1. Tell us something about your book?
The
Silent Scream tries to take up a sensitive issue of
child sexual abuse which people normally turn a blind eye to even though it
persists nationwide. It is a sincere effort to throw some light on the highly
sensitive and serious problem that continually affects the life of many in the
society but most of the cases die a silent death with the individual. Forget
justice, the plight of the individual is more often than not kept in the dark
for the sake of preserving their honor and position in the society.
The book encapsulates Harshita’s story primarily, but
also narrates the story of ten other child abuse victims, to make the reader
aware of the many ways a child can be abused. It later on tries to throw some
light on awakening the senses of people against these criminals and empowering
women in India so as to help and make the nation a better place to live in. An
earnest effort is also made to help develop awareness by providing a few
crucial points that should be taken care of by all concerned to avoid falling
into such terrible situations.
In short, this book can become a ready guide to create
awareness about this rampantly growing evil and sensitise everyone regarding
the ways child sex abusers operate. A humble effort is also made to counsel the
victims and provide insights to them on how they can make their life better and
also carry their war against this menace so that other innocent souls are
saved.
2. How did you select this title?
The
title came in the last, random! It could actually relate to the plight of
victims who suffer a lot and actually relates to the situation of our
protagonist in the book.
3. What inspired you to write this?
The
mother of the victim, the bravest lady I have ever known in my life. Let alone
her daughter who is the victim here, when I could feel the intense pain in the
story while she narrated it to me word by word expecting me to share it with
the world with a vision to bring about a change and awareness of the common
people, it is needless to say how difficult it would have been for her to
suffer the same in the first place.
4. How does it feel to be a writer?
A
little Ecstatic and a lot Relieved! I had a remorse of not being able to
contribute anything towards my nation, towards this world other than just
keeping myself glued to the TV set and witnessing the menaces like that of
Nirbhaya. The changes don’t come around by just talking about them, we got to
step forward and initiate a step towards their eradication. Today, when
somebody asks me why were you not there on the road protesting for Nirbhaya, I
can proudly say, I was busy writing this book.
Writing
actually helps you to shed off a lot of frustration, anger, love and pain at a
minimal cost of a pen and paper.
5. What is your biggest strength when
it comes to writing?
Although
that is one question I leave for my readers to decide, I feel that I have
learnt a lot from the feedback that I have received from the avid readers and
the experienced bloggers. I have learnt to put things to paper in an unbiased
form. I keep them neutral and let the readers decide their own emotions about a
particular incident. I, though, am still thriving hard to try and have my
readers attach to my writings in a way that they can live it through my words.
6. Share some of your interesting
memories you lived while writing this book.
Interesting?
Ok! Difficult to say; a topic like child sexual abuse gives you very little
opportunities to have a smile on your face. But one good thing it did to me was
it motivated me to meet a lot of kids. Kids who were abused, kids who are
orphans, kids who desire to study and kids who are too innocent to even realise
what are they up to. In the midst of all the pain and heart wrenching stories
all around, I happened to come across Arya Orphanage in Delhi. It is a home for
thousands of homeless and orphan children. Having spent some quality time with
them and realising with whatever I earn I could probably afford to make the
life of one child better and I adopted a girl called Preeti. She still lives
with them but I take care of her studies. I love my time with her.
7. What do you understand by child
abuse?
I
believe that Child abuse, one of the many
problems that persist in India today, is arguably one of the filthiest ones. Of
late, we have heard a lot of instances of children being exploited but the most
gruesome abuse occurring in and around the nation is child sex abuse. The term
may sound too demeaning and give you goose bumps but it is in fact a very
sensitive issue which needs to be addressed on a broader platform and so it led
to the creation of “The Silent Scream”.
8. Do you think a father fighting with
mother in front of a child is a form of child abuse indirectly?
Definitely!
Let us understand the fact that the abuse is not limited to physical harm to a
person or a child. In fact the abuse is more related to the persecution of
mind, the thoughts of the other person and when that person is someone as
innocent as a child, the impact is severe and long lasting. An important aspect
that I have emphasized on in the book is bonding in a parent child relationship
and winning the child’s trust. When a child sees his parents fighting he loses
a lot more than trust. The child can’t look forward to discuss their problems
or share their secrets with them easily. In fact at times, it may also lead to
the situation where the child may start looking out for harmony outside his
house and gets involved in undesirable stuff. They have a tender heart, you got
to handle it with care, utmost care.
