Would you like to travel to Frankfurt? Then, how about travelling with writer Arnab Chakraborty, who through his novel takes you on a ride through history, contemporary events and the culture of Frankfurt.
Brought up in a small town called Damanjodi near Orissa, Arnab did Electrical and Electronics Engineering from NIT Warangal and is now with the NTPC Ltd. Arnab took to penning his works with the encouragement of a few teachers at school. After his visit to Germany and London through DAAD, what followed was a full-fledged novel. “Der Deutsche Sommer” is a collection of his experiences. The novel is about a 21-year-old young lad who lives his dreams of walking through the tunnel of the Emirates Stadium into the home of Arsenal FC.
Currently Arnab is working with “Les Pelican” to tap and motivate talented writers.
NXg catches up with this engineering graduate-cum-writer.
Can you tell about your journey as a writer so far?
Well, it was a struggle for me. I have had a penchant for writing though. Sometimes, with the encouragement of the teachers at school, I used to contribute articles. I was interested in reading books— sometimes scientific and sometimes non-fiction, but rarely fiction.
However, I ventured into writing books when I was accorded with my article “The Game called life”, “Our Universe” which threw a scientific vision upon life and its creation. I did struggle with my short story — A ”Mysterious Encounter “ which was eventually taken by PublishAmerica, Baltimore. I was a novice then, and earned nothing out of that deal, still it was a good experience with publishers.
Then, I picked up experience with my first Novel “Pehchaan”. With Der Deutsche Sommer, it has been quite a good journey. Every step has taught me something new.
How long did it take you to write a book?
I went to Germany last year as a part of the DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service: Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst) internship and started collecting information during my three-month-stay in Europe. I came back to India and it took me one year to compile and finish the work.
How satisfactory is the monetary benefits?
I connect to my inner self through writing. For me, the experience and knowledge associated with this field counts and not solely the monetary benefits. I am blessed to be in connection with such good personalities, rest is the Lord's wish. Yes, you sell more through your marketing efforts. So, do your best, and leave the rest to your destiny.
How was your first brush with the publishers?
Frankly, they have been supportive throughout. Yes, sometimes they harrow you with the delay and I had to be pushy at times, but that's quite understandable. They have their burden of work as well. They have given me an entry ticket to see this world of writers, communicate with them and learn from them, and I am thankful to them for that
On the shelf or e-books— which is more profitable? What is the current trend now?
On the shelf of-course! Well, the world is moving towards digitised version. People download and read right from their mobile, but ask me and I would say, nothing more satisfying than the scent of the pages of a book. You can't get the true feeling of a book when reading on iPhone or digital screen.
