Tokyo Cancelled

On Off The Shelf we speak to Rana Dasgupta, the writer who has set literary circuits ablaze with his debut 'Tokyo Cancelled'.

'Tokyo Cancelled' is slated to be the next big thing in the literary world. And its author Rana Dasgupta is doing the global rounds for the launch.

Despite his hectic schedule, Rana took the time to join our Producer Deepika Shetty on 'Off The Shelf' from London.

Here are excerpts from that exclusive conversation:

Q : Tell us what your critically acclaimed debut is all about?
A : My book is about 13 passengers who find themselves trapped in an airport on their way to Tokyo, hence the title. They spend their time telling stories to each other to pass the night. So the book consists of 13 stories, one from each of several cities around the world - Tokyo, Shenzhen, New Delhi and spreading out across Frankfurt, Paris, London, Tokyo etc. Its a book that's an attempt to come up with a collection of contemporary urban fairy tales - stories that use the comfortable, familiar language of the fairytales we all grew up with. But it tries to use that language to talk about issues of contemporary significance. It talks of technology, business and about things that make people most joyous and fearful to be living at this point in time.

Q : Why an airport setting? Do you view it is a place of hope, a place to get away from the gritty reality of everyday life?
A : Well, I think airports offer lots of interesting potential for somebody thinking about writing. The airport especially in my book, when the flight is cancelled and the passengers are forced to spend the night just filling time, becomes a space where they are completely removed from their ordinary lives. So its a place for them to fill with their imagination. It's a place that invites stories. It's also a place where they have no common language to speak of, so they look within themselves for a fundamental language of fairy tales, with which they start to form a connection with where they are. The other thing about airports is that they are a place of meeting. Of strangers meeting each other, of people coming together from all parts of the world. So they are a kind of node in a global network that allows your imagination to flow out around the world and think about what it means to be living in an interconnected world of travel and experience.

Q : So what brings the characters together in your book given the varied places they are from. What's the one thing that ties them?
A : I feel the one thing that ties them in the airport is that they make a pact with each other to pass the night telling stories. What binds them together is the fact they all enter into this pact willingly. What's exciting or utopian about this book is the fact that when this group of 13 passengers are asked to imagine and to tell wonderful stories they are all able to come up with something miraculously fantastic. What binds them is this shared experience of deciding to spend time imagining and narrating stories that are significant to them. And there are lots of themes that run through these shared stories - these are themes of travel and being an outsider in society.

Q : What about the structure of these stories?
A : The structure of the book is that of fairy tales. The wonderful thing about fairy stories is that you usually have the very recognisable familiar space of a small town with a King and a Queen, a Prince and a Princess, a market - and all this little world of order. Outside this you also have the world of the forest and the forest contains all kinds of threatening figures - witches and ogres - so it is a mysterious and vaguely uncanny world. When you transpose all this onto contemporary life the same language can be used to talk about businessmen, movie stars and all these kind of figures and characters. In the forest of contemporary life we also find illegal immigrants, migrant labourers and various types of people living outside the rules of society for reasons of their own choosing or for other reasons. So the fairy tale structure is one that allows to you to sort of embrace a very large range of people who make up our contemporary world.

Q : Now one of the stories in the book was written as a birthday gift. You've been quoted as saying this one took on a different direction, which direction was it?
A : That's right, it all began as you rightly pointed out as a birthday present. And the story that got it all going is the first story in the book. It took on a different direction because I started to write about something that excited me. It was this combination of fairy tale structures and contemporary life and it started to excite me to write something that would be a whole body of fairy tales. I wanted to write a body of myth that would powerfully address some of the issues that we as people living in the 21st century experience.

Q : Tokyo Cancelled has been called the 'Canterbury Tales for our times', 'an epic story', 'a timeless fairytale.'
That almost sounds like a dream come true for any author. How does it make you feel?
A : Obviously, good criticism is great to read. What's most exciting though is when I read criticism that shows that this book has really entered into the thoughts and feelings of somebody and has made them experience the world differently. Good reviews that have not really engaged with the book are less satisfying than bad reviews that really have.

