It Happens―Stories of Human Relationships is a collection about people and their interactions that define the world we live in, either themselves or in the manner they influence us. In an interview with our Managing Editor, Indrani Ganguly, Bhaswar tells us more about this book.
Indrani: Hi Bhaswar, congratulations on the publication of your anthology of short stories, It Happens―Stories of Human Relationships. You’ve been part of many highly acclaimed anthologies in the past, how does it feel to finally have you solo book published?
Bhaswar: Ecstatic. And especially memorable that my first solo publication happened in this epochal though a parlous time of Covid-19. I sincerely hope that readers in this state of a locked-down-world and even as they step into a new one will enjoy the stories in this anthology.
Indrani: You have been very consistent with your winning entries for Times of India’s Write India initiative. Your writing style has been lauded by literary stalwarts like Amitav Ghosh and Ashwin Sanghi. How has the experience been? Did you feel any extra pressure to maintain the quality of your submissions year after year after the first win?
Bhaswar: I feel indeed blessed that my anthology carries the kind words from such stellar stars of the literary firmament and can only pray that I don’t ever let them down. I have sincerely tried to give in my best with the TOI submissions, though I have often found the going tough either with the prompt or the genre.
Indrani: It Happens deals with not anyone but multiple types of human relationships. What quality do you think an author must have to be able to write so well on the intricacies of myriad human bonds?
Bhaswar: Sensitivity, acceptance, and subsuming one’s ego. These are necessary to appreciate another’s point of view. And of course, the luck to experience directly and/or indirectly various relationship types!
Indrani: You’ve ventured from PoK to Kabul, Calcutta to Kerala, Lucknow to Mumbai in your stories in It Happens. Not only have you given accurate geographical details, but you’ve also woven local dialect into the stories. How much research did such detailing entail?
Bhaswar: I do research the setting of my stories a great deal. Sometimes the period of research would take as long as creating the narrative! Though these are creations of fiction, it is important to make the stories believable and relatable to the reader. To my mind, the credibility of the author is particularly important to draw in the reader.
Indrani: I love short stories as a genre; the feeling of the story not having ended even after the last line, the surprise factor at the end… Isn’t this a tough genre to master? You sure have done it!
Bhaswar: Thanks for your kind words. Yes, short stories do present the challenge of exploring and presenting internal conflicts, the plot, the characters, and the twist in the tale all within the confines of a maximum word count. However, I firmly believe that regardless of whether it is a short story, novella, or novel, a writer is a lifelong apprentice and never becomes a master, for there always could be a better version of his/her work.
Indrani: Are you partial towards short stories or do you plan to explore other genres as well?
Bhaswar: No. I have two novels which are yet to be published, fingers crossed and God willing!! Yet the challenge of a short story makes me want to pick up the gauntlet every time!
Indrani: How observant are you as a writer? Do you make mental notes during your day-to-day activities while interacting with people and dealing with situations?
Bhaswar: I don’t think that it is a conscious effort. Some vignettes just index themselves somewhere in the memory and then suddenly pop up when I am writing and say, ‘Let me be a part of your story!’
Indrani: You are an engineer and MBA turned career banker and financial consultant. How did creative writing become a part of your life considering you are what we would call the ‘money man’?
Bhaswar: Actually, I was quite creatively inclined as a child. I used to write pretty decent poetry in addition to participating in debating, dramatics, and extempore. I even learnt to play the tabla for a bit. However, they got lost or marginalized somewhere in the process of conforming to expectations and worrying about a livelihood. Since 2014-15, I have returned to writing. However, the bad habits picked up during corporate life remain…I seem to work best only when there is a submission deadline! I also dabble in theatre and have acted and directed many. The sobriquet of a ‘Money Man’ is attractive, only if you are speaking of mental and emotional wealth and well-being!
Indrani: Tell us more about the title of the book: It Happens―Stories of Human Relationships. How did you come up with this?
Bhaswar: I think I belaboured the title of the anthology more than perhaps some stories within! However, the credit for the title goes to Dipankar, my publisher. It was his suggestion.
Indrani: Finally, if I may ask, which is your favourite story out of the 15 in the anthology. Which one story broke your heart while you were writing it?
Bhaswar: This is like asking a mother which of her children she dotes upon the most! The one which presented the greatest challenge was ‘A Lament too Late’ as the entire narrative is in the present tense. There are many stories which tugged at my heartstrings when I penned them. I am hoping that they will moisten the reader’s eyes too!
Bhaswar's book, It Happens is now available on Kindle , Kobo and Google Books. It will be available in stores soon.
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