INTERNATIONAL AWARD WINNING AUTHOR OF SRI LANKA PRAMUDITH D. RUPASINGHE CONSIDERS THAT FICTION IS THE DOORWAY TO INFINITE SKY OF IMAGINATION
PRAMUDITH D. RUPASINGHE
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| BAYAN |
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| BEHIND THE ECLIPSE |
BRIEF PROFILE OF THE AUTHOR:
Internationally Published Novelist/Author but a Humanitarian by
profession, Pramudith D. Rupasinghe served in Asia, Europe, Africa and the
Middle East for almost two decades. He embarked on his writing career,
following his short story collection “Footprints in Obscurity” (2015) based on
his visits to 29 territories in the African continent. The following year
(2016), he published his first work of full-length fiction, “Behind the
Eclipse”— a story set in the context of the West African Ebola Crisis. As the
winner of the “Laureate of the Golden Aster Award for Global Literature—2020”
for his historical fiction “Bayan”, Pramudith has explored new horizons in
writing, with his unique writing style, “writing without borders” by being
physically present in the places where his stories take place.
SOCIAL MEDIA INFLUENCE:
Author page: Pramudith D. Rupasinghe (57k reach)
https://www.facebook.com/Writerwithoutborders
Page for Behind the Eclipse: (20k reach)
https://www.facebook.com/behindtheeclipse
Page for Bayan (10k reach)
https://www.facebook.com/booksofpramudithdrupasinghe
Page writing journey of the submitted book She Who Became the
Moon (3.3k reach)
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063561004791
Email:pramudith.rupasinghe@icloud.com
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Q What is your specific field of writing? Are there any specific
reasons for choosing this field?
When I have the immense ocean to swim, why should I sit on the
safer coast and get burns? Fiction gives the writer, an infinite landscape for
expression and imagination. Fiction is more truthful to the writer than the fact-based
non-fiction. I first started with a collection of short stories, “Footprints in
Obscurity”. Then after my first work of fiction “Behind the Eclipse”, I realized
that I have the infinite sky and immense ocean to operate and that there was
much more originality in fiction. So, I fell in love with “fiction”. Fiction
writing simulates our creativity more than any other genre. However, I must
highlight that no genre is superior to the other. As writers, we have
preferences and personal reasons for choosing what we do. As a reader, I read almost
everything: poetry, non-fiction and fiction.
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Q I understand that your famous book "Bayan” is an award
winning work. Do you consider it as your best book? When and how did you get
the idea about writing this book and what difficulties were experienced by you
during this period?
I do not consider Bayan as my best book, especially for a wider
readership. It is one of my works with a wired tone and an unorthodox
presentation. But it is one of my literary experiments in attempting to fuse
culture, age and language (Russian) as key style-defining factors of a novel. However,
it was a difficult piece of work to write, and it's not a reader-friendly book
either. Many can't relate its story to
their lives and the narration is fragmented, just like an old man talks. But
what I hear from the readers is that those familiar with the context love the
book. It is an absolute contrast to the soviet stories we have been reading for
ages, and that it does not have heroes, heroines, winning or defeat. It does
not hurt anyone or make you laugh; that is how the old age is passed. And the
language, though it is written in English, flows like Ukrainian and Russian,
sometimes Spanish, matching the native languages of the characters. On top of
that, I think I have tried to depict, through language, how the cognitive
process works in old age. So, without a bit of awareness of the background, it
could be a monotonous and slow read. I did not even think that the book would
ever be noticed among my other works. However, Bayan has become a landmark in
my career and a reality, forecast in 2018 about today's Ukraine.
I have been to Ukraine a couple of times and I write by being
physically in the places where my stories are set. I was in the east of Ukraine,
a few months after the annexation of Crimea, followed by the onset of the
Donbas crisis. There I learnt that there
was a generation whose life remained sandwiched between old soviet times and
modern-day socio-political dynamics and that it would be severely affected by
the growing nationalism and potential Russian invasion; the elderly.
Since the very beginning, writing Bayan has been an uphill walk
due to one particular reason. I had to be in the shoes of a 73-year-old
Ukrainian man during the entire writing process. I was 37. We can just imagine that I was in a constant
battle dealing with the bias of my age, culture, ambitions etc. Bayan compelled
me to live almost two years in the skin of an elderly and now, I know how I
would feel at that age. Every writing experience transforms the writer. I can't
deny that.
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Q When & how do you get the ideas & do you record them
immediately somewhere? On an average, what is the timeframe to complete one
book, in all respects?
Ideas are always there, all the time. They are spontaneous. But,
I do record them; I always have my moleskin and a pencil with me. Further, I am
a plantser, but a little closer to a pantser. I don't remember when I had a
complete sketch for work or built characters separately. All I know is that I
write the first few chapters. That surely takes a lot of psychic energy out of
me. Then the characters are alive. Thereafter, I create situations for them to
act and react. They tell the rest of the story. So, I do not decide the pace of
the writing process. In my opinion, there
is no such thing called a "time frame" that can be applied to
literature. A good story takes its time to mature. Similarly a book takes its
time to become lean and well-crafted and this may average around 3 -5 years,
till it reaches my agent.
