Friday 1 June 2018

Author Interview: Satyendra Dhariwal

Satyendra Dhariwal is an author who lives only for writing. He was born in a remote village of Rajasthan and loves to write on vivid subjects. His way of storytelling is something from which you can't escape. His stories clutch your mind right from the beginning and don't leave you even after finishing the read. Other than enthralling and enchanting the readers, his tales give ample amount of food to their brains in order to grow them beyond limits. Along with writing novels, he also loves to write poetry. His novels are always comprehensive to the 'core of the ocean.'...and what can be told about a person in a short biography. He just wants to remain a writer and serve you till life. But in order to fulfill that you need to buy his books more and more.




We interviewed him after his new book "The Involute Dunes" (English) / अव्यक्त कामल (Hindi) was released last month. Here are a few excerpts.

Where do you belong to? Our readers want to know about your education and family.
I belong from a remote village (near Pilani) of Rajasthan. Now, education!! This is where people think I am joking whenever I answer this. Well, I have studied till 12th (10+2). It was not that I did not want to study further, it was a play of fate; I lost my father just after my schooling. And now I have my mother, wife and a younger sister in my family.

Tell us about your book.
This book is epic, seriously an epic desert saga born in the age of Kali. I don’t have enough space here to tell the comprehensiveness of this book. It is not about one or few things, it is about everything. By keeping this in mind, let me give the overview of the book (which again is not sufficient to capture the essence of the saga) – “There were the tales of legends sailing in the air of Jaisalmer, legends of the forgotten warriors, rulers, of people; of the forgotten empires; legends of the forgotten beauty until this volume. We have read many epic volumes from the previous ages but here is the epic saga of the age of Kali filled with abstruseness of the desert land.
We are in the eleventh century and India is called ‘The Golden Bird.’ Islām is a newly born religion and is spreading its pinions with rapid velocity. These are the times when Indian rulers are fighting amongst each other. So does the Jaisalmer and Mārwār. But there is another huge nation which is eying upon India. The ruler of that place wants to reign over India. He wants to make Jaisalmer his Centre because Jaisalmer lies on the famous ‘World Silk Trade Route’ and is the connecting link between the Western and Indian trade.
This is the tale of two generations. The tale of magnificent desert land and golden city. The tale of a huge empire and two little Kingdoms. Tale of  bravery, politics, friendship, lust, the tale of war, tale of love & hatred, of faith & deception, tale of importance and futility, of establishment and ruination; and overall, the tale of Salvation.
It is more than a book and even more than a motion picture and is an irresistible read. Welcome to ‘The Involute Dunes’, a timeless description of the timeless people and places.”








Tell us about your other books.
My previous book was titled ‘An Immortal Story: a tale of tolerance beyond limit’, which was released in April 2014 in Jaipur by Ayush Books. By the way, I am giving it for free on my website (involutedunes.com) for a limited time as a promotional gift for my dream project ‘The Involute Dunes.’ [You can also download the FIRST FIVE Chapters of The Involute dunes completely FREE from there.]

What is your writing journey like, where and when did you start? Are you a writer by choice or by chance?
I am a writer certainly by choice. I want to reach my books out to the whole humanity. I was an avid reader since my childhood (now I don’t read much). I read everything with interest, no matter what the subject matter, topic, genre, category of the printed material was. I wrote in school too but only when provoked. But the real turn came when I heard the story of a mythological movie and thought that I can write better. I began to saunter in the verandah of my house and within half an hour I cooked up a story, a novella rather. That was the beginning.

Are you an avid reader as well? What kind of books do you read? What is your frequency of reading?
I was, and I used to read whatever I got my hands on. There was nothing for which I can say that I liked that kind more. Now, I don’t read much. But my taste is not bound to any particular thing.

Which is your favorite book and why?
Favorites change with time and circumstances. But there is one book for which I had thought, alas! if only I would have written that book. And that book was ‘Madhushālā’ by Harivansh Rai Bachchan.

Who are your favorite authors?
I have read Munshi Premchand more than anyone else.

Do you pursue any other profession apart from writing? How do you manage everything? How do you find family time amidst all this?
I don’t do anything except writing. So there is no scope of managing. But, when I start writing I go into a kind of shell, into solitude, so that I can immerse into the world completely that I am creating.

What does your writing space look like? 
My writing space is a plastic chair, sometimes my bed, sometimes it may be under a tree, it can be a open roof; sometimes I bolt myself inside a room for hours.

How do you overcome writer’s block?
I think almost all writers overcome this phenomenon by themselves, naturally, with time. I can’t say if it is writer’s block but I feel fear whenever I finish writing a book that I have completed this now, now what next? Would I be able to write one more or not? This is the only thing I fear. Else, I am never short of creativity whenever alone. The hardest part is to finalize the topic, the theme on which I will write. Once it is finalized, then I make a rough outline and just that. I don’t make plots, details etc. before writing. Most fun part of my writing is that even I don’t know what will follow in my story; and what twist & turn it will take ahead. It flows, just flows as if I am telling and story to myself; or I can also say as if someone is telling me and I am writing smoothly.

What motivated you to write this book?
This book is set in (imaginary) Jaisalmer, and I feel that I have some special connection with this desert land. I see a different kind of beauty in that desolate land. Apart from that I wanted to convey something to people, wanted to tell the things which are lost. I wanted to give ample amount of food to the brains of people in order to make them grow to understand ‘All That Is.’ And I think that God has helped me to convey that through this mesmerizing tale of Timeless people and Places.

How long did you take to finish this book? What was the process like?
It took me 10 months to complete the first draft. But as a whole process it took me two years to complete this in both the Languages.

What kind of research have you done for the book?
My whole life is a research and I have put a large part of that in this book.

Any story behind deciding the title of this book?
There is no such story, but it took freaking four months before I finalized the Title (The Involute Dunes) of this book.

Why should we read your book?
Jaisalmer and 11th century,  isn’t it enough. I don’t want t give any spoilers, it is available for just 39 on my website (involutedunes.com), just go, get in, and dive in to experience the Involute Dunes, believe me it will come out to be a saga you have never read before. A world of dunes containing the beauty of desolation and a story never heard before.

Do you have any blog or website the readers can visit?
Yes, involutedunes.com. Please visit. You will get my previous novel for FREE there; and you can buy The Involute Dunes at dirt cheap price there. Still not sure, okay, you can download the FIRST FIVE Chapters completely FREE from there and then decide whether to buy it or not.

What advice do you have for budding writers?
No matter what you get in response, no matter whether you get published or not, never ever stop writing. It is for yourself, not for others. It will make you, the true you. It will keep you alive, keep you evolving. Please keep writing, no matter what. Writing is bliss in disguise.

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Thanks for your awesome comment! I always look forward to it.