CHENNAI: Ravinder Singh, who is considered the king of romance among Indian writers, was in the city recently to launch his new book Your dreams are mine now, at Starmark. The author spoke to City Express about his love for South Indian food, and his awe of the reading culture in the city, besides the warm weather unlike in Delhi. Excerpts:
Amazing Reading Culture
I am amazed to see the way shelves are placed here at the bookstore. It feels as if the books are calling me. When it comes to reading, there are so many literature festivals that are happening in the city. It is great to see the Tamil readership. I must congratulate people here, for they have kept their mother tongue alive.
From what I knew of the city 10 years ago, today, there is a lot more acceptability. This seldom happens in other cities.
Love for Chennai Food
Even when I am in the North, I eat South Indian food most of the time. I am a big fan of the whole art of making dosa and idli. I love the concept of filter coffee. Cappuccinos and others are a one-time affair, but filter coffees are amazing.
Cleaner and Warmer City
People here have better etiquettes in comparison to North India. Places near the airport are lot more cleaner here. Also, I had tweeted recently that the weather in Chennai is much better than the weather in Delhi. Delhi is freezing now.
About the new Release
The very idea of writing the book came from the revolution that followed the December 16, 2012, gang rape and young India coming out on the streets, being vociferous about someone they didn’t even know. That brought a ray of hope in my heart that probably some things will change and we will have a better society to live in. My idea was to keep this revolution alive in my own way. The book starts with this revolution, goes into a fictional flash back and comes back to the same revolution.
Fictional Elements
The protagonists of the story are fictional. It is also the love story of a girl who is a hero, takes a stand and ultimately is made to pay a price. The male protagonist says that he is going to keep her dreams alive. Hence the title Your dreams are mine now.
An Optimistic End?
People will feel emotional by the time they finish reading the book, then there will be an element of anger. I want their blood to boil continuously, till we get a better society in place. It has a sad ending, but the revolution is the hope that they are going to fight together for a better society.
Being a Social Reformer
I feel hurt whenever a VIP comes to the city and my vehicle is stopped, or when it comes to cases of corruption. The whole idea behind writing this book is to motivate people, to take a stand and make young Indians interested in politics. This is not going to happen with just one person. In order to bring a social reform, you need to be vociferous about it.
Favourite Book
While the earlier books are autobiographical, the central character is Ravin, which is my own self. In Your dreams are mine now, Arjun speaks my mind, the way I look at life. The one book I really loved writing was Like it happened yesterday, because it is about my childhood and school days.