Have you ever wondered about the story behind that odd couple across the street everyday? Or why that child playing nearby always has such sad eyes? What about the bus driver who takes you to work daily? What is his life like? Indeed, everyone has a story. And in a country of one billion people, that makes quite a myriad melange of stories doesn't it?
Author Mahesh Rao brings together thirteen such tales from different parts of the country in his latest writing venture 'One Point Two Billion' which was released yesterday at the Goa Art and Literary Festival 2015. Born in Kenya, Rao worked as a lawyer, academic researcher and bookseller in UK before deciding to leave it all, settle in Mysore and begin penning stories about six years ago. “ I think it was a sort of constant restlessness and a blind faith in the fact that I was ready to write a novel. It was a now or never moment,” admits Rao. “I'm sure being a bookseller played a large part, but even more than that, it was probably all the reading I've ever done.”
He completed his first book 'The Smoke is Rising' in 2010. And while waiting for it to get published, Rao decided to try his hand at short stories leading to the creation of One Point Two Billion. In fact, his writing works were shortlisted for the Commonwealth Short Story Prize, the Bridport Prize and the Zoetrope: All-Story Short Fiction Contest.
And with tales about a man falling in love with his own daughter in law, a jealous teenager doing away with her younger step brother and a shrewd grandmother, indeed, Rao's latest book complete with its red, yellow and black cover with quirky illustrations, is hard to put down. But although he has been to most of the states in which the stories take place, he admits he hasn't necessarily been to the exact place where the narrative happens. “I think visiting the place can help but I don't think it's essential. There's so much you can discover from reading and online research ” and you can bolster this with whatever you can unhook from your imagination,” he believes. In fact, Rao also maintains that eavesdropping has helped him a lot in his writing. “ One of the three plot lines in my novel 'The Smoke is Rising' took shape almost entirely on a park bench as I listened to the conversation of two women next to me. And yes, the fruits of my eavesdropping pop up in lots of places in the stories: snatches of conversation, turns of phrase, brief sketches of minor characters,” he reveals, adding that he is often amused when he encounters acquaintances who have erroneously thought that a character has been based on them. “Mainly I'm just excited that they've read the book! But apart from that, it's interesting and amusing in what it says about the way in which any of us might see ourselves,” he says.
Delving further into the nuances of story telling, Rao explains that the naming of characters is quite important. “Names can reveal so much. Particularly in the Indian context, they can bear a heavy load, in terms of religion, caste, sect, class, fashions, etc. So the name has to be appropriate to the character's own background but also has to sound right for the story and look right on the page,” he elaborates. “ I've been longing to use the name Zebedee for a while ” its trail of 'e's is so alluring ” but I haven't found a suitable character.” But how does he decide whether a tale will be a separate short story and not part of a the plot of a big novel? “I think that short stories often turn on a moment of significant transformation. When the characters that are swirling around inside your head approach that kind of moment, and when the narrative lends itself to an intense compression, you know it has got to be a short story,” he says.
And for aspiring writers, Rao's advice is simple. “Just write. Thinking about being a writer or spinning plots in your head might be fun, but not very useful. Get the words on the page every single day. And read, read, read,” he says, adding that he has begun work on his next novel. “I'm part of the way through it but I think we have commitment issues,” he says. “We seem to be on a break.”
