Siddharth Chowdhury in Time Out Delhi, the Books Issue, (25 January-7 Feb):

Here are my three commandments for young writers.

1) ‘Writing Fiction is not for the faint-hearted. The mortality rate is higher than that of Test pilots.’ A then 40-year-old enfant terrible of Indo-Anglian writing, in his cups, told me this once at his own book launch. To prove his point, he then promptly ambled over and jumped into the fountain of the British Council Charbagh. He survived. But I never forgot the line and trot it out to any young writer who asks me about the ‘writerly’ life, hoping to shake them out of their heads-in-the-cloud existence for a bit. It is a good line I feel. Good because it is true. The world does not like storytellers. It has worries enough of its own. The earliest that young writers learn that, the less heartbreak they will encounter.
Do an MBA, join a bank, become a doctor or a lawyer but for god’s sake only become a storyteller when your tongue can really taste the bitter tang of your ambition. The bitterness will set the tongue free. You can shout then. A skin thicker than Sourav’s is a better accessory to have in this game than a pair of Timberlands. You will undergo years of apathy and downright boot-in-the-face humiliation but you can’t back down because that is what you do. You should realize at the outset that you will never be as rich as Arundhati (for one you wouldn’t have the talent let alone the cheekbones for it) and if you ever wish to secede in your despair, nobody would give a fuck. If things like not owning an SUV worry you then you should get out of the writing game while there is still time. We certainly do not need any more alcoholics and potential suicides in South Delhi. But hopefully you will persevere and manage to publish an anthology of poems/stories or a novel which will get decent notices and you will have your short stay in the winter sun. Which believe me can be quite bracing all things considered, as I recently found out when an old friend called me up from Patna. She told me that one of the mandatory questions these days in quiz shows in Patna is ‘Who is the author of Patna Roughcut?’ and even before I could utter a smug but innocent ‘Really?’, my friend casually informed me, ‘They rarely ever get it right. The audience invariably shouts back “Amitava Kumar”.’ So there you go.

2) ‘Talent is a good start.’ This is the second commandment. I like this line because it seems like something that Naipaul would say on a day he was feeling unduly generous. Maybe he even did. Who knows. But anyway it is true. Try and judge yourself against the present crop of usual suspects and be as ruthless and dispassionate with your own stuff as you would be with theirs. Compare and evaluate. Do not trust your parents or girlfriends when they tell you that you are the new Rajkamal Jha [for one you wouldn’t have the talent let alone the hair for it]. Parents are usually clueless about talent. Ditto with girlfriends. But do not start with Salman. That will lead to more heartbreak. Start with Siddharth, any Siddharth and gently upgrade. When you are absolutely sure (which you would be) that you have talent, then just keep on writing. Do not then worry about Commitment, Metropolis or Small Towns, Reclusive or Party Animal Behaviour, Kake da Dhaba or Market Café. Leave all that to posterity. As for Authenticity, do not even go there. You write in English, you poor fool, you will always be inauthentic. Ask anyone. You are ‘elite’. So what if you cant pay your rent on time. Might as well start enjoying it. Just follow the story to wherever it takes you. Before sending anything out do at least 10 drafts and even then keep asking yourself whether the unsuspecting world is ready for this. And then if the answer in your heart is an unequivocal ‘yes’ (which it will be), by all means send it out. Three months later when the manuscript comes back to you tired and limp from its first gang bang, just curse the publisher and send it to another one the very same day. Wipe the blood and change the wrapping though. When it is rejected couple of more times and you can’t take it anymore, pray to St Pankaj of Def Col for arbitration. Don’t sit around moping. Show some spirit, dear boy.

3) ‘Never listen to older writers.’ The third and final commandment. Abide by this and let the other two go for a toss. You will be less dysfunctional this way. Do your own thing. Always.

Siddharth Chowdhury is the author of Diksha at St Martin’s and Patna Roughcut. He is working on a short novel.

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