The Magical Two Words for Any Writer – THE END

I was spammed, I was scammed, I was propositioned, offered pleasures, offered treasures, criticised, derided, laughed at, when I was writing it. I carried on regardless, writing I mean. I have numerous critics who doubt my writing abilities, to whom I thumb my nose and say, I am not perfect, but that I can write is no longer in doubt. One even had the audacity to suggest, “Pal, do your job and go home and watch television,” or something such. Well, the boor and the simian that he is, I have proved him wrong. One of my bosses said I am very stubborn. That I am.

Yesterday, I wrote the most magical two words a writer can ever write – THE END.  Two words at the end of a lot of pain, sweat and struggle. Oh, I forgot, self-doubt. Yes, I doubted myself most of the time. Of course as the masthead of this blog says, “A work of art is never finished, it is abandoned,” I don’t have the heart to abandon my work. At least, yet. I wrote those two words after working the whole day yesterday, a Sunday, taking breaks only to eat and visit the loo. By evening the last two chapters were done. Then I went for a long walk, in earlier days I would have made a drink, but I am a teetotaller now, so no drinks. My novel, my second baby, is complete, the first being a still-born. Though, not complete in all respects, but complete nevertheless except for the editing and the fine tuning. The name tentatively is “Mr. Bandookwala, M.B.A., Harvard” and is an extension of a short story I had written some time ago. You can read the short story, a link of which appears in the right hand bot of my blog. What’s it about? It’s about a brilliant Harvard graduate who comes to India to find himself a misfit. He gets mugged and thrown out of the train and is caught in the defining and traumatic moments of the Bombai terror attacks. I wrote hard as if I will never write another novel again. Ever. It is a seminal and distinctive work, which will, naturally, rake up some controversies. But a writer can’t avoid controversies in his life. Can he? Can she? I will put up a synopsis soon. Meanwhile, publisher friends, agent friends, anyone interested?