From IIT engineers to business analysts to bankers, Indian writing in English has seen a growth in the past few years.
With their civilian counterparts taking the first steps, retired defence professionals are also making their presence felt in the writing circuit.
From former army chief and union minister V.K. Singh, whose memoir Courage and Conviction: An Autobiography to a host of fiction and short story analogies, former defence officers seem to be wielding the pen to describe the experiences of life in the defence of the country.
With its leafy avenues and barracks that sprawl across much of the Cantonment areas of the Eastern stretch of Bengaluru and the Air Force station making up the Northern flank of the city in Yelahanka, the armed forces is part and parcel of the city and no defence tale is complete without a Bengaluru angle.
MetroPlus explores the reasons for this spurt of writers from a defence background.
Is Bengaluru on the verge of discovering its own version of Ian Fleming, the British naval intelligence officer, who created the suave super spy James Bond?
Mayigowda, who owns and manages Blossoms, a popular bookstore in the city says. “I have seen that memoirs written by army officers are always popular. As far as anthologies and novels go, the occasional thriller makes it big. I am yet to see any writing like Ian Fleming's from India yet.”
Pradeep Kumar, who runs a analytics firms says, “I was really impressed with the book on the raid by the navy seals on Osama Bin Laden that was penned by one of the commandos who participated in the attack. With the Official Secrets Act, it is tough to write such books in India. As time passes, I feel such books will become more popular. I would love to read about military strategy and what soldiers go through on the field. I think with VK Singh and Dhulat penning memoirs, I hope the trend catches on.”
Rajat Mishra, whose career in the Army was cut short due to a mishap that resulted in him losing an arm says, “ I had to start from scratch after I left the Army. I had to relearn everything from tying shoelaces to driving using only my left arm. I went on to complete an MBA and started to blog about my experiences. The blog eventually took shape of my book, Can I Have a Chocolate Milkshake? It is a fictional account of my life. I feel that defence personal should write books about their experiences. Life in the defence forces is very unique and it is important that people know more about it and get inspired, I hope more army officers write books.”
Shibu Kocheri
Shibu Kocheri retired from the Navy and worked on a hydro electric project for many years. His debut novel, Men and Dreams in Dhauladhar is based on the characters that work on the project. He says, “I think that Indian authors writing about India has become very popular. A technological tool such as the internet that allows you access to information even at remote outposts has also contributed to the increase in interest. I think it is a welcome development. My book owes a lot to my stint in the Army, especially since you get different perspectives about issues and get to meet people from all sections of society. As more people with a background in managing war games and leading troops write, I think that there is a good chance that super spy novels such as an Indian version of the Bond series may emerge. Bengaluru is a city that inspires you to write. I do not think I could have written a book in any other city.”
Brigadier Suryanarayanan
He recently launched an anthology of short stories -- Many Laughs and a Few Tears. Part fiction and part memoir, the stories deal with his experiences in the Indian army. “I was always interested in writing. I used to narrate many of these stories to my two daughters, who always told me to write a book. I began writing after my elder daughter passed away in an accident.
These stories have been published in many books and magazines. I have more stories that could fill up more books.
I am not keen on working on a novel, since it is time consuming and will take more of my time. I feel that unless you are part of the top brass, not many people will be interested in your memoirs. I would much rather stick to penning another book filled with anecdotes about army life.”
As far as one of the defence personnel penning a James Bond type thriller, Suryanarayanan quips, “I think that army men can definitely write a James bond type novel. If bankers and engineers can write gripping thrillers, why cannot army personnel?”
