Abhirup Dhar
Book Title : The Belvoirbrooke Haunting
1990. Darjeeling. Young married couple, Nihith and Jemisha comes to live in Belvoirbrooke Tea Estate, founded in 1865, amidst the snow-capped mountains, lush greenery and magnificent rolling countryside. Very soon they realize the place is haunted and Jemisha might be on the brink of either losing her sanity or giving in to the rules of the urban legend. Enter Chitin Barman, a paranormal investigator and clairvoyant psychic to their rescue. Is he? Can he? Some genres are best left without spilling the beans. Find out more about the spine-chilling haunting from the author of Amazon bestselling book ‘Hold That Breath’ and master storyteller of ‘Stories Are Magical’ and ‘Once Again… With Love!’... Have a sip of piping hot tea and welcome to ‘The Belvoirbrooke Haunting’ - A Ghost Story in Darjeeling. Brrr! Is it cold already?
Let the readers get a chance to know about the beginning of ‘Author Journey of Yours’
Firstly, thank you for having me for the interview and best wishes to ‘Sharing Stories’. It’s been a good author journey so far and I’m thankful for the same. I had always been writing since I was a child. In school, I mostly wrote stories, some of which I kept to myself, a few went for the magazine. Then, I began reviewing movies for certain portals while in college. It was during a break between my postgraduate course and my first job that I decided to write a book for the sheer joy of it. Literally locking myself up in a room for close to a fortnight, I happened to write the manuscript of my first book which I then, kind of forgot about after the wonderful experience I had while penning it. A few years later, I began reviewing movies again and that is when I shared the manuscript with some people. They said it was fun, struck a chord and that, I should get published. That’s when I thought to make the transition from a writer to an author. A lot of research began thereafter as I had no clue about the writing industry and then, I took a plunge accordingly.
Tell us a bit about the books you have written. What is your favourite genre when it comes to writing?
I debuted with a light-hearted romcom ‘Once Again… With Love’, a simple but quirky take on modern-day relationships, a story that came straight from my heart back then and I wanted to tell it. Then came a celebration of storytelling, ‘Stories Are Magical’ – six stories, six different genres. After this, I delved into my favourite genre with ‘Hold That Breath’- six ghost stories with one of them linking the remaining. My fourth book, ‘The Belvoirbrooke Haunting’ is recently out.
My favourite genre is undoubtedly horror (read ghost stories) followed by thriller (read whodunits) and then, romance (ones which are genuinely heart-touching).
Are you working on anything at the present you would like to share with your readers about?
Yes. I have a sequel to ‘Hold That Breath’ which was completed close to two months ago. I believe there should be some gap between two releases and so, I’ll plan its release soon it’s been just a few days that &’The Belvoirbrooke Haunting’ is out. Then, there are non-fiction books with major publication houses which I’ll talk about when the time is right. I’m much excited about all of them.
If not an author, what you would have been? Where do you see yourself as a writer five years from now?
So, I’m a banker by profession and a writer/ author by passion! I love the craft of writing and creating stories so, if not an author, I’d probably have been a film director who works on his own scripts.
Five years from now – more books, more growth in the field of writing! There is some concrete planning which is being implemented in due course of time. Also importantly, five years later, I would want to look back and find a more evolved writer in me.
How long on average does it take you to write a book? What changes publishing has brought in your life?
Depends. Some take a fortnight or so. Some others may take months, depending on the time I can make for it in my daily schedule. Publishing has brought the writer in me out to explore my passion and while at it, some great things have been happening. It’s been a good decision for sure.
According to you which are the 5 books, everyone should read and also who are your top 3 Authors and what impact they had in your journey as a writer?
Four of them have already been written by me. The fifth is written too and should be out. Jokes apart, I began with classics so I’ll definitely recommend the same. ‘Great Expectations’ by Charles Dickens and ‘Devdas’ by Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay are two tragedies I immensely loved. Others would be ‘Pet Sematary’ and ‘The Shining’ by Stephen King, people beginning to read horror would be recommended R.L. Stine’s Fear Street series. I grew up reading them and preferred it to his Goosebumps books. I recall ‘The New Year’s Party’, which I had immensely loved back then. Another book I loved reading was ‘Gone Girl’ by Gillian Flynn.
Tell us a bit about your family, likes and dislikes as a person.
Dad, Mom, my wife Chandrani, my daughter Kaira, my fur baby Oliver and selective people
from my family and in-laws whom I consider family apart from a few good friends.
I’m a foodie so I love to eat, I love the hills and silence, have been a movie freak till quite
recently when I found myself losing interest in them. Dislikes… hmm… I don’t like
manipulative people, prefer ones who are real and straightforward.
Could you share a few tips for Young Authors? If you had to do something differently as a child or teenager to become a better writer as an adult, what would you do?
I’d suggest young authors to study, get well-established first and then, pursue their passion of writing unless of course, you have a rich father. On the writing front, write as much as you can. It’s important to be a good writer first and then aim to be a published author. I often say this – not all writers are authors and not all authors are writers. And yes, shed all inhibitions once you know you are ready for the plunge. It’s going to be a rocking journey and you will learn from experiences.
I’d have read a little more than I did may be, more of classics. But what I never gave up on was writing. I wrote something or the other on my notebooks always.
At Sharing Stories, we have an ongoing campaign ‘World Harmony through Writing’ where we encourage writers to pen down their deepest internal thoughts, daily for at least fifteen minutes. Their new ideas and profound thinking shall help to bring out some positive changes in the world we live. We would love to hear you thoughts about this initiative. Do you view writing as a kind of spiritual practice?
Honestly, I’m not into spirituality but would like to believe it’s a better way to approach life
than follow religions. To me, writing is like a dream. Each time, I sit to write anything, I make
it a point it’s a sweet one. Now you may argue that how can it be sweet as I have delved into
horror in my last two books. Nightmares can be delightful too!
What if Round:
What if you had to live with only three things all your life, what would the three things be?
Assuming these are three things we are talking about and there isn’t an option of
people around – a). laptop for writing and it can work well for reading, watching movies, listening to music, keeping in touch with people and coordinate for my works, b). a house in a quaint little hill station, c). Enough food and drinks so that I can sustain and live to write.
What if you were given the power to change one thing from this world, what would you change?
Erase the concept of man-made religions & religious places, misused by people to mislead the world. Gods and Goddesses can’t be found there. You just need to close your eyes and silently converse with the power within, make the world a better place to live in – both heaven and hell are here itself, it depends on what we make of the world.
What if you had all the money in this world, what would you do first?
Well, produce movies based on my own works, scripted and directed by me, to show stories are really magical and content is king!
Rapid Fire Round:
Favourite Place, Person, Food, beverage –
Place – Hills (read Darjeeling where I grew up in).
Person – SRK (been looking up to him since 1992).
Food – Mutton Biriyani, Chicken Chaap, Indo-chinese food (I’m a complete foodie), Momos.
Beverage – Scotch as well as Beer, depending on the company and mood.
Your other Talents –
I’m quite an encyclopedia on movies.
Your First Love –
Sridevi. Had a huge crush on her as a kid and told Mom I wanted to marry her!
Favourite Quotes –
Will quote myself,”Think twice before applauding on what catches your eye. The labourer’s son may be riding a bicycle bought from his own hard-earned money while the millionaire’s son might be driving a Ferrari gifted by his father which he calls his own.”
“Live for the moments you can’t put into words. Write for the moments you want to bring into life.”
Favourite Character from a book –
They are from two tragedies ‘Great Expectations’ & ‘Devdas’ – Pip, Miss Havisham, Devdas.
