thank you, Rajiv, for sharing your thoughts about writing, and more, in this outstanding guest post.  I am truly looking forward to reading your book.

Your comments are welcomed, as usual. Thanks for reading!

Switching from Mysteries to Historical Fiction: A Guest Post by Glen Ebisch, and a Giveaway

Emerson and Thoreau! I studied their work in school, did you? When I think about Ralph Waldo Emerson and  Henry David Thoreau, I think about nature, about truth, about freedom.  I looked at one of my bookshelves and quickly spotted the Emerson and Thoreau books from my college days, next to each other.  I'm glad I still have these books.

"The sky is the daily bread of the eyes."
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

"The world is but a canvas to our imagination."
~ Henry David Thoreau

The premise of the new historical novel, Dearest David, by author Glen Ebisch, published in 2018, is fascinating to me.  It's the story of a young woman, Abigail Taylor, who leaves her family farm outside of Concord, Massachusetts, to work as a servant in the home of lecturer Ralph Waldo Emerson, the American essayist, philosopher, poet, and leader of the transcendentalist movement of the mid-19th century.  Abigail also meets Henry David Thoreau, who was also an essayist, philosopher, poet, and leading transcendentalist.  Since I haven't read the book yet, more details are in the synopsis from the publisher, Solstice, below.

Seventeen-year-old Abigail only spends a few months during the year 1841 as a kitchen maid and part-time nanny to the Emerson children, but she experiences life in the Emerson household at the peak of both its intellectual and emotional intensity.  She falls in love with the free-spirited but emotionally ambivalent Henry David Thoreau and learns that she must share her fascination with him with both Emerson’s wife, the prophetic and frightening Lidian, and the children’s governess, Ms. Ford. She also meets the charismatic radical journalist, Margaret Fuller. And she learns to respect but also to recognize the limitations of Emerson himself. Eventually, Abigail is forced to leave her employment in the Emerson household, but only after realizing the magical nature of her time in this special place, where discussions about the principles of self-reliance, feminism, and abolitionism flourished.

In this exclusive guest post, New England mystery author Glen Ebisch talks about why he chose to write historical fiction about Emerson and Thoreau.  I think you'll find his pithy post intriguing!

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Switching from Mysteries to Historical Fiction
 A Guest Post by Glen Ebisch, and a Giveaway

                                      

What motivates someone to switch from writing mysteries to deciding to write a work of historical fiction? In my case it came about because, as a philosopher in my day job, I became interested in the philosophical ideas of Bronson Alcott, the father of Louisa May. This led me to do research on that period in Concord, Massachusetts, which was an interesting one, with Emerson, Thoreau, and at times Hawthorne, living in the area and frequently socializing. It seemed to me to be an historical period just ripe for a story.

By whatever means these things happen, I came up with the idea of placing a young woman of humble means but with a good basic education in the Emerson household as a servant. I thought it would be valuable to have a young woman’s insight into what was largely a man’s world, while at the same time contrasting her with the very different figures of Lidian Emerson and Margaret Fuller. It also gave me the opportunity to discuss the early growth of the feminist movement, which was developing at that time in the Northeast.

In order to increase the emotional intensity of the story I had this young woman, named Abigail Taylor, fall in love with Henry David Thoreau. Her passion is partly for him as a man, and partly for him as a representative of an intellectual life that she finds exciting but beyond her reach. This is in many ways a coming of age novel, because Abigail learns from her relationship with Thoreau the extremes to which her passion can drive her, while from Emerson she learns the importance of self-reliance in a challenging world. As the end of the story suggests, these contrasting lessons lead her to live an exciting life after she leaves the Emerson household.

To go back to my first question as to why I deviated from mystery writing to try my hand at historical fiction, I think all writing in a sense is delving into the mystery of what motivates people. Not all mysteries, and, perhaps not the most interesting ones, involve a crime, but they all involve an examination of the human heart.

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thank you, Glen, for your wonderful guest post.  I'm so pleased to learn that Margaret Fuller is also a character in your book. (In 2013, I read and reviewed a brilliant biography about her, Margaret Fuller: A New American Life by Megan Marshall.)   Thanks as well for graciously offering a copy of Dearest David as a giveaway (U.S./Canada only).

• To enter this giveaway, simply leave a comment. 
• For another chance at winning, become a follower of this blog, or let me know that you're already a follower.
• For an additional chance, post about this giveaway on your blog, Facebook, Pinterest, or Twitter. 
• If you've read work by or about Emerson, Thoreau, Fuller, or another transcendentalist, mention that for an extra entry.

Enter by 5 PM PDT on Tuesday, March 20 (the first day of spring). One winner will be selected randomly and contacted on Wednesday, March 21.  Good luck to my readers, and as always, thanks for reading!