The book takes us on a reveating journey as we witness, Tajudin's life has taken an unexpected turn following a joyous family celebration. Accused of thrift and arrested by police, Thajudin's world is turned upside down. In our conversation with Mr. Sebastian, we will explore the captivating story, the events that unfold after Thajudin's arrest, and profound impact it had on him and his family. Join us tomorrow at 03:00 P.m. As we uncover the truth behind this shocking incident and discuss its wider implications
Janvi Sharma
@Janvi._.sharma · 0:45
And how did you got introduced to his life and his biopic about this incident, it would be really helpful and it would be really acknowledgible to get to know about how you got yourself involved into this incident. Thank you
Shevlin Sebastian
@Shevlin · 2:40
Hello. Hi Janvi. Thank you very much for your question. You had asked that how I had got this idea in the first place. So this is what happened. I have a literary agent in Delhi. His name is Anise Chandi and he is the founder of the Labyrinth literary agency
Swell Team
@Swell · 0:15
Sonali Sharma
@authorsonali · 1:15
Hello and good afternoon everyone. Are you ready to dive into the world of adventure, thriller and true crime? But but before that I would like to extend a very warm to our guest Mr. Chevron Sebastian, the author of The Stolen Necklace. Yes. The book and the story behind which we will be having our today's conversation. Chevron Sebastian has been a journalist for over three decades. He has worked with major publications such as the Hindustan Times, the Indian Express, The Week and Sports World
Shevlin Sebastian
@Shevlin · 3:12
But I did go for the Beijing Asian Games and I was able to see international sport at close quarters. I covered a lot of athletics, a lot of football and I would travel across the country doing feature stories. I remember offhand that I had gone to Chennai to do an interviews, talks, VB Chandrasheka who was a top national champion in table tennis. And he had an operation on his knee. And when he went to the hospital and after his operation he became paralyzed
Anshika Mishra
@anshikaaa.aa · 0:26
Hello and good afternoon, sir. So I'm Anshika this side, and my question to you is, what inspired you to write a book on this incident of Tajudin's life story, and what can we expect from these books? And also, I would love to know what actually dove you into the genre of mystery books, and would we be seeing more books of the same genre? Thank you
Shevlin Sebastian
@Shevlin · 3:54
He even said, oh, my God, this looks like me. That idea that the police had made an error and this man, who has never been inside a jail, never broken any law or never done any crime, found himself inside the jail and spending time with criminals, and he had to do up 54 days, it really shattered his life. This was one of the reasons I thought I should bring the story to the public so that they know that such things take place
Sonali Sharma
@authorsonali · 1:07
So how did you come across Vikay Tajudin's story in real life? And what made you decide you turn that particular incident in a form of a true crime novel?
Shevlin Sebastian
@Shevlin · 2:41
For all that, you need somebody, some person or you need the divine intervention to guide your life if you are lucky and you find a profession which engenders passion in you. I'm sorry, I got a sore throat. And at the same time, if you have the talent for it, consider yourself one of the hugely lucky persons on this planet. I have met too many people who are in jobs which they don't like
Vipin Kamble
@Vipin0124 · 1:13
What the difference you feel whenever you work for a book or some article? And how was the life different when you were working as a journalist? Thank you, sir
Shevlin Sebastian
@Shevlin · 3:59
I had to go to YouTube and watch videos on how to write scenes. I bought several books on writing. And slowly, slowly, I had to reducate myself into a new field. A new field, a new journey. And that is how, step by step, it took me a couple of months for me to figure out how do I write a book? And that is that it was writing. Tajudin's book was a learning experience. I was learning as I was writing
Sonali Sharma
@authorsonali · 1:56
Second, it is kind of so like a reader is intrigued to literally pick up the book and read and even the COVID page of the book I saw it was very catchy and the color psychology that has been used is like it's very gripping. So first, let's not talk about the COVID page over here. The major focus is tagline if it can happen to him, it can happen to you
Shevlin Sebastian
@Shevlin · 4:37
In fact, in the book, one entire chapter is about it's called False Cases All Over India. It's a very sad story. It's a very tragic stories are there. And what was an even greater shock for me was that in one of the greatest democracies in the world, in the United States, there were as many false cases filed by the police like it is here in India. So it was all sorts of sad revelations for me to realize that all these tragedies are taking place
Sonali Sharma
@authorsonali · 1:44
Indeed and even there's a point of time where there is no one to support you because of such incidents that happen in one's life. Because one, it's quite difficult to survive in such kind of society
Shevlin Sebastian
@Shevlin · 3:00
Yes, sonali. Thank you for your questions. Once again, yes, research and investigation played a very important role in this book. However, it is not in all sections of the book, because, first of all, I was writing this book through the eyes of Tajudin. I want it to sort of write it, in a way with how he experienced each moment in the book
Sonali Sharma
@authorsonali · 1:14
So coming to the book, the book spans to 67 pages detailing the events and aftermath of the incident. So like, how did you approach the structuring the narrative to keep the readers very engaged and emotionally invested throughout? Because whenever we talk about true crime, it is not just about adventures or thrillers. It is something which connects the readers emotionally as well. Because if readers are not connected emotionally or invested emotionally in reading the book somewhere or the other, readers feel the lack of interest
Lakshita Kapoor
@lakshitaaa01 · 0:18
Hello sir. I am Lakshita Kapoor and I would like to ask you a question regarding your book, which is based on true crime. So what kind of research do you typically conduct for your true crime books? And how do you ensure the accuracy and credibility of such books and stories?