9. How was it working with Rumour Books
India?
Brilliant!
They came to my rescue and believed in my work when everyone else wanted
another Ravinder Singh or Chetan Bhagat. It’s difficult for publishing
industries to entertain new faces with the kind of competition they are facing
of late and with a story like that of The Silent Scream, the genre doesn’t
really suit the Indian audience as much, as they put it. It has a limited
reach, they told me. But Rumour Books and I believed that the Indian readers
could not be restricted in a boundary of genres and they would welcome anything
that is good. Today, I can proudly say that we were right. I have had some
lovely feedbacks about the book.
10. Do you think author’s conversations
and events are important for a book’s promotion?
I
think so. Though I am new to industry, I believe that it is very important for
the writers to connect with their audience. It gives readers a sense of
confidence (they would also know the face they would require to buy the rotten
tomatoes for, haha!). I personally like to get in touch with my readers, know
their reviews; they are the best motivators and the ultimate source where I can
learn the most from. They shall help me overcome my flaws and help me write
better. Plus in a world where more than 1000 books are published every month,
it is very difficult for a new author to create his mark unless he goes out and
connect with people. You got to be J.K. Rowling to sit back home and expect the
readers to come looking out for your work.
11. What is your least favourite part of
the writing process?
To
be honest, naming the characters in your book unless you are willing to put in
the real ones! Sometimes it takes me days to come up with a suitable name for
my characters, though it seems pretty random but they are not selected
erratically. There has to be a reason for most of them.
12. Describe your writing style in ten
words or less.
Apt,
precise and unbiased and most importantly, an effort towards a change!
13. What are some things you like to do
when you’re not writing?
I
am full time software engineer and a technical job gives me very less time to
spare. I still find out time to persue my MBA efficiently and I love to teach
so, I have been teaching students for past six years now. Talk of leisure, I am
a movie freak!
14. Do you think that writing about this
topic can actually be of some help?
All
I can say at the moment is, the intent was true. How people react to it is
still very unpredictable. One thing I am sure of is writing about this topic is
going to help more than keeping mum about it did.
15. How do you feel when someone
disagrees with something you say or have written?
I
say wow, that’s a perspective. Why didn’t I think of that? Then I involve
myself in a friendly debate with that person with intent to convince or get
convinced. I welcome all the critics as an opportunity to improve, given they
are put in a respectable form.
16. Tell us something about your future
projects.
I
have pledged to keep writing on topics that touch with social issues, the
topics that everyone criticize, talks about in their rooms and the topics that
are considered taboo in our society. I want to eradicate unrealistic taboos and
strengthen the position of women and children in our society. I am currently
working on two books simultaneously, Maya – is a true story that narrates the
trials and tribulations of a male survivor and “Not Just a Love Story” – is a
kind of twisted love story, more of a murder mystery and thriller.
17. Was this path difficult to tread on
or a smooth ride?
Very
difficult I must say, but when you love something you don’t give up on it. The
most difficult part is finding publishers, especially when you are new to the
industry. Sometimes it takes more number of years in convincing a publisher to
publish your work than it takes to research on a book and write on it. The key
is to be patient and learning to accept the rejection; as a author you will get
numerous of them.
18. Lastly, is there a message you would
like to convey your readers?
And
now, before we end this session, how about a snippet from the book that is
meant to intrigue and tantalize us:
This
appears as part of the book blurb, so that the reader is tempted to get a copy...
"Child abuse,
one of the many problems that persist in India today, is arguably the
filthiest. Of late, we have heard of instances of children being exploited but
the most gruesome abuse is child sex abuse. The Silent Scream takes up this
issue which people normally turn a blind eye towards. Through the subtlety
quoted instances mentioned in this narrative non-fiction we are exposed to the
disturbing lives of child predators and their innocent, young unassuming
victims.
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