CHENNAI: With the release of his latest book Amour - A Tale Of Two Lost Souls, co-authored with Ipshita Choudhuri, a student pursuing masters at Jadavpur University, 28-year-old Noufer Vettikat Aboobacker speaks to CE about love and the journey through it.
When did you discover your passion for writing?
I discovered it when I was in school. When I was younger, I tried to write some investigative stories. I had no intention of publishing or submitting it to a magazine. I was merely inspired to create.
How did you meet Ipshita Choudhuri?
We are old friends. We worked together to direct my short film in 2017, which went on to bag three awards — Best Fiction and the Audience Award at the 12 Months Film Festival, Romania and Best Fantasy at Global Film Festival Awards, Los Angeles. We made a good team and that’s when we decided to write a book together sometime.
How was your experience of writing the book?
I am an engineer by profession. I work in a marine vessel at Abu Dhabi. We started writing the book midway of 2018. I was on the vessel, so we coordinated via WhatsApp messages and phone calls. Communication was our biggest problem because I couldn’t receive calls when I was on the sea. It took one and half years for us to complete the story.
What was the inspiration behind the main characters?
We created Neer and Hassini out of sheer imagination. Hassini is a girl from Chennai. She is going to study engineering in Coimbatore. There she meets Neer (her senior in college).
What was the main focus of your book?
The main focus of our book was to portray the life of a girl growing up in an orthodox society. We wrote the story of a girl’s transformation at various stages of her life. It is mostly about satisfying the readers’ expectations for a good story, by showing a compelling character transformation. Hassini’s life begins with happiness, but alas it ends with a tragedy.
Did you ever face writer’s block? How did you overcome it?
Yes, we faced it in between. Writer’s block is a personal thing and each of us has to approach it differently. When you’re staring at a blank screen, obsessing over perfection is not the answer. Writing in bullet points helped. I sometimes wrote in my native language. It does not have to be perfect, it just has to be written. That was how I overcame it.
What is your favourite part of the book?
The scenes that take place in the college. Especially the initial stage of romance between Neer and Hassini. Many readers said that those portions took them back to their college life.
Any favourite authors?
Khaled Hosseini is one of my favourite authors...he is an awesome story-teller. I love the way his stories encompass the raw emotions of his characters, their tryst with destiny and with society. He can make me cry tears of joy, sorrow, grief and hope.
Are excerpts from the story taken from experiences in your life?
Of course there are some instances from real-life, but life can’t be written as a book. So major portions came from our imagination.
What inspired you to write a love story?
You only get inspired by something that appeals to you and connects with you. Love is what connected with us and our readers.
Your thoughts on modern love?
I don’t know what modern love is. I am old-school. I picture modern love to be more digital. It’s materialistic, not eternal.
How important is a partner in a person’s life?
It is tough to tackle life and conquer all its battles by oneself. A life partner is the best part of life — a person with whom we can share our issues and have an understanding.
In short, how would you explain your book?
A book about life, love and how fate can play a bigger role in our life.
What has been your biggest learning from love?
Love but don’t expect.