As always, I take great care to zone in on the writers I invite to introduce the world of writing to my writers at Anita’s Attic and the first writer pretty much sets the tone.
On responses to writing: Your mother was the person who when you pooped thought it was brilliant. On the writing discipline: Writing demands you write. That is the nature of that god…
Proud mentor moment again as the third piece of collaborative fiction by Anita’s Attic Season 2 writers published this morning in the Bangalore Mirror.
“Balu,” said somebody at the door. The doctor looked up into the tired eyes of Hargopal.
“Urgent,” Hargopal said and left as swiftly as he showed up.
Dr Balu suddenly became stiff. He got up and patted the boy. “You’ll be alright. Nothing to worry.” He briskly walked to the door and looked outside at the row of patients waiting for him at the reception area.
He made his way to the rear entrance of the building that housed his clinic in a converted garage. The familiar white tempo-traveller with its window curtains pulled across was parked close to the compound wall. Hargopal was nowhere in sight. The tempo-traveller’s door slid open as soon as he approached it. He was pulled in by Hargopal and the door slid shut quickly.
“All clear,” crackled a walkie-talkie. Dr Balu understood that Shanmugham Street was now under surveillance.
Rahul Warrier’s “A night of stories” has been published in The Madras Mag – an independent literary magazine from India.
Excerpt
The stage awaits the story tellers – the “aatta vilakku” is lit before the performance begins, and stays up all night along with the spell-bound audience, mesmerized by the stories unfurling on stage.
She went silently to the door and opened it. I awkwardly said a hasty goodbye to her and walked out utterly confused as to what just happened. As I walked down the road, I heard someone calling out to me. It was Indira Aunty, she’d run all the way. Thrusting an album filled with pictures of my mum into my hand, she hugged me tight without letting go for a while. Then holding me by my shoulders she looked at me and whispered gravely “Call me if you ever need anything and most of all please stay safe.“ It was graduation day, the day everyone in college was waiting for. The vicious cycle of exams, semesters and assignments had finally ended and the graduation ceremony gave the end of college a sense of finality. It had been a crazy ride filled with tons of beer, vodka and drugs partly because it was the cool thing to do in college and partly because I felt my Dad was a complete and total phony.
And thank you Bangalore Mirror for showcasing Anita’s Attic writers.
An Excerpt:
I climb down the stairs muttering a prayer under my breath, hoping the Lord Krishna would have mercy on my soul. Is this a test to check my faith or has my Lord given up on me? If I do not find an answer, then I will be thrown out of the temple. Who knows, maybe I will be thrown out of the village, as well.
Everyone will blame me for the missing calf. It was my duty to check the shed, make sure all the cows had been accounted for. I very seldom do. Who would steal a cow or a calf from a holy place? No sane person would dare anger the goddess. It was only this morning that I realised it was the wrong thing to do. Maybe if I had noticed the missing calf first, then I wouldn’t be under so much pressure. It would have been someone else and I would have been free and at peace. Now, it feels like the whole world will be judging me. All morning two people searched the village. Nobody found anything.
Me (in my best American drawl): Mildly spiced pancakes made from coarsely ground garbanzo beans, pigeon peas and rice. Served with a topping of lightly sautéed shallots and greens. And a huge dollop of butter just for you!
[symple_column size=”two-third” position=”last” fade_in=”false”] I am : Chirooo
Presently biding my time : of writing a book, and one more.
Part of the : Creative Writing Mentorship Program from 5 September – 14 November, 2015
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About being a part of Anita’s Attic Creative Writing program
My earliest memories of my childhood involve stories being narrated by my grandmother. Since then I have always been interested in reading realistic fiction. Maybe being brought up in a strict household that did not provide easy access to electronic media through the day and the ease in pretending to study while reading fiction, had a role to play in the same.
The dream of becoming a writer never really took off, though. Being a part of Anita’s Attic over the past three months has instilled a self-belief in my abilities and of the possibilities that exist if I back my abilities, which till now was missing. This has been a brilliant experience – what with being part of inspiring discussions with authors from difference countries, editors, publishers and online marketers.
I hope the momentum and the self-confidence that I have picked up in my writing over the past three months sustains and sees me through my first novel.
Chirantan’s Bio
Chirantan Shah has been working with ITC for the past 4.5 years in various sales and marketing roles. Prior to this he has worked with Deccan Chronicle as a business correspondent and with TCS as a software engineer. He has a diploma in management from IIM Kozhikode and a B.Tech in Civil Engineering from NIT Nagpur. Chirantan aspires to write a Dickens-esque coming-of-age story based out of India, some day.
Chirantan reading of his part as author of the collaborative fiction piece, “A Pound of Flesh”
[symple_column size=”two-third” position=”last” fade_in=”false”] I am : destined for great things. I’m also tired of waiting for them to happen
Presently biding my time : If that’s a question, yes – presently biding my time
As I secretly follow my dream of : leading a life filled with euphoria. (Kidding. I’ll settle for plain happiness too)
As good as : they come. And then some more
Part of the : Creative Writing Mentorship Program from 5 September – 14 November, 2015
My Website : I write at Out of Breath
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About being a part of Anita’s Attic Creative Writing program
Why did I join? When I applied, it wasn’t because I thought I’d be accepted. It was more out of a desire to get myself to do something about this need to write, that I’d harbored within myself.
Being accepted into the programme was super surprising, to say the least – and opened up the possibility of writing as a more serious pursuit, beyond a few occasional blog posts. 12 weeks of writing and re-writing at The Attic made me realize that it wasn’t going to be easy!
Writing used to be a one-off activity, resulting in something that I’d probably never go back to. I’ve now learnt that that is but the first step in a long drawn process, and that re-writing is as important as writing – if not more. There is a process to writing that goes beyond what one perceives to be just an intellectual exercise as an amateur. Write, re-write, repeat.
Reflection and improvement are skills that are as essential to life, as they are to writing.
Rahul’s Bio
Rahul longs to become a storyteller. A longing that he hopes will not be short lived. In this arduous pursuit, he is even ready to make up tales. Tall tales. He is a sucker for all manner of stories – be it short stories of longing, or long stories that need shortening. He is trudging a path that is going to be, in short, a long story. That, one could say, is the long and short of it.
Rahul’s reading of his part as author of the collaborative fiction piece, “A Pound of Flesh”
