KOCHI: Shibu Kochery's journey to the world of letters was tediously long. It took off from the small hamlet of Kangarapady in Kochi to the tough terrains of Indian Navy where he commandeered warships and ended at mountainous Dhauladhar of Himachal where we went to oversee a hydro-electric project. The vignettes of life he saw there breathed life to the writer in him.
And, as his debut work 'Men and Dreams in the Dhauladhar' hit shelves last month, Shibu Kochery says his attempt has a certain rawness to it that explores the dark and bright sides of Bakalwars, the shepherd population of Dhaualdhar.
"Men and Dreams in the Dhauladhar' is a result of a intense hours spend researching the lives of people there. The Bakalwars are used and abused community and there are certain nuances to their life. The book voices their angst, joy, tribulations and a struggle with nature. At the same time, the autobiographical content of the work cannot be ignored. It has fair amount of Kangarapady too," says Shibu.
Shibu Kochery has always dreamt of writing and many a time he ventured, wrote over 10 chapters, abandoned it and restarted again. "The passion to write grew with me. But, the life in Navy does not leave much free hours, but I kept my passion alive through reading. Then in 2005, I retired from service and began to work on hydro-electric projects. It was whilst on a project site in the Himlayas that I was able to take up writing the novel in full earnest in 2009. It took four years and about 3600 man hours to research, write, edit, and publish the novel," says Shibu.
The philosophical reflections Dhauladhar mountain ranges thrust on him and the life as a hydro-electric project manager does form the crux of his work. "The life of the workers in theses projects is different and follows a hierarchy and value system which is unique. I have captured the life of the hydro project in this novel, which is a first for any Indian English Novel. So while the novel is fiction, the back ground is authentic classic background," says Shibu.
Shibu says he has played with language in his work. "I have sprinkled in Malayalam, Tamil, Punjabi and Pahadi, but ensured that the pan-Indian reader would understand it," says the author. He says that the response so far has been very encouraging. The book has been published by Niyogi Books and is priced at Rs 395.
The life of the workers in theses projects is different and follows a hierarchy and value system which is unique. I have captured the life of the hydro project in this novel former Naval officer Shibu Kochery