He can dish out chicken curry with ease. When he was in New York he could be found in the kitchen every other day –– actually his wife and he would take turns. Now of course Tim N Murari is based in Chennai where he lets the cook handle the kitchen affairs because “cooking in India is not so easy; the ingredients are hard to procure”.
None easy too is writing scripts and trying to find directors for them. “I would love to work with these young filmmakers (Anurag Kashyap, Dibakar Banerjee, Imtiaz). But they do their own scripts. Also in Tamil cinema scriptwriters don’t always get paid. There is the first signing amount and then nothing. I have a friend who is a noted director. He too did not agree to make a film on my script because the producers won’t pay the scriptwriter!” This for the man who scripted the hugely lauded Dayera , Amol Palekar’s poignant tale that hit the screen many summers ago.
But not everything is difficult in India is difficult for the widely-travelled author. Like getting to Le Meridien hotel in New Delhi, braving the notorious Gurgaon traffic along the way. Or talking about his latest book “Axxiss and the Magic Medallions” over well paced lunch at Monsoon restaurant, a place that takes pride in its ability to mix and match. Of course, Tim is as much at ease at the lunch table as his writing desk.
At the table, he is frugal, opting for a small helping of lamb chapli kabab and butter chicken. He has to be persuaded to add dal makhni and may be try out a bit of mutton biryani. As he has opted out of starters, he knows he is on a weak wicket, so like a good guest he gives and starts his lunch with the tiniest piece of the delicious kabab.
At the writing desk though he is more enterprising, more prolific. A few months ago, I found myself speaking to him about the great strategist called Chanakya. His book “Chanakya Returns” had hit the market and was getting good attention at book stores. Now, he is already out with a young adult novel! He is in Delhi following a promotional tour to Hyderabad where he pitched “Axxis and the Magic Medallions” to hundreds of kids from 10 schools. In Delhi his publishers, Scholastic, have made no such plans. And that gives Tim to talk of the book. “It is dedicated to a boy Anhil. He was adopted abroad. He was nagging me for so long to do a book for him. So here it is! Unfortunately, he cannot read it, he is just learning English. He knows German, French and Spanish. He is visiting us at the moment.” As Anhil takes Tim’s spouse to Chandni Chowk for some good old school shopping, Tim reveals that this young adult novel is going to be a trilogy. The next two volumes too would be dedicated to orphan kids.
That is a lovely gesture from the man who can be pretty self-effacing across the table. “I did this novel because a boy (Anhil) asked me to a do a book for him.” Pretty apt request to somebody who has done some 24 books, many of them translated into as many as 20 languages. “I discovered that young adult books have characters who are all white men and women. It seems everybody is inspired by Harry Potter and the like. So I did a book with Indian characters. Besides him, there are five other boys who find themselves with a medallion which cannot take off. Children in the age group of 14 to 17 would like it. I had fun writing it. As for Anhil, he is proud of it.”
Tim has been a novelist of note, a playwright and worked for television too. He would like to script documentaries today but rues “there is no market for documentaries today. You can maybe screen them at cultural centres but no distribution network for organised screenings. Maybe, you can take your work abroad.”
That feeling of dejection is only a momentary visitor. Otherwise, Tim stays calm, cheerful. And focussed. The second part of the trilogy he is penning these days. He hopes it would be out by next summer. Sweet thoughts? Before that it is time for a round of desserts. He settles for the good old gulab jamun. A surprise is in store. The gulab jamun comes covered with layers of cake and other sweets. Tim smiles. Embraces the moment. Isn’t life about embracing each moment as it comes, I want to ask him. Will save it for another day!
