I enjoy the process of writing or perhaps I should say I write for the fun of it; the research, mulling over the behavior of characters, composing events that hopefully would drive the plot - I enjoy all those aspects of writing.
When it comes to plot choice though, my interest in history has in the past heavily influenced the knot and I was all set to write another historical when I read a particular news item, helpfully brought to my attention by RP back in 2012.
When it comes to plot choice though, my interest in history has in the past heavily influenced the knot and I was all set to write another historical when I read a particular news item, helpfully brought to my attention by RP back in 2012.
I am pondering over the nature of truth and fiction as the book is now ready for publishing. The central plot was inspired by an idol heist that was in the news then. As I wrote the novel I kept thinking, would this be logical in the present day? Could an idol theft occur in this day and age? It cannot be that easy, surely?
I need not have fretted. In reality it seems such idol thefts occur, even today in a scale much larger than what I had imagined. And it is done much more brazenly and easily than in my novel. It is an eerie coincidence for me that the news feeds are again peppered with stolen idols.
While inevitably there are elements of history, this has emerged as a novel more about art. And what better artifact than the uber Chola bronze Nataraja to represent the various aspects of art.
I hope the readers enjoy the quest for the bronze idol as much as I did.
