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"The history of India is soaked in blood, it is also soaked in very many beautiful things.." Nilanjan Choudhury on 'Song of the Golden Sparrow'
Nilanjan P. Choudhury's recent novel, Song of the Golden Sparrow, published by Speaking Tiger, is a fictional retelling of the history of free India. It's the story of a young nation and some extraordinary Indians from 1947 to 2022, narrated in a hilarious, subversive and thought provoking way across various periods in time, picking up moments that we have either heard or witnessed while ensuring that there is never a dull moment
Nilanjan Choudhury
@Nilanjan · 4:05
But the idea itself I cannot claim originality too. So I will give you just a couple of examples, and there are many. The first I will mention is one of my favorite writers in Bengali, Sunil Gangopadhyay. His books have also been translated into English, in case your readers are interested. So he wrote these two books on the Bengal Renaissance. Prothom Alo and Shei Shomoy. Those Times and First Light. And I have drawn some ideas from there
Siddhartha Shankar Ray cleanses West Bengal of Naxalism jyotibasu brings in years of communism. A dam is built and hundreds of tribals are rendered homeless. Somewhere a masjid falls and all hell breaks loose. All of this is so perfectly interwoven into the narrative. I'm sure this would have been very challenging, bringing in so much of history and mixing it with the narrative. Could you perhaps share a little bit about all the research that went behind ah, this book
Swell Team
@Swell · 0:15
Nilanjan Choudhury
@Nilanjan · 5:00
So what is important to me when I begin a book is really around the fictional characters a little bit, of course, in terms of the environment, the circumstances in which they are placed historically. But it really begins with imagination and not so much research and knowledge and the imagination of your characters and a little bit around what their character journeys and arcs are likely to be as I go forward
Nilanjan Choudhury
@Nilanjan · 1:09
You. So, like I was saying, like Shi Ram Chandra Guha, I too had many moments of frustration and points where I felt like giving up writing this book, Song of the Golden Sparrow, because it's not easy to maintain an unbroken thread through some fictional character's life over a 75 year type of journey. At least it wasn't easy for me. So, yeah, it's been a demanding but very fulfilling journey
And I think it's great how you tackle some of the uncomfortable serious bits in the book with a sort of irreverence by introducing a new point of view while also taking the edge of the serious events that are unfolding with the introduction of subtle humor. So was it a conscious choice to infuse some sort of humor in this manner all through the book?
Nilanjan Choudhury
@Nilanjan · 5:00
However, given all the dark times that we have gone through and maybe are even going through now, it was difficult to introduce humor. So I resorted to a technique or a device, which you might a literary device, so to speak, which is the characters themselves are going through a lot of pain, a lot of suffering. Not always, but quite often. But as you say, their pain and suffering can be made a little more that you empathize with them a little more
Thanks. Thank you for that. I'd love to hear what you most hope for readers to take away from your book and what you're working on next. And if you're not yet onto the next project, which would be understandable, considering this book only came out a few months ago. I would love to hear about anything else that currently has you intellectually occupied and may influence ends, what work we can look forward to from you next
Nilanjan Choudhury
@Nilanjan · 1:52
You. So I haven't quite decided on what I am going to be taking up as my next project. As you know, I have an interest in theater. There's a new play that I'd like to do towards the end of the year, which is stage it. And I'd also like to complete this trilogy of science plays that has been in my mind for a while. So I've written two of them. I'd like to write a third one on Janaki Amal
Nilanjan is also doing a fun give away around the book on his website, where all you need to do is identify the figures on the cover of Song of the Golden Sparrow and win a complimentary copy of the book. You can check out more about this giveaway here in this link that I'm sharing in the description. So hop onto the link and have fun guessing these personalities on the book cover. And thank you so much for tuning in
Nilanjan Choudhury
@Nilanjan · 0:12
Thank you so much. Ramya. It was a pleasure being on. Swell. Bye for now, and I hope some of you readers will enjoy the book as much as you did. Thank you