Accidental Magic

I can’t stop reading it, being a Harry Potter fan”, was the note with which Shrabonti began. The next thirty minutes saw Keshava taking us through his journey from entering the world of Harry Potter to his work, Accidental Magic, that journeys through Boston, Madras and Bangalore.

 

The Beginning

During the summer of 1999, when Keshava was in the 4th standard, he won the 2nd prize in a quiz contest and bought the Lord of the Rings, his first self-bought book from the Premiere book shop. “Ek kitab ko dekha to aisa laga”, was his reaction, which took him on an odyssey starting with Harry Potter and Pottermania. 

Keshava mentioned that he hated being a child and thought that children are defective adults. This led him to discover and sign up for adult Harry Potter communities, which revolved around fan art and a lot of discussions on the relationships between Ron, Harry and Hermione. He was mostly what people refer to as a ‘Lurker’, more interested in what others had to say rather than writing his fandom.

 

His foray into writing started when he had a sense of loneliness as a student in the US. Keshava wanted to write about people. This, along with his Pottermania, resulted in Accidental Magic. The seeds were sown in his childhood, because he grew up in a home full of books and had a lot of freedom to read the genre of his choice.

According to him, calling something a ‘literary fiction’ is a serious crime. One needs to read a book like taking a nice glass of wine, not like taking multivitamins or broccoli!

 

Is the book only for Harry Potter fans?

This was an interesting question that Shrabonti posed. Keshava replied in the negative, saying that Harry Potter fans appreciate the familiarity, whereas the others would appreciate the unfamiliarity, or being able to relate to other aspects such as Boston and Madras.

 

A glimpse into the protagonists

Keshava gave us some insights into two of the characters – Kannan and Curtis, two very different people. Kannan is in his 20s and goes to the US to do his Masters; his family is defined by the absence of love. Curtis is in his 50s and hosts a radio show. Curtis is Keshava’s favourite character, whereas Kannan comes closest to being a ‘protagonist’, having had the highest number of revisions.

 

Three Wishes…

Shrabonti asked Keshava about the genre of books that interest him the most and what would he like to see in young writers. These are the three wishes he put forth:

  1. To see more fiction that seriously engages with India. Keshava listed Arvind Adiga and Arundhati Roy as his favourites. 
  2. Wish young writers would write in the language they think. Keshava felt irked that a lot of writers nowadays sound as though they are trying to emulate someone else in the writing style, which takes away the originality of content. 
  3. Hope to see more writing in the past tense. He referred to youngsters, who, in their thirst for immediacy, write in the present tense – this is often seen as a virtue in social media.

 

Keshava read an excerpt from his book, about the Bangalore that Kannan finds when he returns from the US in order to see a girl from Madras in a matchmaking alliance.

 

 

 

 

About the Author: Usha Ramaswamy craves to get more creative in addition to being an avid reader, traveller, vlogger, marketer of events, mobile photographer. One day, she wants to write a book but for now, she pens her reflections at her blog and puts up photos on instagram. She also works as a software process consultant and is a mother of two. She currently writes for TheSeer.

Making Sense of Trump

An uninhibited conversation of Edward Luce, an English Journalist and Financial Times chief US Commentator & Columnist with Writer and Editor Keshava Guha.

 

A conversation about Trump today is so on trend that you do not need to build up, you can get straight to the point and everyone follows, and that is exactly how Mr. Guha led the discussion this morning. Kicking off the session he quite pointedly asked, what is the significance of Trump and his actions today and will any of this be significant 30 years from now, or are we all just stressed about something that may not have a greater impact. 

 

Mr. Luce jumped straight into it. He said without any reservation that what the American citizen is going through is TDS-Trump Derangement Syndrome. He was of the opinion that Trump believes that there is no such thing as bad publicity and plays on it and the average citizen is being played. He was quick to add, “Trump has not really done anything yet of the size of the disaster of the Iraq War, but is capable of something bigger and that is what he believes should be the cause of worry.” He assertively declared that Trump is a symptom of a greater underlying problem in America, not the disease everyone is trying to cure. He went on to add that the common citizen is feeding into the idea of pluto-populism and that Trump is basically a plutocrat. 

 

Mr. Guha next delved into the comparisons and contrasts that can be drawn between Prime Minister Modi and Trump. Mr. Luce replied that Trump is not a threat to the US liberal democracy, Modi on the other hand with his core ideologies, might be. More importantly he says, “Trump is the least popular leader in the world right now, he is seen with an eye of disapproval and has a serious chance of being impeached in a few days. The Indian Prime Minister however enjoys huge approval at home and all over the world. He reflects on how this difference of perspectives speaks about how the people of the world see these personalities and their world vision. Where this contrast could lead us remains to be seen.” 

 

They spoke about the upcoming US elections and how it will be less of a Democrat vs Republican fight and more of a war of populists, the left-populist or right. Mr. Luce was of the opinion that the Democrats have always needed a leader that they love and in that context, Joe Biden may be ahead of the race. He went on to comment on Biden’s election campaign being based majorly on an anti-Trump pitch. He said that Biden is trying to drive home the point that if they can get rid of Trump, America’s problem is solved. He believed that it may not be true and went on to say that this may not be the narrative people need right now. it also overlooks key issues that exist in the country. He then added that Elizabeth Warren with her liberal ideas was more of what America needed but not what they wanted. He reiterated that the symptom that Trump embodies needed to be dealt with.

 

Bringing the discussion to an end, Mr.Guha finally asked, “…how will the US accept the election result whichever way it goes?.” Mr. Luce remarked that in either case people will be left polarized and we are looking at a time when the western world is already as polarized as it can be. He concluded by saying – “What it will take is a Modi like personality to win the US election. It is interesting times we live in”.

 

About the Author: Pashmi Dutta is a reader, writer, political enthusiast. Trying to talk with ease about things that make us uneasy, she has her blog at PashmiBlog and currently writes for TheSeer.