Durjoy Datta was recently in Doha on a short trip. The best-selling Indian novelist tells

R Fernandes why he chose writing as a career despite coming from a family of engineers.

 

Most people know what they want to do when they are fairly young in life. Doctor, engineer or a pilot are some common choices. For someone like Durjoy Datta, that decision seemed even simpler. He comes from a family of engineers. It seemed natural for him to follow suit. Except that after getting his degree in engineering, he chose to switch careers and become a writer.

The 25-year-old, Delhi-based author got his first book published when he was 21. Since then he has written eight books which have sold a cumulative of over 2mn copies over four years. “I jumped full time in to writing and publishing after my fifth book. This was after the first few did fairly well. I didn’t have the confidence till then, so I waited and completed my management course. I even got some work experience and then made the switch. Most people don’t want to acknowledge that I took the long road.”

Durjoy has no regrets: “It’s the most sensible way in my opinion. You need to have the educational qualifications first, especially in India where a degree is almost a must.” Grapevine India is the publishing house Durjoy runs with his friend, Sachin Garg. “When we came up with the idea, I thought ‘this means I have to sit and read books all day long. That’s not so hard,’” he says with a smile.

The best-selling romance fiction author recently visited Doha to see his parents. What made him pursue writing? “It wasn’t the dissatisfaction with my jobs but rather the satisfaction that being around books gave me. If I wanted to be ‘just’ a writer, I would not have quit my job, but publishing is something that is full time. It is a busy process and needs constant attention. You need to have that kind of time.”

On last count, Durjoy has over 181,748 likes on Facebook. A glance at just a few of the posts from admiring fans confirms that he is adored as much for his looks as his books. His ninth novel, Hold My Hand is expected to release in July.

Grapevine didn’t have any mentors in the publishing industry. “We didn’t have a network and so it was a shot in the dark.” As a reader I found there was a gap in the industry. When I wrote my first book I didn’t expect much. Everything that happened after that was just good fortune. Mass market fiction was just booming in India so I guess I was at the right place at the right time. It was just a lucky break.” When he’s considered one of the second best-selling authors in the subcontinent, perhaps the author is being a tad modest.

 

Making the switch

“I don’t have a family that is involved in writing so it was a bit of a surprise for my family. I was so disconnected from the first book that I didn’t even tell my parents about it. They got to know about this from family friends. When they asked me about the book, I said it was someone else with the same name. My family then saw a few books in my cupboard. It was then that I told them about it.”

He says the success took him by surprise. “I had zero expectations from my book and never believed it would do well. I didn’t want to make a huge hoopla around myself at the time because it might turn around and bite me.” He says the support from his parents was a big boost.

Does he ever hope to sell his books in Doha, “Distribution is a challenge at the moment. While more Western authors are being read here, it is just a matter of one Indian author breaking the stronghold which will open the flood gates.”

 

Blogger turned bestseller

“My writing experience began with a blog. I gave it a shot when friends encouraged me to write. To me blogging is harder. Perhaps this is because I decided I won’t write more than 250 words on a single post to keep the audience engaged. A book is like a movie, the next chapter can get better. In a blog the reader may not come back if his or her first experience was not up to the mark. The book is still in your hands and you can always go back to it.”

With so much on hand, Durjoy has no time for blogging anymore, “A lot of material from my blogs went in to my books,” he says.

His next book is based in Hong Kong. On the writing process he says, “It takes commitment. There’s a lot of distraction. Social networks were meant to engage people but they are distracting people. Even I find myself distracted by the flashing lights of the Internet, more than once in a while.”

But writing is something that comforts him. “If a day ends and I find that I have not written, I feel like something is missing. It does not matter if I write utter crap and I delete it the next day. Just the last year I was rewriting a few of my earlier books. I started when I was 21. At that time you don’t know what you are writing. So it helped to revisit it,” he says.

After he came to Qatar, Durjoy updated his fan page. “For the first few days I didn’t see any reason to tell people I was here. Later I was taken aback. I got e-mails from my fans who said they are here. To connect with them gives me a thrill.”

Can readers in Qatar hope for a book reading by the author? “Perhaps when the reader base swells to a considerable amount, I may do a reading.”

Encourage reading

“I want to encourage book reading. If that means signing every book that goes out in every book store, so that people go out and buy books from bookstores, I will do it. We need to propagate the habit of reading. Once anyone steps in to a bookstore it’s a whole new world.”

“I think reading has made me a very sensitive person. In the book Silver Lining Playbook, the protagonist reads books with sad endings just as his ex-girlfriend used to. He asks his father why does someone write these books and why do you feel that way. His father explains to him that when you read a book you know what other people are going through. I think that’s where books play a large role. You empathise with the characters. Reading opens your world. No matter how realistic a movie, it is still unreal. A book stays with you.”

Durjoy is currently reading Nick Hornby who’s work is like David Nichols. “The writing is very humourous and sarcastic,” which appeals to the fellow writer.

Durjoy has also done a number of Ted Talks, but he shudders when you mention them. “The talks are something that I will enjoy more when I have more value to offer listeners. I’m still young and in a category of people who needs to be talked to.”