'A writer's first audience...'

"I just got off the auto rickshaw on MG Road and bumped into a student I used to jam with," smiles Amitabha Bagchi. While he enjoys playing the drums, he can't quite relate to the heavy metal music that Gen Now plays. "I used to listen to Aerosmith a lot in the 1990s. Now it's west African pop, jazz and qawaalis . And yes for old time's sake, I do listen to Neil Young and Led Zeppelin ," says Amitabha.
Jamming with students aside, Amitabha draws inspiration from these real life characters for his writing. "I've noticed that there are two categories of students - the good and the no good. And when people realise that you are good, there is the weight of expectation from your family and friends. Along the way, you internalise these expectations and keep striving to do better," says Amitabha who, after a rigorous spell of talent search exams, an engineering degree and a post doc came back to work as an assistant professor at IIT. And perhaps this is also why his characters are based on real people he's known and met along the way. "But the main plots in my story are fictional ," he adds.
If a writer draws inspiration from books, then Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyaa's Pather Panchali and William Saroyan's An Armenian Trilogy are Amitabha's idea of stories well told.
"Although there are a lot of other things going around, reading is still a core activity. And each book you read influences you differently . As an author, my job is to write and there is a mixed response to my writing . Some find it relevant or interesting and others may not relate to it at all," says Amitabha.
And does an Indian writing in English appeal to an international audience? "Yes, more so now than earlier . Then, writers used to talk a great deal about spinning the language the Indian way. Today, writers don't talk about it, they just do it. But always, a writer's first audience must be his or her own people, then his writing can also be appreciated across cultures. Like Siddhartha Deb and Chetan Bhagat writing for international audiences," says Amitabha.
What about Bangalore? "Bangaloreans are very stylish. And you can't expect weather like this in May in Delhi. You can fry eggs on the roof back home now."
For the future, Amitabha plans more writing. "It'll be very different from my first book," he smiles.