Monday, October 10, 2011

I’m excited. I want to announce to the world that my novel “Wings of Freedom” will be published soon, coinciding with the year-long centenary (1911 -2011) celebrations of Delhi as the capital. December 12, 1911 was the day when King George V announced, during his coronation celebrations,  the shifting of capital from Calcutta (now Kolkata) to Delhi.

First, an introduction to my profile picture above. That is  Lahore Gate of the Red Fort, built by Emperor Shah Jahan three hundred and fifty years ago, from where the State Entry procession of King George V and Queen Mary started on December 7, 1911, on their arrival from Bombay (Now Mumbai) for the coronation celebrations.

Now, something to share with the readers about  seeding of the story. There had been a churning of ideas from my younger days when I had my roots in old parts of Delhi, that is Indraprastha--the Delhi of Pandavas;  Shajahanabad, the  Delhi built by Emperor Shahjahan, and the Delhi of legendary poets  Ghalib and Mir Taqi Mir.

An author with a history mind-set  often gets influenced by  visits to the historical  places and  monuments and that may  start the thought process of  writing a story,  adding his or her imagination  to the events that have taken place around those places. But, the ideas may remain dormant in one’s  mind, till a certain material around inspires him.

In my case the serendipitous moment came on  a day when I happened to visit the Coronation Park in Delhi, commemorating the coronation of King George V.   Looking around the tapering tower and  statue of the king,  it struck me that I have to tell a story.  Seeds of the plot flowered and the saga of  the romance of  Eileen, a teenage British girl with Raju, an Indian, in the backdrop of British imperialism and  Indian freedom movement emerged.

That is what gave birth to “Wings of Freedom”... of course, after an extensive digging into the  documents of  British India in the government archives--many a time worm-eaten or torn, followed by numerous hiccups,  recurring writer’s blocks and procrastination blues.

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