After writing about battles in sports and political arena, author Anuja Chauhan turns to the frontline with “Baaz” (HarperCollins). Set around the 1971 war, for the first time a male character is central to her plot. Even as she seeks to put the idea of nationalism in perspective, you can smell both gun powder and romance in the air. And before the flight of imagination become unassailable, her subtle commentary on the socio-political complexity of the times keeps the readerclose to ground reality. Chauhan was at The Hindu office to take questions on her latest work and more.
Excerpts:
What was the catalyst?
When I finished my last couple of books, I realised that it has been great fun to write but I have been writing very girlie books. So I was in a mood to write about boys. Then, of course, I have grown up in cantonments and am quite obsessed with the 1971 war as seven men from my family served during that war — my father, my uncle, my cousins. So there were lots of stories I had heard of that time during my growing up period.
Why does your central character Ishan come from the Indian Air Force?
Air Force is the coolest and I love writing about the coolest thing. Like when I wrote the ‘Zoya Factor’, I said let us give India a very cool captain. Though I had shot with many captains for advertisements, I said mein toh apna bana loongi jo in se bhi cooler hoga! (He will be cooler than these real ones). I do not know if Ishaan is cooler. The Air Force pilots are real cool ones specially the fighter pilots and I have met so many of them. Some of them are 70 plus but they are still amazing guys. Their nerves are cool under pressure and they are like boys, even the 80s plus are like boys and I find them very fascinating as a breed of men to write about.
You deal with the issue of nationalism which has a contemporary appeal
It is quite eerie because I finished the book in November and then all the stuff started happening in February or March in Lady Shri Ram College. I had finished the book by then and it was quite interesting the way it played out. But I think hyper nationalism is an eternal conversation. It happens in every generation. There is this obsession of making the soldiers kind of holy cows which actually takes away from these boys. You render them mute by saying you are a rare breed.
Your female character puts a counter narrative
Whenever I write a book, I am very interested in the conflict. In ‘Zoya Factor’, it was the conflict between talent and superstition. In ‘Battle for Bittora’, it was conflict between different political parties, in ‘Pricey Thakur Girls’, it was a conflict set in journalism – between the mouthpiece of government like Doordarshan and free journalism. In this book, it is about nationalism. Rabindranath Tagore said that there is something higher than nationalism which is humanity. We are all human beings first, and citizens of a particular nation later. I bring this idea of pacifism through the female protagonist.
Should the soldier understand this, it might affect his work?
Yes. So what is interesting is that Ishaan Faujdaar is a village boy from Chakkahera in Haryana and is very happy to be in the Air Force. He gets to ride sexy machines, he gets all that glamour and where he comes from in life, it is a social jump. My female protagonist is a third generation fauji. Her father is a general, her brother died in the conflict and she is very disenchanted with the whole system as she feels that these boys are used as pawns. So it is about both of them talking and learning from each other. You may not be able resolve this conflict at a larger level but at interpersonal you can discuss.
Are the two characters metaphors for the kind of forces that are operating in the country
I think so but these conversations are eternal. Whenever there is a war, everyone becomes jingoistic and suddenly recruitment numbers go up and every young man wants to become a hero. Once the war is over and the soldiers are off the front pages then we are back to normal – with everyone trying to do MBA, engineering and medicine. They are doing such an important task and that too so well but are not getting the right kind of support and credit for it.
The nature of war has also changed
Yes, earlier it was a clear cut be it China or Pakistan but now there are enemies within. There is a lot of soul searching that is required when there are conflicts within your borders.
If Ishaan was born in this time, he would not have been able to see the situation so black and white.
Absolutely, Ishaan is set in a much cleaner time and a time when it was much more glamorous to be a pilot. Having said that I do not think I have romanticised war.
You have subtly brought out the difference between Muslims and Pakistanis
Yes, people often identify Muslims as Pakistanis. Ishaan says very casually that they will go up there and kill the Muslims. The female protagonist reminds, ‘you mean Pakistanis.’ That’s the way a lot of people talk. Also you see aunts and uncles talking about Bangladeshis’ poverty. They are the ones who show our little hypocrisies and do social commentary which is why the aunt says I can see the long line of bhooka Bengalis. I included these because I did not want it to be a dead serious book. I always believe that if you are making a heavy point, make it lightly.
Through Ishaan’s sister, you have brought out a duplicity that most Indian men practise
The whole thing emanates from where Ishaan hails from. I know it and have seen itThere was a notion in at least that generation of 60s and 70s that girlfriend and sister are very different people. And that is why the sister says that he is a hypocrite Ishaan never takes her to parties in the cantonment and he really feels bad about it afterwards. The larger point is a boy is a not just a soldier or a fighter pilot, he is also a son, a brother and a boyfriend and a friend and all those things are important.
When he goes through a dangerous phase, they are all rooting for him because he is all things to all these people. There was no point in having a cardboard cut out of a boy in blue dungarees going bang bang.
While writing about a male character, was there a danger of becoming stereotyped?
Yes. It is a danger equally with female character too. I do not think that becomes more challenging when you are writing a male character . For me, the excitement came from Ishaan being from Chakkehera.
How did you bring in authenticity to the backdrop and language?
I read a lot of military non-fiction, watched YouTube videos, met a lot of pilots and retired fighter pilots. That is how the sequences of dogfight came into being.
Similarly, the Battle of Boyra episode is a fictionalised rendition but quite authentic.Another episode is the bombing of the Governor’s palace that happens at the end of the book, which is real. It is a fact that they did not have a map for Dhaka and it was decided at the very last minute to bomb the palace. They got some old and dirty map – hardly to scale and that is what MiG pilots used to reach the Governor’s palace. All this is authentic.
It also shows in the use of Hinglish. Like pilots will never say, pass me the water; they will say, ‘paani udaa do’.
Your dialogues are crisp. Has it something to do with your stint in advertising?
Yes, I tend to write a lot of dialogue may be because that is my advertising training. The difference is there everything has to be said in 30 seconds only. In fact, it all becomes short because of the tendency to cut out the slack and then the editors tell me to expand it.
Are you writing film scripts?
Yes I am. In particular, for ‘Baaz’ there is a lot of interest but I am not in a hurry and taking my own time. I am not very fond of film scripts because they are very collaborative and I like to have creative control. Now fortunately, the royalties have picked up so you do not have to sell movie rights which is great.
How do you see Chetan Bhagat’s ‘Five Point Someone’ being shortlisted for Delhi University English literature syllabus? Yours could be next...
“The Zoya Factor” is being taught at the School of Oriental and Asiastic Studies. I will be very happy if somebody in Delhi University reads my book.
Some people find this genre superficial. Do you think there is something to de-construct in such writing?
I do not think anybody sits down to write a shallow book. I think the intention is to write something layered, meaningful and nuanced. To me test of a book is re-reading. All my favourite books are completely dog eared (laughs).
You are an alumna of Delhi University. If you were given this kind of book, would you have enjoyed it
We have a different sort of love for books that we spend money on and pick up for fun versus books that are prescribed. The syllabus book is never as sexy as the one which is read for fun. Syllabus books are generally boring like Radiant Reader types.
Will this change if Chetan Bhagat’s work is included
No way. Out of syllabus is always sexier because there is nothing official about it.
