Ayush Pathak is an engineer-cum-writer with the gift of writing genes handed down as a family tradition from his poet grandfather to his writer father and then to him. Penning down his first creative work in the form of a poem at an innocent age of five, he started writing seriously at the age of fourteen. He is a graduate in Electrical Engineering student from B.I.E.T., Jhansi and is currently working on his dream project of the Indian mythology-based fantasy novel series titled, ‘The Temple of Avinasi’. His theory about life is: A life which begins with a dream ends with success…
In a chit chat with Harshita Srivastava, Ayush reveals a lot more about life.
Greetings from Spectralhues…
Thanks Harshita.
How did writing come into existence in your life?
Life is a teacher and it teaches us a lot of things in form of lessons and experiences. The world around us is full of stories and sometimes there might be an incident when one of them triggers the writer inside you. However, in my case writing has been in my life since childhood. From creating ghost stories about the school corridors friends circle when I was about eight and writing short poems, the art has always been with me. Nevertheless it wasn’t until I was fourteen had I known that I was born to write.
Being a debut author, what hardships you had to face while writing as well as getting your book published?
Writing has always been a smooth journey for me. I have read many authors saying that they just began their work with a single idea and once they start penning down they let the flow take away their story to wherever it wants. A formidable style indeed, but not applicable in my case. I like to develop the whole concept and plot before I write the first word of the prologue. A style which helped me a lot for it saved me headaches in the middle of the story thinking about what should be next. Whereas being published proved to be a little tricky indeed but that’s expected when you are a first time writer. I signed my contract within three months of completing my novel and I would consider myself lucky for that.
Tell us something about your book…
The main theme of this story is ‘Friendship, love, and Survival’. A complete entertainment material which captures the little moments of happiness, mischiefs and romance from the life of four friends who like to live life in their own style. They live together in their happy world believing that nothing but only death could separate them, until a death really occurs. The once happy seeming story suddenly seems to a get darker and the once happy world of these friends is no longer the same. Well, beyond that I wouldn’t be able to tell for the story is something which has twists and turns at every other page, where the oncoming incidents are almost impossible to predict(well, solely my opinion… prove me wrong if you can J )
How did you come up with the title of the book?
It was very accidental how I got the idea of this title. I was travelling by a train while reading some novel, (I don’t recall the name), when at one station I saw a three year old beggar child along with his supposed mother asking for money and food from the passengers. The scene was really pathetic but hardly anyone was paying any attention to them(leave alone giving money). While his mother was busy begging everyone for kindness, the child was indifferent and holding scraps of papers and was turning and flipping them absentmindedly. That was a very good imitation of people reading newspapers. I was shocked at that scene. To me it appeared that perhaps the child was intentionally imitating the posture of how the grownups and educated people read newspapers. Perhaps the little boy was copying them only because he wanted to be like those people. I knew it was almost impossible for that boy to live a resourceful life, not until some miracle happened, but still it didn’t stop him from dreaming. And then it struck me, “Bounded In Chains—I thought of my own kingdom.”
Although my novel isn’t based on that boy, still it is about the youth and I found the title fitting.
Is there any particular age group you are targeting?
Ans. In the present novel, yes. It’s the youth. You see, the story is based on youth and no one understands them better than someone of their own age group. So, primarily this novel would be for the ‘dare to dream’ youngsters throughout the country.
Tell us something about yourself.
Look at the world around you Harshita. You will find people with diversities. Among them there will also be a group of young-grownups in their late teens or early twenties living life at their own terms. Group of friends laughing together in restaurants or malls, hooting at the good scenes in the movie halls or driving fast on the empty roads at nighttime. These are the same mob who during the daytime act as a responsible adult, go to their offices in elegant dresses and behave similarly, balancing between both prospects of their lives, yet keeping a dream in their eyes only they are aware of, and with a determination that they would fight to any lengths to achieve it. If you find any such group of people, pick anyone from them randomly: that would be me.
Poetry or Prose, what do you prefer?
Prose. Definitely Prose. Or else I wouldn’t have been a novelist but a poet!
What are your future plans? Do you plan to take up writing on full time basis?
Eventually, maybe. But for now I do love my daily job and it pays me well, so I think for the time being I will stick to being a part-time writer.
Are you working on a second novel?
Yes, it is a mythological fantasy novel series titled, “The Temple of Avinasi”. It has been my dream project since my childhood. Presently I am working on the first part of the series.
Who has been your source of inspiration?
Many. But mostly J.K Rowling and H.G Wells. These were the ones I read the most in my younger years.
Authors that you believe changed the literary scenario of India.
Although there are many but I think the majority of credits goes to Chetan Bhagat and Amish Tripathi. Even in the present when there are a large number of popular authors there still is a vast group of readers whose first novel has been either Shiva trilogy or one of Chetan Bhagat’s.
And finally, any advice or suggestion you would like to give to aspiring authors and readers?
Not really. They are already that smart and know everything what they need to. Still if something must be said to the new coming authors I would ask them not to give up even if they don’t get immediate positive response from the publishers. Keep faith in your work and yourself, that’s the mantra to success. And as for the readers I would like to thank them very much for enduring me throughout this interview. J And I would also like to thank you, Harshita, and Spectralhues for this interaction session. Thank you everyone.
The pleasure is all ours Ayush. It has been a learning experience for all of us. We wish you all the best for your future endeavour.
Tags: Author Ayush Pathak author interview Ayush Pathak Ayush Pathak book Bounded In Chains Interview with Ayush Pathak
