He has won 26 national awards for competitions organised for writers of children’s books. This year saw his first thriller novel entitled Mohini being published and sold out in its first week. His name is Ramendra Kumar, and he is a passionate and prolific author. Ramendra answered some of our questions about his background, his book Mohini and some of his more recent books, including another novel entitled The Indian Maasai, published just this month. Ramendra also shared some wonderful tips on writing children’s books. Read on to find out more.
Welcome Ramendra, to eBooks India! Please tell us about your background and your professional work experience.
I did my schooling from Hyderabad Public School. After completing my Engineering and MBA from Osmania University, I joined Rourkela Steel Plant and was posted to the Public Relations Department. Communications has always been my forte. I won two national awards for case studies presented by me and was a part of the Indian delegation which participated in International Metal Expo in Beijing in 1995. In July 2011, I was elevated to the post of Chief of Communications.
You’re a prolific author with 26 books to your name. What types of genres have you published work in?
My work has been published in almost all genres: satire, fiction, poetry and travelogues.
Many of your books are for children. Can you please tell us how you came about to write children’s books?
When my daughter Ankita was around three years old, my responsibility as a parent was to put the little one to sleep by telling her stories. Instead of narrating the age old fairy tales and fables, I started spinning yarns for her. I found she lapped them all up. I typed them out and sent them to children’s magazines. The stories started getting published and thus began my journey into the idyllic world of children.
After my son Aniket was born and reached the right age he became an even more ardent member of my exclusive two member fan club. He would insist that I tell him a new story every day and he and Ankita would fight over the themes. While Ankita wanted the fairy tale, happy ending types of tales, my in-house Rambo wanted action and sports. So naturally, Papa Scheherazade ended up telling both types of stories and thereby enriched his repertoire.
Our daily tryst with tales created indelible memories. Sitting on the bed, on long summer nights, cold winter evenings and rain drenched twilights we used to laugh, jump, sing, dance and yes, sometimes shed a tear or two as we explored the world of magic and mystery, action and adventure, sentiment and values. The tales created a gossamer fabric of love and togetherness which, I am sure, we shall always cherish.
What types of messages do you like to convey through your children’s books?
I have dabbled in different types of genres such as fairy tales, fantasies, folk tales, fables and realistic fiction. However, my favourite is realistic fiction or the ‘Here and Now’ genre. I write about kids who are ordinary but have to face situations which are abnormal. How they go about fighting adversity not with wands but with will power, not with spells but with intelligence, not with potions but with pragmatism is what my stories are all about.
I have written about children who are victims of war, terrorism, riots as well as those who have to face the realities of a handicap, a broken family, alcoholic parents and marginalization of every kind. Then again my stories are not all about agony and angst, pain and perseverance – they are also about the fun, the joy, the pranks and the sheer unadulterated bliss of being young. I don’t believe in preaching but I do have a value subtly tucked somewhere in my story which is aimed at giving my young reader a dash of ‘feel-good flavour’ and a slice of inspiration.
You’ve had your first adult novel published this year entitled Mohini, which has a Bollywood setting. Can you please tell us a bit about this story?
A beautiful and charismatic actress, a sensitive and immensely gifted director, a scheming, wily but brilliant manager – Mohini is the pulsating saga of three individuals, each driven by an obsession. Set in the backdrop of the bold and brazen world of Bollywood, it is a tale of passion, intrigue and suspense. The narrative moves at a roller coaster speed and captures love in its myriad shades: infatuation, romance, commitment, lust and obsession.
A young girl growing up in the backwaters of Bollywood nurses a burning desire to become the number one star in the industry. In her ruthless, and sometimes reckless, pursuit, she uses and is used by many individuals. However, there are two men in her life who love her to absolute distraction. One she betrays, and the other she rejects. Both unleash vengeance and in a strange quirk of serendipity are pitted against each other as the novel hurtles to a thrilling climax.
Do you have any other books you’re working on? If so, can you please tell us about them?
The Indian Maasai, my latest book, was released this month.The novel is meant for Young Adults. In a market flooded with fantasies and mythological and historical fiction, The Indian Maasai would bring, I hope, a breath of fresh air. The novel is based on my experience during a visit to the countries of Tanzania and Kenya and my interaction with the Maasai people in their own environment.
The novel is a story of a young Maasai who leaves his homeland and comes to India to build a future for himself. His struggle to blend in an alien environment, his quest to create an identity of his own and finally his dream to bring to his adopted country the greatest moment of sporting glory, make up this tale.
However, the book is not merely the story of an individual. Stretching across three continents and five countries The Indian Maasai is the saga of the triumph of the human spirit.
I have also completed another novel which is doing the rounds of the publishers. It is titled ‘And The Jhelum Flows….’and its protagonist is Kashmir. It weaves together several narratives to create a montage of hatred, phobia, violence and amidst all this, the most important four letter word in today’s fractured times: Hope. The book is neither on the side of the militants nor the Indian establishment. It looks at Kashmir from the perspective of an average Kashmiri. His/her silent angst at the continual betrayal of the valley and its people is etched in words that aim at providing solace and at least a flicker of hope.
My first attempt at non-fiction – Effective Parenting: A New Paradigm was released on Amazon Kindle in September and has received a good response. I am right now working on its print edition. My objective of writing the book was to share with the parents of today my hands-on experience as a child from a broken home, my observations as a writer for children and my own struggles as a dad. The book is by no means a profound model on the art and science of successful Parenting, nor a quick fix offering an immediate and lasting solution. It is a framework offering only gentle suggestions, hints and thoughts which would hopefully serve the reader as an unobtrusive guide as he/she journeys across the tough terrain of Parenting.
Can you please share three top tips for budding authors who want to write children’s fiction?
1. If you want to be an effective children’s writer keep alive the child in you. Don’t talk down to kids, be with them, be like them and be one of them.
2. Be very careful while writing for children. Make sure you don’t, either knowingly or unknowingly, endorse negative values or reinforce stereotypes.
3. Try to end with a note of hope. Today’s child is exposed to a lot of grief, despair and pessimism. There are strong possibilities he or she might end up becoming cynical or frustrated. A sunbeam of hope in your stories might help in driving away the shadows of gloom.
How can people find out more about you?
To know more about me my readers can visit my website: www.ramendra.in or check out my page on Wikipedia.
[author] [author_image timthumb=’on’]https://writingtipsoasis.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/hv1.jpg[/author_image] [author_info]Hiten Vyas is the Founder and Managing Editor of eBooks India. He is also a prolific eBook writer with over 25 titles to his name.[/author_info] [/author]