Indian-born Richard Crasta shot into the limelight over a decade ago with his debut novel The Revised Kama Sutra.
A raunchy, hilarious and witty book, it has been published in eight countries and 11 languages.
Since then, Crasta, who gave up a prestigious job with the Indian civil services to study creative writing in the US, has written six more books.
The latest, The Killing of An Author, is a bold and candid account of his experiences with publishers. Excerpts from an interview with the New York-based writer:
There seems to be an autobiographical element in your books — particularly in “The Revised Kama Sutra'' and “The Killing of An Author''. Are they autobiographical?
As someone said: “All writing is autobiographical.'' I would probably say the best and most original and heartfelt creative writing is autobiographical.
But that doesn't mean there isn't creativity involved and that the autobiographical element doesn't vary from book to book. If I am writing a book about how to build a house, the autobiographical element is smaller and it is smaller still in a book on algebra.
For example, The Killing of An Author is a literary autobiography, most of it recorded contemporaneously and with the kind of detail that makes it unlikely to be challenged.
The Revised Kama Sutra is fiction, so the scope for invention is vast. I bring myself to all my books, which is what gives them their passion and makes them uniquely mine and [makes me] proud to say: “Nobody else could have written these books.''
Also, your books have references to sex, including words and phrases explicitly related to sex. Why this fixation?
Sex is an important part of life. Now even a conservative magazine such as Reader's Digest tells you how health-giving sex is.
The more you repress sex, the greater is its power. One sees this in history and I grew up with a repressive childhood.
The idea that there are evil parts of the body or evil words is a learned idea: Shakespeare used a number of sexual jokes in his plays.
So did James Joyce. I think feeling relaxed with sexual words can be healthy and liberating. Let us not be afraid of words made by human beings. Language is rich and beautiful. Let us not use only a part of it.
Do you think publishers ignored “The Killing of An Author'' because it was a direct attack at them?
Well, that could be an obvious reason. But the way things go, sometimes, contrarian thinking can work.
I still think that a publisher could publish this book to prove to the world that they are not hypocrites insisting on critical debate in other areas of life but not theirs.
After the experiences with publishers, are you still keen on writing books? What could we expect next?
I am very keen on writing books. I am finishing five books — three novels [and] two non-fiction books. But I need financing desperately and I don't want to publish them myself.
Do you feel part of the larger expat community of writers in the United States? Could you share your experience of being a writer there?
Unfortunately not, except at times. I am a member of PEN New York. But in America, it is still a matter of how successful you are — in money and fame. If you are, everyone wants to bond with you and be your friend.
What does it mean to be an Indian writer abroad or perhaps a writer in the diaspora?
It has given me a dual perspective. It does help in seeing India partly as a foreigner sees it, and, of course, the Indian history and view is always inside you.
Why do you write and what has writing given you?
I think I always wanted to be a writer and I couldn't have been anything but a writer: the drive comes [from] within.
I cannot think of a specific external influence that made me take up writing, except that I was encouraged by a priest during my college days, when I was 16.
That was the time I found I could easily win essay competitions and impress examiners with my writing style.
I think the original inspiration came much earlier, from within, when I was 10 and wrote an atrocious ultra-short novel, which I would later describe as a short novella.
What has writing given me? Writing has made me poor, financially, but I know I would have been bored doing something else. So it is a privilege to have expressed the soul of my people [and] my community.
Could you comment on India's literary scene, specifically, Indians writing in English?
Much of my commentary on Indians writing in English is in two books, Impressing the Whites and The Killing of An Author.
I couldn't condense it in a few sentences — it wouldn't be fair. But I feel we have been manipulated by the West — we are often not true to ourselves as a result of writing for Western publishers and the big bucks.
We do have hugely talented writers though and much to contribute.
Stanley Carvalho is a journalist based in Bangalore, India
