What is it in the DNA of bankers that makes them gravitate towards writing at some point of time in their lives? There appear to be no easy answers to this conundrum. Perhaps it’s the sheer herd mentality. Bhaswar denies this generalization and calls himself an accidental writer. With eleven contributions to various anthologies and his solo book of short stories “it happens-Stories of Human Relationships”, Bhaswar’s writing has been endorsed by the stellar stars of the literary firmament such as Amitav Ghosh, Ashwin Sanghi, and by Vinita Dawra Nangia, Executive Editor, Author, and Columnist with The Times of India. His short stories have been placed among the top ten by Amitav Ghosh, Ashwin Sanghi, Nayantara Sahgal, Tuhin Sinha, Upamanyu Chatterjee, and Vivek Shanbhag for various prompts across the three seasons of the Write India Contest, India’s largest crowdsourced short story writing contest under the aegis of the Times of India. Bhaswar's short stories have been picked up by Sudha Murty and Ravinder Singh for their curated anthologies as well. His contribution ‘Leap of Faith’ featured in ‘Crossed and Knotted’ (Readomania), India’s first composite novel, a Limca Book of Records entry. A Mechanical Engineer and an MBA from IIM Bangalore, Bhaswar has had an extremely successful track record of over 17 years with multinational banks in India. He quit in 2005 to set up Bridgepoint Solutions, a Learning Solutions company in Chennai. A member of the Rotary Club of Madras, Bhaswar is interested in vocational services and he is passionate about theatre, having acted and directed in many. He loves distance running too! He lives with his wife in Chennai, India. Their only daughter works in the US. Bhaswar strives to live by the maxim ‘Carpe Diem’ or ‘Seize the Day’
My formative education (till class 10) was from a Jesuit School-Loyola High in Jamshedpur. I will remain eternally grateful to Father E J Power and Father Roberts for infusing in me the love for the English Language and Literature. To my Neela kakima (aunt) for her voracious appetite for English fiction and infectious reading habits. I would look forward to our vacations in Kolkata, where I would dive into her delectable collection! To my daughter Anuta, my strongest critic and a provider of invaluable feedback from a generation far removed from mine. To my wife Saswati for her relentless encouragement for my writing pursuits, often at great personal cost. To my wonderful bunch of author friends for their beta reading, for being a sounding board, or simply helping in blue-sky gazing. Thanks, Ayan, Aashisha, Janneker, Deepti, Anupama, Mona Ushasi, Rituparna. A big thank you to my publisher Dipankar who has also been my mentor and to the hawkeye editor Indrani. To Vinita Dawra Nangia, Director Write India for providing the excellent platform, which prodded many like me and allowed our creative inks to flow. To every reader who has ever picked up my books/stories and wants to read more.
Though I dabbled in poems in school and college, writing was a discovery by accident when I submitted a short story for a contest as a lark in 2014.
To date my short stories have appeared in 11 anthologies and my solo anthology, “it happens-Stories of Human Relationships” was launched last year. Grateful that my stories have been selected by Sudha Murty and Ravininder Singh for their curated anthologies and for the Write India contest entries by Amitav Ghosh, Ashwin Sanghi, Upamanyu Chatterjee, Vivek Shanbhag, Nayantara Sahgal, and Tuhin Sinha.
Excerpt from ‘A Welcome Shade of Grey’ a short story on alternate sexuality from my book “it happens”-
‘This is not the person I want to be. This is not what my genes want, this is not what my body is crying out for. A man is only half-human. He is conceited and selfish. He is cruel and hates. He believes that with the power he can conquer all. I want to be a woman; kind and gentle. She is the true epitome of a complete human being. She procreates; she wins with love and elevates; she does not coerce with power and deprecates. Yet my feminine identity is trapped in a man’s body. What do I do?’
Thank you for your kind words. I believe that I will remain an apprentice for as long as I write, and excellence will always be one book or story away.
Though I have only short stories published to date, I have two completed novels, waiting for a publisher, and another clutch of 13-15 short stories, another anthology, which I will plan after the novel (s).
I am currently working on a non-fiction. Hope to write a novella too, sometime.
Will limit my response to English Fiction alone:
My must-read books:
My top three authors:
My wife Saswati and me reside in Chennai currently. Our only daughter Anuta, lives and works in the US.
I love reading (of course!) the theatre (having acted in and directed many), movies, and traveling. I value kindness, honesty, and positivity and get upset by cruelty, intolerance, and pretension.
Be a voracious reader; imbibe everything like a sponge without getting judgmental. You can always discard it later. Make writing a daily habit, regardless of whether you love and retain or hate and discard the output. If there is a story within you, it must be told. Take feedback actively from a broad spectrum of readers, who you believe will be your target audience. Every feedback is constructive whether you like it or not. Use the feedback to improve the quality of your effort. You will need tons of discipline, optimism, and positivity in your writer’s journey. Cultivate them.
First, go back to your blueprint. Perhaps it is the plot development or the sequence that is bothering you and manifesting in a “writer’s block”. If that doesn’t seem to be the problem, then maybe you are trying too hard. Creativity cannot be made to flow at gunpoint! Take a break. Engage in another creative or entertaining pursuit for a while. Your mojo will return. Please do indulge in some form of physical activity every day. You will be surprised how much your endorphins can galvanize your grey cells! Speak to someone you trust or whose opinions you value. Conversing often does help to articulate the problem and untangle the knots. Finally, start something new. Return to this pursuit later.
First, congratulations on this important initiative by Sharing Stories. The world of Children’s books especially in fiction has exploded in the last few years with Harry Potter becoming a household name and so many great contributions coming from Indian authors too. And of course, our mythological treasures! Here are my favorites:
Need Publishing Assistance?
