You. Hello, book lovers. I'm Sadi and this is my Spellcast, where we discuss hot off the press books, books and books. The incredible story of Sridhar Das. The wizard of festival lighting instantly grabs your attention with its psychedelic cover. This is a story of Sridhar. Eleven year old Sridhar was fascinated by light. Growing up among a dozen sibling in a mud cottage in West Bengal, he longed to create something beautiful
Siddhi Palande
@Book_gobbler · 0:43
Hello bookworms. Welcome to my swellcast. Today's session is all about an unsung artist. We know of Raja Ravi Varma MF. Hussain but not many know of Sridhar Das, the man who dazzled the world with his lightning. Professor Samrangani Roy is a published author, an English coach, a writing coach who has brought to life the story of her grandfather Sridhar Das. In her book, the wizard are of festival lighting. Hi. Sam Rangi and welcome to my swellcast Many congratulations on the book
Samragngi Roy
@Samragngi · 4:24
So I knew, like, there was one point of time when I would want to write the story, because this is a story that I've lived from my very childhood. This is a story that I've seen unfurl around me from my very childhood. And I was always fascinated by it, fascinated by how my grandfather actually managed to do everything he has done. And when I was like, probably three, four years old, five years old, that was the peak time of his career
Siddhi Palande
@Book_gobbler · 0:26
You. This is the most heartwarming thing that I've heard in a very long time. Clinical depression can be such a dark place, but writing is cathartic. It is a therapy. And it's wonderful that you took up this initiative and you brought this book to life. So how long have you been working on the book and how did you balance it with your professional life?
Samragngi Roy
@Samragngi · 4:55
In answer to your second question about how long I've been working on this book, I'd like to say that writing a book is a kind of an art that never truly ends. It's a never ending process. And I am still not done working on this book, to be really honest
Siddhi Palande
@Book_gobbler · 0:12
You. I agree with you. Writing is a continuous process. On to my next question. Do you have any special memories with your grandfather that you would like to share with us?
Samragngi Roy
@Samragngi · 4:57
There are actually many, many memories that I have with my grandfather. And when I look back now, I really recollect them fondly. And I was so small back then when it all happened and when it all used to happen. And in fact, since both my parents were working, like, both my mom and dad, they were working professionals. My mother is a teacher, like, full time teacher, and my dad also, he's working professional
Siddhi Palande
@Book_gobbler · 0:14
And these memories are so heartening that listening to you brought a smile to my face. So once you were done writing the book, was it difficult to find a publisher? Because that's an off repeated issue that the authors face
Samragngi Roy
@Samragngi · 4:57
You to send your manuscript, and then there are various packages that you can pay for, and you can have your book published in 14 days. I think self publishing has become so advanced nowadays, and there are various other types of publishing, like Kindle direct publishing by Amazon. That is also very easy. You can upload your book on Kindle and it reaches to readers all across the world
Siddhi Palande
@Book_gobbler · 0:18
You listening to you. This was really a long and a difficult journey, but I'm so glad that the book has seen the light of the day. So what was the initial reaction of your family and those close to your grandfather when you told them that you'd be writing a biography on your grandfather? And after the book was published?
Samragngi Roy
@Samragngi · 4:57
Till that point, they thought that maybe it's just a whim, because I used to keep writing all the time. I was writing one novel after another. I was writing poems. I was writing short stories, and they all used to sit in my laptop, and I still have them all in my laptop. So many stories, so many poems and novels too, but they have not seen the light of the day. So they thought that maybe this is just another one of her whims
Siddhi Palande
@Book_gobbler · 0:24
You writing a novel is a humongous task and you ought to take a day off for yourself and celebrate this beautiful win. So you yourself have researched on pop culture? Manga studied literature, southeast Asian literature. So when you look at your grandfather's work, was it inspired by or influenced by any ongoing trends of the time? Or any art movement, perhaps?
Samragngi Roy
@Samragngi · 5:00
And it was three dimensional and it was displayed in Los Angeles. And then he also worked on themes like pollution. Pollution was also something he did with Led. And I myself saw the figures. I myself saw the panels. It was displayed all over Chandanagar during Jagadhatri puja. The different types of pollution, air pollution, water pollution, how they can be dealt with. And he also worked on a lot of historical events. He took inspiration from a lot of historical events
Siddhi Palande
@Book_gobbler · 0:18
Absolutely magnificent. That's what I felt when you were narrating your grandfather's work. You actually brought the picture alive for me. And I can only imagine how the book has come out now, and I'm eager to pick it up and read. Coming to my next question what can a reader expect from this biographical book?
Samragngi Roy
@Samragngi · 4:59
So that is what a reader can expect from this biography. This is a story of my grandfather's life. I'm not claiming any authenticity to the facts I've written here. Some of them, definitely they are authentic because you'll find records of them in different interviews, documents, newspaper articles, and other stuff like that
Siddhi Palande
@Book_gobbler · 0:32
You and that's so beautifully put. The sense of the personality matters a lot. I'm so glad that this biography is multidimensional because most biographies are single dimensional. And before we sign out, I have two small questions for you. Firstly, the first thing that one notices upon seeing the book is the psychedelic cover. What is the story behind that and what will you say is art? Define art in your opinion. Something that which you've learned from your grandfather's life
Samragngi Roy
@Samragngi · 4:59
And to answer your next question about what I think art is and what my grandfather's life has taught me about art is that art is rebellion. According to me, according to my grandfather, according to both of us, art is a kind of rebellion. It's rebellion against society. It's a rebellion against your personal circumstance. It's a rebellion at times even against your roots and your family and basically everything that distracts you from creation
Siddhi Palande
@Book_gobbler · 0:17
This is phenomenal. I could gauge the depth and the dedication that you've put into this book and the heart and soul of it. That the essence that you carry in your being. This session was highly, highly insightful. Thank you so much, Samragngi, for doing this interview with me
Samragngi Roy
@Samragngi · 0:43
And once again, like, to reiterate that the honor is all mine. Actually, it's like a huge, huge privilege to me that you took up the initiative and you reached out to me and actually agreed to do this interview with me. I really loved the questions. And these questions actually helped me delve deeper into my purpose, into why I wrote this book in the first place, my journey. Because I haven't answered such questions before