An Interview with Sabi Shaikh author “Via Delhi - A twisted tale of Love”
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We takes this opportunity to introduce you to a new talent who has loads of energy and the charm to get you addicted to his witty and unique style of writing. We are talking about Sabi Shaikh, a charismatic lad from Mumbai who has been residing in Hyderabad from the past 8 years. He holds an MBA degree In Marketing from the ICFAI University and gave up his well-paying job and all other interests in his pursuit to present to you a unique masterpiece that will change the way you look at relationships forever.
1. So tell us a little bit about you?
I am a Hyderabadi by
heart but a Mumbaikar by soul. I am an extrovert by nature, an MBA Marketing
post graduate from the ICFAI University. A huge fan of Mother Nature and an
avid animal lover. I am a very simple guy who still prefers Pani Puri over
Pasta. I love working out, if not a writer I would have surely ended up
becoming a gym instructor. I am just like a coconut. I look pretty tough on the
outside but on the inside I am a very emotional and sensitive guy. It’s rightly
said that never judge a book by its cover. The one thing that I cannot bear to
watch is poverty. Seeing people suffer with hunger often leaves me with moist
eyes. I love writing but I am not much of a reader. My life is based on a very famous
quote,
“Winners don’t do different things. They do
things differently.”
2. That’s really a nice personality inside you sabi but When did you
decide to become a writer?
I always had a flair
for writing and I always enjoyed playing with words. Becoming a writer has
always been a dream but I never ever thought that I will end up pursuing my
dream. It just happened. You can call it Destiny. Sometimes you have to think
from your heart to find peace, happiness and the right direction in life.
3.
Yes finally a dream comes true. Can you tell me what inspired you to write this
book Via Delhi - A twisted tale of Love?
My book is a story of
every Muslim boy who falls in love with a Hindu girl or vice versa. Parents
these days are very modern but when it comes to inter religion marriage they go
back to Stone Age. We are still bothered about the “Char Log kya kahenge” of
the society, aren’t we? These “Char Log” have managed to destroy so many dreams
with ease. So I would like to thank the “Char Log” of the Society for inspiring
me to write my debut novel Via Delhi – A twisted tale of Love.
4. “Via Delhi - A twisted tale of Love” is really a nice title .how did
you come up with it?
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I was born and brought
up in Mumbai and I have been living in Hyderabad for the past 8 years but the
city of Delhi is somehow very close to my heart. It’s strange because I have
only been to Delhi on a few occasions and Delhi just made me fall in love with
it. My story revolves around the mesmerizing city of Delhi and hence the title
Via Delhi. “A Twisted tale of Love” because the book is nothing less a
rollercoaster ride with unexpected twists and turns that would keep you
guessing.
5.
As you told the book is nothing less a rollercoaster ride so while writing a
book what was the hardest part of it?
According to me there
are two ways to write. The first way is very difficult wherein you have to use
your Brains. The second way is fairly very easy wherein you have to use only
your Heart. This book was written using more of my heart and less of my brain
so the journey of my debut novel was pretty much smooth.
6.
That’s great .What is the genre of your book? What genre you like?
My book belongs to the
Romantic genre which has a little bit of comedy here and there. I personally
like Romantic Comedies.
7.
Romance means Shahrukh khan in Bollywood.
Hoping that we will get to see a film on it.
As
Ride is never easy to publish a book. What were the challenges u faced?
The biggest challenge
was to choose the right publisher. Big publication houses do not usually
support first time Authors like me. I kept trying to strike gold but then I
realised that I was wasting my time. One well known publication house demanded
1.5 lacs for publishing my novel and promised me the moon and the stars. I
still laugh whenever I recollect my conversation with their representative.
Luckily I found Dream House Publications India and their Founder Mr. Prince
Simson, who now happens to be a very good friend of mine, is a gem of a person.
He liked my script and agreed to publish my novel without making 101 promises.
8.
A part from challenges what were the good experiences you have faced while
writing the book?
I have grown up as a
person. Writing a book which has 300 plus pages requires a lot of patience. I
used to be very impatient prior to writing this book but during the course of
writing my patience level kept getting better. I am more calm and composed now.
I enjoyed writing this book and now I have found a new direction in life ... I
am going to WRITE.
9.
If you had to choose, which writer would you consider as a mentor?
Ok... Honestly all the
inspiration comes from Chetan Bhagat Sir. Budding authors like me have to give
him some credit. He has brought about a revolution in the writing industry. No
matter what he writes, he manages to connect with the audience in an absolute
sublime manner and that is exactly what I want to do. I want to connect with as
many people as I can. Meeting Chetan Bhagat Sir is on my “things to do before I
die” list. I hope he is reading this Hahaha. Love him or Hate him but you
simply can’t ignore him.
10.
Most writer faced a lot of struggle with timings .Do you have a special time to
write or how is your day structured?
I write when my side of
the world is fast asleep. I prefer pin drop silence around me when I write. Now
I work only for myself as I have quit my job for the sake of my dreams so I do
not have any specific structure for my day.
11.
As you are an MBA and earlier you were doing JOB .How did you manage your Job
and writing?
My work timings were
pretty odd. I used to leave for work at 4.00 pm and return back only at 4.00
am. By the time I got back home I was too tired to do anything else except
sleep. When you work at such odd hours it’s very difficult for you to do
anything else. So I made a call... I quit my job so that I could pursue a
career in writing. People call me crazy but I can live with that.
12.
A hard decision by you to quit job (inspiring). Is there a message in your
novel that you want readers to grasp?
“Love
is greater than or equal to any Religion.”
13.
How are you feeling as your book is ready to publish in the market?
I am feeling on top of
the world right now. It is my biggest ever achievement till date. I will die
someday but my book is going to live forever and this thought always makes me
happy.
14.
Do you to want to give anyone credit for helping and completing Via Delhi - A
twisted tale of Love?
My parents, a few close
friends and a few close cousins. They always stood by me whenever my chips were
down. I kept getting this sick feeling of being jobless all the time but they
kept making me realize that I had the courage to pursue my dreams and a only a
handful of people could do what I am doing. Their words always worked like
magic and made me feel good. They also kept reading my script chapter by
chapter and kept giving me blunt feedbacks which really helped.
That’s really a nice
talking with you Sabi hoping your all dreams comes true and the book will make
another miracle in writing industry.
“Via Delhi - A twisted tale of Love”- A short Intro of the book
Saifuddin Khan was a
Sunni Muslim boy who was pursuing his MBA and resided in the city of Nawabs,
Hyderabad whereas Mridu Bhattacharya was a Bengali Brahmin girl who was
preparing for her BBA entrance exams and hailed from the beautiful city of
Dehradun. Destiny strikes one day and they meet in the early morning in a very
unusual manner. They become each other’s moral support in no time. Their
bonding grew stronger as the days passed by and beating all the odds the
inevitable happened, they fell in Love. Their unique love story stared at the
Indian Samaaj right in the face as even today people and parents claim to be
very open minded but the thought of Inter religion marriage makes them go numb
and the first thing that comes to their mind is “Char log kya kahenge?” These
Char log have killed more dreams than anyone else ever could. Saif’s parents
had a broader outlook towards life but sadly Mridu came from a very
conservative and narrow minded family. They were a modern day couple who always
thought that Love is greater than or equal to any religion and were ready to fight
the battle for Love in their own respective ways. The city of Delhi played a
very important role in their lives even though they belonged to different
cities.
Their love story was
nothing less than a rollercoaster ride with a series of ups and downs. A
twisted love story to be precise...
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