In Conversation with the Author of the Book Those Who Wait: When Revenge Clashes with Power by Juggi Bhasin
About the book: ‘Those who Wait’
What happens when loyalty to country
Is tested by loyalty to family?
Who is Samyukta? And why is it her life mission to humiliate Kanwar Pratap Singh – the wildly successful Indian Prime Minister? Why do decorated army men—Aseem and Ranbir Tripathi – find themselves on opposite sides of their beloved country? How does Sonali Tripathi – Ranbir’s sister – get embroiled with the Maoists? Are the Chinese successful in humiliating India?
Those who wait answers all these questions. The book also takes the readers on a ride that makes them a voyeur into the intimate lives of powerful individuals. It is a compelling and engaging tale that almost forces the readers to get involved in the lives of the fictional characters.
In the end, Those Who Wait is a book that tells the story of people who, scaringly, could be real.
About the author Juggi Bhasin
Juggi Bhasin is one of the first professionally trained television journalists in India. As a senior news correspondent with Doordarshan News he has covered many landmark events including the demolition of the Babri Masjid in 1992 and reporting from Kashmir about their worst period of militancy and insurgency. He was the first Indian TV journalist to interview North Korea’s supreme leader Kim Il Sung in Pyongyang in 1992. Juggi was part of the core team of Lok Sabha TV and spent some time there as the Lead Anchor.
He made his debut as a writer in 2012 with the critically acclaimed and successful thriller, The Terrorist, which was followed by four more successful books, all published by Penguin Random House.
Agent Rana – the first of its kind daily graphic spy series in a daily newspaper – is written by Juggi for The Times of India. Agent Rana ran two successful seasons across two years before the pandemic.
Juggi Bhasin is also a communications and behavioural counsellor expert. Trained at Sanjivini, Delhi’s best-known mental health counselling organisation, Juggi spent almost a decade as a senior counsellor there. As part of his stint there he counselled over five hundred individuals across matters of relationships, emotions, self-worth, depression, substance abuse etc. He also has a rich experience counselling Senior Corporate Executives, including being part of the core team conducting training sessions for global leaders of the Aditya Birla Group at their residential training facility in Navi Mumbai.
The CAA Show with Juggi Bhasin is a place for Conversations And Analysis of events that happen around us. It is also a place to have, and listen to, meaningful conversations in the social and political space.
Author Interview Juggin Bhasin
Sometimes, we do not get a chance to thank each one who has helped us in our Journey.” Let the readers get a chance to know about all the important people who have played a part in this ‘Those Who Wait: When Revenge Clashes with Power’
I really must thank my wife Sonu Bhasin for her invaluable support in writing this book. Sonu, like me is also a published author and she took the time to read my first draft of the novel and suggest changes and modifications that went a long way in the making of the book.
How and when did you first realize your calling for writing books?
I used to be a TV news correspondent and during my travels and coverages from different locations within the country and abroad the urge to write my first novel gripped me. I knew then that at some point in time I put pen to paper and come up with my first novel.
Please tell us a bit about your book titled ” Those Who Wait: When Revenge Clashes with Power” and share a few lines from it.
See we are all waiting for something or the other in life. Usually, we wait for good news or good things to happen to us. But there are people who wait for bad things to happen to other people, such is the nature of such people. Keeping this reality in mind I came up with the title of the book.
According to you which are the 5 books that everyone should read and who are your top 3 Authors and what impact did they have in your journey as a writer?
The writers I really admire include VS Naipaul, Graham Greene, Khushwant Singh and in the thriller space it would be Lars Kepler and Daniel Silva. I would recommend any number of books written by these authors. One can start reading House for Mr. Biswas by Naipaul. I would recommend The Hypnotist by Lars Kepler.
How does your personal background or experiences influence your writing, and did any real-life events inspire elements of the book?
Yes Indeed. See I have been a Tv news reporter and anchor in 2 state run broadcasting networks. My background gave me a geo strategic view of the world events and prepared me as it were of writing my first novel. One of my most notable coverages was when with my camera team I captured the fall of the Babri Masjid in December 1992. That event changed Indian history. And that event also inspired me that I would write fiction at some point in time.
Could you share a few tips for budding Authors and aspiring writers?
I always tell budding writers that believe in your idea and follow it with almost a crazy passion. Your idea is unique, and you must believe in it come what anyone else around you feel or says about it. Follow your passion and that is all that matters in writing in your first book.
What has been your most cherished experience as a writer? Which is your best-preferred genre?
My most cherished experience as a writer is when readers of my books post their reviews either in Amazon or on Goodreads. Of course, if I get good reviews, it encourages me and propels me to go forward and come up with more ideas and book in the future.
My preferred genre is reality fiction which means writing about individuals who exist and about events which might have happened in the present or the past. I use that reality to slightly alter it but keeping to the basic truth. I love this genre because it gives me scope for a lot of imaginative experimentation in my writing.
What were the struggles and learnings you experienced while writing your book?
See writing is a very solitary experience. Any writer any at any point intime can be seized with self – doubt. This can occur in the form of who will read my book, is there a readership for it, how will critics review my book or even whether my book will be published. All these are natural doubts that can occur. These doubts also come to me. But that is when you must believe in your idea and passion for your book and soldier on regardless of these doubts.
Are you working on anything at present that you would like to share with your readers? What are your future plans?
Yes, I am working on my new, seventh book but I will wait for some time before I make my plans for the book public.
In ‘Those Who Wait,’ you explore the themes of revenge and power. Can you share what inspired you to delve into these themes, and how they play out in the narrative of your book?
See the pursuit of power and the urge to take revenge are ancient themes which have always been around. What I have done is to incorporate these themes in an entirely, new contemporary setting and thereby lies the charm and the power of the book.
At Sharing Stories, we have an ongoing campaign ‘Let’s Empower Our Kids’. Please suggest some books here that you would want your child to read before the age of 15 which could help him in understanding certain dimensions of human life like empathy, sympathy, relationships, etc.
I would strongly recommend children of that age to read VS Naipaul’s House for Mr. Biswas. It’s a great book. They can also read Portrait of the artist as a young man by James Joyce if they are interested in literature.
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