Shevlin Sebastian
@Shevlin · 2:37
Even Tajudin, with 54 days is finding it difficult to come to terms with a lot of things which he experienced and saw in jail. So it doesn't matter the time spent if you go to jail. It's a very shocking experience. It's a traumatic experience. Not only for you, it is for the family. Also. I remember Tajudin telling that his seven year old son, when he went to school, he was called a thief son by his classmates and other students in the school
Shevlin Sebastian
@Shevlin · 2:57
Who is he, what is his background, what type of person is he? How did he become the way he became? I wanted to give an idea, complete, deep idea, as a human being
Kaif Malik
@i.kaifmalik · 1:03
Good afternoon, everyone. And good afternoon, Shevlin sir. First of all, I would like to express my heartfelt admiration for your exceptional work as an author. Your book, The Stolen Necklace left me enthralled and deeply moved. The depth of your storytelling and the richness in those characters and the way you put emotions in those characters truly showcase your remarkable talent. However, I have a couple of questions that I would be honored to hear your thoughts on
Shevlin Sebastian
@Shevlin · 3:54
Yeah. Hi, kaif malik. Thank you very much for your kind words regarding my book. I'm very happy to hear it. Regarding your questions about which parts did I find difficult to write about? I think basically his experience in prison it was tough to to write about because first of all, the way that they had to sit one person behind the other every morning at 06:00 a.m., they had to sit on their haunches, one behind the other on the floor
Sonali Sharma
@authorsonali · 1:29
Ah, thank you for sharing such a detailed insight about the ideation, about building that particular character and emotions of tajudin. And once again, before asking the last question, firstly, I would like to thank you so much for being there and sharing your valuable time with us, with our audience, and talking about your life incidents, your background, and how did this book, Writing the Stolen Necklace happen to you. Thank you for being there and sharing out the valuable time and insights
Shevlin Sebastian
@Shevlin · 4:03
So if you want to make a mark in the world, prepare to work hard with concentration, with dedication, with sincerity. And give off your best every time you are doing that profession then only you will be able to achieve real success
A very good evening to you. Chevron Sebastian. Sir, I am Kadambari Gupta and I would like to congratulate you for your book. The stolen necklace. And the title in itself looks very interesting and promising. So my question to you is, sir, that how one should begin writing a book? You know what is what any tips or advice you can give to all of us
Shevlin Sebastian
@Shevlin · 4:59
You. Hi, Kadambari. Thank you for your question. I'm sorry for the delay in replying. I didn't see your question, and I had logged off. Now, the question you asked is how to begin a book. Now, for example, I can tell you for a nonfiction book, when in a nonfiction book, you are talking to a person, and you are probably writing that person's story. So I'll give you the example of the focus
Shevlin Sebastian
@Shevlin · 1:46
Hi, Kadambari. I exceeded the five minute time limit, so I just want to quickly finish it off. So, they have a print on demand machine and it will be printed immediately and sent to the buyer. So that is one way. The other way is to go through traditional publishers. Big publisher like Penguin, Random House, harper Collins, Hashett, Bloomsbury, Picado, Rupa. These are the major publishers in India
Prabha Iyer
@PSPV · 3:05
Like being now a writer, you know pretty well the title of the story has to be small or it can be a sentence. I have always thought of it like it should be. It should actually probe the readers. It should flash in their mind to read the story or the poetry. But I have always wondered if the title has to be small and crystal clear or crisp, whatever
Shevlin Sebastian
@Shevlin · 4:58
You can give a small title or you can give a long title as long as the long title is attractive and make it interesting to the reader. So there are many books with long titles also. So what are the classic titles? I remember offhand. Suddenly one is gone with the wind. That is a very nice title. The other one is to kill a Mocking bird. I'm just telling off the top of my head. Then there is Anne Ranz Atlas Shrugged
Shevlin Sebastian
@Shevlin · 4:39
Even if they go to the garbage dump. It is all inside plastic packets, so they are not able to get access to the food. And all types of interesting stories. And this man, if he walks down the street, you won't look at him again. Twice you look at him once, you'll think of what is there, what is interesting about. But he has so many interesting stories regarding dogs and he even feed cats and also pigeons