'The most important work of my life is over'

Journalist Tarun J Tejpal tells MiD DAY, after the launch of his third book

Tarun Tejpal looks like a formidable and serious man in photographs. But the Tehelka publisher and Editor-In-Chief, who has just come out with his third novel, The Valley of Masks, turns out to be a kind man. He picks up the phone before I can hear it ring, and seems more concerned about my deadline than I am. More importantly -- and perhaps because he still occupies the other side -- he measures his words and ensures my questions aren't lost to an ongoing monologue.



The book has been called unputdownable and a literary masterpiece. Set in an imaginary valley in the Himalayas, in a parallel world that lives on an idea and is driven by a messiah called Aum, the book explores the utopia created on notions of purity, equality, discipline and the collective. The residents of this world are named after one of the six brothers in The Mahabharata (including Karna).

The first person narrator is named Karna. To reinforce the idea of the collective, each person is given a mask that will be their face for the rest of their lives. There are nou00a0 mothers or fathers, but a motherhood, and a seminary.

Professions aren't varied: Wafadars guard the land, and its ideals, and if needed, violently reinforce them; pathfinders teach the ideals. There is no place for digression, love, music and doubt. But the novel begins with the narrator who has escaped this mythical land -- a sign that all is not well in the imagined Utopia. MiD DAY caught up with the author and asked him about his critique of the collective, and disillusionment with promises of utopia.u00a0
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What was the process involved in the writing of this book? How did it all begin?
It begins with the book fermenting in your head. It is initially the process of arriving at an idea and a narrative. Then comes the day when the first sentence of the book comes to you and it follows from there on. In this case, the idea came to me somewhere towards the end of The Story of My Assassins. By the time I finished that book, I was already deeply drawn into the idea.

Your first book talked about the past, the second is set in the present and the third one is almost futuristic in nature. Was this planned?
It wasn't planned and come to think of it, I never thought of it that way. The process of arriving at a book is sublimal and not one that's conscious.

What was the sort of research that went into the writing of this book?
There was not so much research that went into this book specifically. It is universal and primarily imaginative. The Story of My Assassins required research, but this one is dominantly imagined. The setting is imagined and so are the characters.

What in your experience is the advantage of a journalist-turned-writer? How much has Tehelka inspired you?
Being a journalist-turned-writer is a huge advantage. It opens your window to a whole lot of material which would otherwise be inaccessible. A lot of interesting material and stories become accessible to me because of Tehelka and the work it does constantly. You still have to work to convert it into a piece of art though.

How do you manage your time and juggle between the two professions?
You are constantly travelling with the themes. You are short on time when you are a fully-engaged journalist. About 90 per cent of my life is Tehelka. The struggle to find time is always huge.
Most of my writing has been on the run. There is no discipline of time and space, but I do have a fair idea of the work I have to do. If I get fixated on time, I won't be able to write.

You took to writing at a much later age. Was this a conscious decision? Is it an advantage to be a middle-aged writer amongst many younger ones?
I wanted to write during my under graduation, when I was a teenager but journalism thoroughly consumed me. I was also obsessed with the idea of doing something new. I was searching for a particular kind of book. I am grateful I didn't write earlier. And I am grateful I lived the depth and the scope before taking to writing.

Your book reads like a parable of an existing world, an allegory on dictatorial regimes. Are you drawing any parallels in the real world?
Not really dictatorial. It is the tyranny of the idea. It examines the pathology of the human mind and the extent of its deformity. Of what it takes to pursue the idea of purity. Why does a Jihadi decide to kill himself over
living a full life? It is all around you -- in the killings in Norway, in Jihadis, in Hindu fanatics. It is when the idea becomes more important than the man. The book is also a strong cry in the favour of individualism over
collectivism.

What next? Is there an idea waiting to be translated?
Right now, I feel completely empty. The most important work of my life is over, I am dry.

Publisher:u00a0 Harpercollins
Price:u00a0 Rs 499
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