EXCHANGING WORDS WITH ANANDAJIT GOSWAMI

AUTHOR'S BIO:

Anandajit Goswami is a writer and an economist by training with his post graduation in International Trade and Development from Jawaharlal Nehru University and PhD in Energy Economics and Policy from TERI School of Advanced Studies.  He has authored the first children  science fiction book on sustainability in India titled - "Lucy and The Train: Tryst with Sustainability" and coauthored a sequel titled - "Lucy Meets Artificial Intelligence". Both books have been getting rave reviews in Amazon and Goodreads and have been critically acclaimed by Indian Book Review Journal as a novel work in the space of Children Science Fiction literature in India and across the world. He has coauthored, coedited books titled - "Sustainability Science for Social, Economic and Environmental Development", "Economic Modelling, Analysis and Policy for Sustainability" released by Idea Global International, Pennsylvania. Other than this, he has contributed popular articles in newspapers and blogs for Economist, Reuters Foundation.  He writes regularly for his blogspace - geekonomistdiary.blogspot.com.  He has been a musician from the age of six and has initiated a movement called " Music and Sustainability", "Art from the Heart". His music tracks like - "Shukno Thote" , "Ajnabee"  are widely liked in Youtube and some other popular tracks on sustainability are available at Soundcloud.  In his earlier professional assignment with United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, he had established South South Collaboration programmes between India and Africa with the support of Ministry of External Affairs.

1. Who and what inspired you to write?

There is no particular individual or any particular event or discourse that inspired me as such. I read every novel, fiction, poetry, paper, magazine or for that matter any manuscript (be it a paper, book, fiction,  opinion piece, article, etc ) and try to imagine about the author’s, creators mind and his/her world in which the creator is traversing. These creations also include any form of visual art, motion picture or music and dance and theatre. While doing that for quite sometime I have been rediscovering several things towards the end of it. Once I finish the reading (all the forms which I mentioned above) there is a lot which I am not able to say and not able to communicate. So there is always a gap between what I have imagined and what I have been saying or what I have said or what I want to say in future. This gap in me like an empty earthern pot can only be met when I say something and I can assure you that no writer writes anything neither do I at the end of this exercise. In a similar way,  a gap in that earthen pot of mine was created on the discourse of gender, sexuality and gender neutrality issues across the world. I had to try to fill that gap within my own earthen pot. This book is a kind of a pebble which I got when I gave a dip in that empty earthen pot of mine.

2. What challenges did you face while writing and getting published?

It has been difficult and not difficult too. I faced many rejections, humiliations (all taken in a positive way- which is the crux of everything) as well as I found lot of support too in the journey and I am happy with both as they will always coexist no matter how much the situation changes. I dont think I actually wrote anything to get published. I always allowed my heart to allow towards finding out a gap in my empty earthen pot and once it was done, I started to think of publication which was a journey of self doubt to anxiety to finally a meaningful communication which is always imperfect. I have always believed that I will tell my story in my own way and there will always be people who will like, love, hate, criticise my work and me. I don’t need to worry about that at all. It is just that in my communication the heart should not allow any pretence in a single word and line of the creation (or for that matter in any form of creation) and should not think of market. Sometimes it works out and in certain cases it doesnot work out. But my process of creation and writing in anything I do is very simple. It is always to talk to an empty earthen pot and mirror inside me. However, in today’s publishing world along with writing, marketing is also very important: however, I also think in today’s world there is no one absolute marketing strategy – Therefore one has to constantly experiment with all forms of creative, marketing expressions and channels whichever the creative instincts suggest and I will always follow that.

3. How did you come to know about the literary agency THE BOOK BAKERS?  

An owner of an author’s club in Jaipur who promoted my two science fiction books - “Lucy and The Train: Tryst with Sustainability” and “Lucy Meets Artificial Intelligence” told me about THE BOOK BAKERS and introduced me to THE BOOK BAKERS.

4. How did THE BOOK BAKERS help you and what would you  like to say about them ?

   I owe a lot to Shri Suhail Bhai and THE BOOK BAKERS who liked the entire experimentation that I have done with story telling in this upcoming book. THE BOOK BAKERS is doing a wonderful work in selecting new, innovative manuscripts across a wide range of topics and really opening up the creative space of publication in this country. 

5.How do you see literary success for yourself?

I will be  happy if people like my work but frankly speaking I never think or worry about any literary success as it disturbs by creative process and framing, visualisation where I don’t compromise. The success will definitely take me to a new station which started from self-doubt to anxiety to a flower blooming to the final expansion of the fragnance of the flower. But my creative process is never dependent on any success. I write and create just like a neuro-biological, psychological need of my mind to survive as we eat food to survive. So I am not focussed at all on the success element as long as I am honestly able to create something for atleast few who can smile, laugh, cry, shout and be like a human being in the process. And if many in the process does it, it is like a windfall for me which I never expected.

6. When can we expect your next book?

I am already co-authoring the third book in the series of Lucy (after “Lucy and The Train: Tryst with Sustainability” and “Lucy Meets Artificial Intelligence”) since more than last one year. The third book I am co-authoring with Dr. Debashis Chakraborty with whom I co-authored “Lucy Meets Artificial Intelligence”. And there is another manuscript in which I am working. Right now I am creating an outline and visualisation of this manuscript. However, for Lucy 3, the first very preliminary draft of all chapters are done. I will now polish it further with the guidance and mentorship of my co-author Dr. Debashis Chakraborty. Lucy 3 is a science fiction with a lot of concussion and questioning of the overlapping areas of speculative science fiction, cli - fi, drama, mystery, international politics and a magical, fantasy world trapped in the cognitive dissonance of a utopic and dystopic future of the universe itself. 

7.Any message or tips for aspiring authors?

I am not a writer or author to give tips or message. But if you want to have a catharsis - write, search the earthen pot of your mind, express your heart in every line and communication and spread colours in them no matter what they are or whoever likes them. Be fearless to express yourself.

BOOK NAME : PINK GENDER :THE STORY OF A MAN,A WOMAN AND A DREAM
PUBLISHER : BIG FOOT PUBLICATIONS

BOOK SYNOPSIS/BLURB :

One day a man, a woman and a transgender gets a call for police Investigation at the police station regarding an unintended, serendipious accident. Police investigates the matter and calls the three people at the police station. The three - a man, a woman and a transgender waits in the counselling centre without even knowing how their lives are interconnected with an event of watching the film "PINK " in the same theatre on the same day in the same show.

Their stories and mysteries unfold  in the counselling room of the police station and a connecting link between their stories is established.  The mystery is associated with the film they watched and the time during which they watched it.

What finally happens ?; - "The three gets trapped more or move on  with their lives or do they collude to come out of this and create a new move against the  police to come out and chart out their own journey by being friends" . This story is all about these magical mysteries of life which are unexplained in their own ways and how they get more revealed when three lives with different sexual and gender orientations criss cross each other in a police investigation in the police counselling room.

PRE-ORDER THE COPY FROM : https://bigfootpublications.com/preorder-book-details.php?book=44