Every time you hum the song, Aap jaisa koi from the Feroze Khan and Zeenat Aman hit, Qurbani, it is hard to think of anything else but the leading lady of the film. There was only one man who had that kind of magic, Biddu. The man has made scintillating music for the last 55 years from iconic soundtracks like Kung-fu fighting to stints with none other than Tina Turner, to an autobiography, Made in India-Adventures of a Lifetime and the Curse of a Godman, Biddu, the internationally acclaimed music composer turns author.
“Writing a book is quite similar to composing music. The idea was there, and once I began writing it just flowed,” exclaims the author. The concept of writing a book finally settled in while he was in Spain. As he began focusing more on the idea the conversion of the same into a brainwave only followed, says Biddu.
He drew 36 squares on a sheet, and in each, began jotting down the synopsis of every chapter. “I had the beginning and the end, I only had to fill in and link the plot,” adds Biddu. Set in the scenic backdrop of Darjeeling, the story takes the reader through unexpected twists and turns which involves an unseen spectre terrorising the surroundings. As the events unfold, Michael and Sarah Patterson, the British owners of the thriving Silver Glade plantation, find their lives intricately enmeshed with it all and with the frightening figure of a Naga sadhu whom Michael glimpses on a dark night. The sleepy little town nestled in the hills of north-east India wakes up to a number of murky incidents including a womans murder, the appearance of a godman, the search for an elusive predator, the blossoming love between a Hindu and a Christian, and the furtive attraction between Sarah and her husband’s best friend, Sanjay Kapoor, who is also the manager of the plantation — all of this comes together in a riveting climax.
“Subconsciously I guess I was fascinated with the idea of a tiger. It was probably a deep rooted seed that blossomed through my book,” he informs. While the first half sets the mood right, the latter grips the reader. “When I thought tiger, I thought Darjeeling, that brought the image of a sadhu to my mind,” he claims and adds that he just let his imagination then ‘run wild’.
Admitting that he did not have to do too much research on his book, he attributes his acquaintance with plantations with his lineage. “Given that I am from Coorg, I do know a bit about it,” he reveals. His British neighbours who owned a tea plantation explains the entry of Michael and Sarah Patterson, the Brit couple in the story. “It is not that I did not do any research. There was a bit of hard work. I had to do a little medical and legal research which forms a crucial part of the story line,” defends the author.
Though Biddu’s second book hit the market only recently, he has already finished 90 per cent of the work on his third book. “In fact when I first spoke with the Harper Collin team, they asked me to write an autobiography. I was not very keen on writing about myself. But then, they gave me a bait I could not resist. So I got a three-book deal from them and my third book, that is about a young boy from Mumbai whose life goes a full circle should be out soon,” he informs.
Book releases are not the only thing in the pipeline for thew newly turned author, as he is all set to release a new album. “My new album, Guilty Treasure is scheduled for release in April. Though the beats in the album are new, the melodies and the strings are very disco,”
confides Biddu.