Bureaucrat's book hits off well with the youth
Pyramid of Virgin dreams published by Rupa is IAS officer Vipul Mittra's first work of fiction and is a witty, satiric description of the life of Kartikeya Kukreja, the protagonist of the book, who sees life around him in a quirky manner.
A NEW book written by a bureaucrat is making waves amongst the youth. Pyramid of Virgin dreams published by Rupa is IAS officer Vipul Mittra's first work of fiction and is a witty, satiric description of the life of Kartikeya Kukreja, the protagonist of the book and a bureaucrat, who sees life around him in a quirky, sardonic manner. Q : How does it feel to have your book published after the efforts of 10 years? Vipul : It feels incredible. There was a time when i had felt that the story in my head would be lost in the cloud of work. But i kept penning down. So, even though it took me a decade, the story survived and descended on to the laptop. Q : Who/What is the main inspiration behind the book? Vipul : My own experiences to a large extent. And the creative urge that perhaps existed before I joined the Service and has lingered on till date. Q: How similar is the protagonist of your book Kartikeya Kukreja to Vipul Mittra? Vipul : Some similarities are inevitable. But largely it is a fiction. I am just a story teller, who has woven the story around some real life happenings. I think most fiction draws from reality. As they say fact is stranger than fiction. The 'Pyramid of Virgin Dreams' is also an inter mesh between a large dose of story with bits and pieces of reality sprinkled around here and there. Q : What kind of research did you do for your book? Vipul : Introspection and observation I would say, rather than research. Things, stories, characters, events and fiction floats around us all the time. We just have to observe, capture and take up the back breaking effortful journey to translate it on paper. Q : Was the humour in book difficult to achieve, or did it arrive naturally during the storytelling process? Vipul : There is so much humour and satire around us, particularly in the public lives that we lead. One has to stop taking life too seriously and start seeing humour in day to day situations. Then the fun just flows in. Q : Why did you choose the title Pyramid of Virgin Dreams for this novel? Vipul : Bureaucracy is a pyramid. Anywhere. It is narrow from top and broad from bottom. Virgin dreams basically connotes unfulfilled aspirations. So when we join any career or system, all of us have certain desires, wishes and aspirations that remain unfulfilled. As youth we all feel we are going to conquer the world. So the unconquered things are the virgin dreams. When we conjure them up vertically as we go along, it becomes the pyramid of virgin dreams. Q : What advice do you have for readers who would not like to see their dreams die virgin? Vipul : Follow your dreams. Or at least write about them. That's what this book is about. Each chapter starts with a dream sequence and then juxtaposes to reality. The story oscillates like a pendulum between reality and dream. Q : What is tough, writing or being a IAS? Vipul : Writing while being an IAS is the toughest. Q : If there is a single thing you set out to achieve in your writing, how would you describe it? Vipul : It is just a story telling exercise. For once, without any effort to achieve or sermonise. Q : You have mentioned very interesting details about rural/small town India, how much does your personal travelling influenced the same? Vipul : To a large extent I would say. I try to observe things around me. And express is creatively. Q : Did any of your characters surprise you while writing? Vipul : Revati surprised me. That is totally imaginary. I still wonder where she hibernated all this while and sprang out suddenly to fill the dreams of the protagonist. Q : Tell us about the young Vipul Mittra. The one before IAS. Vipul : Serious student, quiet, a bit aloof, focussed , driven and generally happy. Q : What's next? Vipul : No plans. There has to be a story bubbling in the brain before it can be doled out. Let's see. Stories build around us all the time. I am looking for the next one already. But no plans as such.
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