Authors' surprise for readers on Durga Puja

WHILE DURGA Puja means something special for a Bengali family, it is also time for authors to offer their best products to the discerning public – these authors are booked well in advance by their publishers who never forget to send the cheques in advance.

The themes might or might not be spelt out to them in advance; the subject is usually left to their individual choice, especially, for those who are the best selling authors. It is not unusual to find them poring over books in major libraries to gather authentic information required to churn a novel where history plays a crucial role. They keep their counsel to themselves and wait to spring surprises on the readers. The novels find pride of place in the annual Puja special issues of magazines and are subsequently converted into books.

Nowadays, these seldom reach cinema screens or for the authors to travel to some distant village and stay there among tribals for a couple of months to familiarise with the people, the surroundings and the atmosphere so that these can be suitably converted into another bestseller.

A problem that added to their experience is to pen the thoughts in a way that is understandable to the modern generation. With the tremendous reach of the Internet the vocabulary is getting littered with new words that have funny meanings. The authors of earlier vintage have seen the mobile phones, even used them, but when it comes to translating these into Internet lingo, they are at sea. Chat rooms, buddies, favourites and SMSs are like Latin and Greek to them.

Still, they try to do their bit to propagate their thoughts and in the bargain, their efforts do not always find takers. But, being established names, they refuse to let go the reins.

Some of these one-time great authors love to travel down memory lane – they write from personal experiences. Others fall back on age-old themes like the problems of becoming old – their heroes are like themselves, spent forces and always are disappointed with life in general and with the present day crowds. They sigh over lost opportunities to earn the sympathies of the readers. A couple of years back, most of the novels in one of the most popular annual numbers had most of the heroes in this category. These novels throw up the perennial struggle for survival of the seniors as they try to come to terms with the sons who have migrated to foreign shores and the daughter-in-law who is never able to understand just how to take care of these seniors who possess a different set of values. sour ce: http://www.merinews.com