Before we start this interview, congratulations to you on your new novel, “The Never-Said Chronicles Of Two-Someones.” I will ask you some quick questions. You have to reply fast.
That’s it.
Q. First question. How does it feel to get your novel published?
It feels surreal. Everything. The first time I signed a book. Even this interview feels surreal. Even though I am an author now, but expressing what I am feeling is not easy. Maybe I will have to create a new expression. You get the feeling, right?
Q. I read your bio. Dropped out of engineering in the final year. Why?
It’s strange. After 12th, I took engineering by my own will. No one forced me, not my parents. It was more like a necessary devil, me being in an engineering college. That’s where I discovered my love for writing. I hated engineering so much that I just used to go to the library and surround myself with books. After some time, I realised just completing the degree for the sake of finishing it wasn’t my cup of tea. Why do I waste any more time on something I don’t like. Every minute, every second felt burdensome.
Q. Your hobbies other than writing?
I love to wear the latest designs, clothes, chains, earrings and sneakers. Everything aesthetic. I am a very visual guy. Even when I write, I always focus on creating the atmosphere first, then the story. I also have a collection, ranging from formal to casual to funky. I was also into modelling at one point, and I play the guitar and ukulele. I binge watch many web series.
Q. Since you mentioned about web series. What are you watching now?
Sorry, I meant anime series, mostly, like Death Note, Violet Evergarden, Your Name. But I watch other series too. Money Heist, Peaky Blinders. Now waiting for the new season of Ozark, it’s taking way too long for Netflix.
Q. I read the first chapter, and I got the impression of mystery. Who would guess you are into serious writing, based on your cute looks. Maybe a romance novel will suit you more.
Thanks for reading my book. It means so much to me.
But I don’t like people stereotyping me based on my looks. I get that everywhere. People often tell me the same. There are many sub-levels too that I wouldn’t talk now. You can like both vanilla and strawberry. That’s me. I fit in everywhere and maybe nowhere at the same time. Now I wonder, is that a problem?
Q. Moving onto something profound. Your writings resemble the narrative genre. What transpired you into so?
I don’t read any random books. I just pick one from the Booker Prize Shortlisted books. Like the works of Arundhati Roy, Salman Rushdie, Deborah Levy. When I read them the first time, unlike any regular reader, I read those authors for months before starting my first novel. So that habit made me fall in love with this genre. I unconsciously used this narrative genre while focusing on making my writing style unique.
This might also relate to the previous question—the exact reason why.
Q. That’s so smooth. Next. Your age?
Somewhere drifting between adulthood and a quarter-life crisis.
Q. Why this quarter-life crisis? You are so young.
I am a complicated person. Sometimes, when I wake up, I feel like an older adult, someone with responsibilities. And sometimes, when I wake up, I feel like doing nothing and being lazy, maybe like a young guy. I am like many people in one. That’s my crisis in simple words.
Q. That’s dark. Is this really your first novel? Or did you write one before? It doesn’t feel like the work of a new author.
Thanks for saying it. But this is really my first novel. I have put in so much handwork and effort. It took me three years because it wasn’t just one draft. It was more like 12-18 drafts of the same thing. Quiet tiresome, but I did it anyway. When I started, the story was different, the arrangement, the characters, but the political element was always there. It takes years to polish something; maybe that’s why.
Q. Last question, are you happy now?
I feel happy sometimes, even during this interview, even when my book was published. But I don’t think it will last long. Not that I am a pessimistic person, maybe just a loner.
Thanks, Jakaria, for your time. I wish you success with your debut novel.
Madhusmita Saikia took this interview on 14th January, 2022.
Follow Jakaria Maroof on instagram.com/guyinindigo