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Q Do you agree with the observation that many writers are keeping
writing as a secondary occupation? What is it that draws them towards the field
of "Writing”?
That is a tough question to answer. I do acknowledge that, in
many countries, especially in South Asia, though we have the highest number of
readers, writing is not financially sustainable for many writers. That is the
reason why many writers still hesitate to give hundred per cent of their time
to writing; most of them do it as their secondary job. However, it’s slowly
changing now. But we should not visualize the dollar notes under our empty
notebook before we write the first letter on it. We should do justice to the
story and the characters, maintain an unbroken integrity to our work and then
the story will take us to, where we should be.
Fame and name do come with the work we do. I believe that those
who have done notable work, irrespective of where they are based or where they
have come from, have managed to leave their footprints in the global literary
landscape. It is undeniable that a good number of influential writers have
emerged from South Asia.
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Q Which aspects motivate you to write books?
So far, I have written stories that were set outside my culture,
of people who didn’t represent me. What really kept me going thus far, were the
cultures and the people. I love exploring the diversity among us as human beings.
On top of that, I often have the chance to be in places where people face
events and situations beyond normal, natural disasters, conflicts etc. A
combination of the above mentioned points has defined my writing, not just the
source of motivation or aspiration. All my stories talk about issues that are
least spoken about. They are the voices of the voiceless. A story written in
simple language, set most proximate to reality, with vivid imagery and a convincing
tone, is a good advocate. It moves us. It opens our eyes. It silently fights
the devil in us. It transforms us. It can mobilize mass. I believe in it. If
the above-mentioned, contains at least half the truth, that itself is a reason
to write.
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Q Has Facebook helped you in any way, in your writing career or even
otherwise? If yes, please elucidate.
I have a significant presence on social media and a good number
of followers. First of all, not only the number of followers on Facebook but
also on any social media is not a measure of our success as a writer. Only a
percentage of those followers are our readers. Social media helps to spread the
good work we do and to talk to the world with influence. So, it does help our
writing career in terms of our voice being heard by many. This is the good side. At the same time, the
higher the number of followers, the more we need to be cautious of how we communicate
with the external world. It is not about our reputation. It is about how we healthily
interact with a larger diverse readership and use our influence in a
constrictive and non-intrusive manner.
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Q How are you able to divide the available time between management
of home, your writing career, and various other works?
I used to work as a full-time humanitarian professional till
2017. However in late 2017; I felt that I needed more time to be invested in
writing, as I found it where I belonged to. Now, I work a few months a year,
and the rest of my time is fully dedicated to family and writing. I am talking
about seven to eight months a year. It is a conscious decision taken in consultation
with my spouse. I have multiple writing spaces at home where I often spend the
mornings, to write, while others are asleep. I rarely write in the evening hours,
unless I choose to go out to write. So, basically, now, I’m gradually making my
transition to a full-time writing career where I have to choose time slots for
family and writing, which is less complicated than writing while doing another
job.
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Q If you were not a writer, in what other way, you would have
expressed your creativity?
I can’t imagine another way of expression. It could probably be painting.
I was very fond of painting as a child. But writing is my best form of
expression. It is pathetic to note that in the school setting in Sri Lanka,
neither literature nor other forms of art are seen as pathways to
professions. And the parents and
teachers often push children into a world where there is unhealthy competition.
They even compete among the siblings, for examination-focused education, aiming
at careers they think are lucrative e.g. lawyers, doctors, managers and
engineers. The old generation can’t imagine a success without competition and a
world beyond an office. However, I am very contented that I explored my passion
and made the much-needed transition in my mid-thirties.
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Q What is your opinion about e-books? Due to this concept of
e-books, is the survival of printed books in future in jeopardy?
I personally do not read e-books. These do not have that feel of
printed books. That is my preference as a reader. I often try to prevent
screens as much as possible. But, as a writer, I understand the dynamics of the
world, the people and finally my readership. I can’t say “no” or fight against
the e-book culture; that is where the wind is heading, but it can’t sweep every
tree standing in its way. I do not think that printed books will disappear.
There is still a good readership for printed books. We should not be anxious
about the new technology or shifts in the field, as long as, we meet our final
goal viz. our stories reaching out to our readers.
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Q What are your future plans for writing books?
My first story set in the Indian subcontinent is on the way. It
is about human resilience and the pursuit of dreams through the life of a girl,
who had fallen into the hands of human traffickers after her father’s death and
was sold to one of the world’s largest brothel villages, “Kandapara”. This book
will hopefully be out for the readers towards mid-2023. That piece of work “She
Who Became the Moon” is already on the way. After all these years, I have decided
to set a story in my country. It will take my writing time in 2023 or perhaps
2024 as well.
-----------------------vijaiksharma
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