Q : What made you move to New Delhi in India. You are now based there. Why India?
A: I moved to New Delhi four years ago from the United States. I was doing a corporate job there and was getting a little bored of that, partly because I'd also started work on my book and wanted to spend more time on it. I moved to Delhi to be with a group of friends who I thought would be very inspiring to have around while I was working on my book. Of course, financial reasons played a role in that decision too. I could afford to live in Delhi and write. Doing writing alone was something that I could not afford to do in New York. It was an experiment at first, I was supposed to stay there for just three months but I ended up staying on. I find Delhi an enormously fascinating place to be located in and to look out at the rest of the world.

Q : You just mentioned you were in the corporate world, you were a marketing professional to be precise. How did writing happen?
A : I was working for a marketing company for about five years before I started writing. That took me to Kuala Lumpur, London, then New York. Moving around these places gave me an immense experience of the world. But by the end of the time, I really wanted to do something else. I'd started writing this book, pretty much for myself and my immediate circle of friends. Once a body of this work was ready, I sent it off to an agent in London and he loved it. Six months later, I went on a round of six publishing firms, three of them bid for it and I came to an agreement with one of them. That was pretty much it.
Though I must admit that my life in business has found its way very significantly in this book. In its examination of global life, all the effects and experience of business is quite important. I am not one of those writers who thinks business is a very unliterary kind of thing. I find business very exciting and interesting as a subject. So there's a lot of my former life in this book

Q : And you've started working on your next novel. What's that about?
A : It takes further some of the themes in 'Tokyo Cancelled'. But its very focused on the future and it explores the relationship between the past and the future. Lot of imaginations of the future are very terrifying, I'm exploring all of this and looking at rumours and visions, amnesia and prophecy. It's about an old man who is blind and who is receiving visions of the future. It's a kind of exploration of some of the emotions we feel when we think about what is going to happen in the world.

Q : What are the key influences on your work?
A : My writing is above all influenced by conversations with people, particularly the artists and writers that surround me in Delhi. Then its travel.
I tend to prefer the kind of wisdom that comes from travel than the kind that comes from staying in one place. And then of course there is culture - art and films are the significant things for me. And the internet.

ABOUT THE BOOK IN BRIEF:
Thirteen passengers are stranded at an airport. Tokyo, their destination, is covered in snow and all flights are cancelled. To pass the night they form a huddle by the silent baggage carousels and tell each other stories.

Told by people on a journey, these are stories about lives in transit, stories from the great cities - New York, Istanbul, London, Lagos, Paris, Buenos Aires - that grow into a novel about the hopes and dreams and disappointments that connect people everywhere.

WHAT THE CRITICS ARE SAYING:
"Intriguing . . . A highly confident literary debut" - The Bookseller (UK)
"A global citizen narrative" - The Asian Wall Street Journal
Deepika Shetty is a Producer with Prime Time Morning

THOUGHTS ON A READING

It may not always show but I'm a stressed wreck before every session. I need aqua pura - lots of it. The throat feels parched all the time, the thoughts seem like a steady stream of unconsciousness, the hour always seems 60 minutes too long. Then the session starts, time flies, so much is said and when it's all over, I realise I've barely got past 5 of my 20 prepared questions - the rest of it has developed through the discussion. All of this happens at lit fests organised by experienced folks and festival directors.

A couple of months ago, in a fit of fool-hardiness, three good friends got together. They talked books. They talked authors, the ones they met, the ones who never got heard, the way they should be - for various reasons and on a whim they started something called Literatti. One of the friends happened to yours truly. The minute we thought we had the perfect thing going, our Marketing brain - Tripta Singh moved to Hong Kong, Maniza ended up with too much on her plate. That left me - the last woman standing, that's till Jayapriya of Jacaranda walked right in. Her confidence inspired me, we could get the author readings back on track.

That's how 'A Reading by Rana Dasgupta' happened. Rana was one of my first guests on Off The Shelf. I'd loved the book, the fairy-tale take on globalisation. We'd ended that phone conversation, so many moons ago with hope of meeting somewhere in the world. That meeting happened this year at the Ubud Writers Fest. Rana mentioned a visit to Singapore, something that had me enormously exicted. Let's do a reading, I suggested. He agreed and that was the start.

As an author, Rana is brilliant. He's also a publicist's dream. And if I may add tech savvy, his website is proof. Send him an email and you get a response quick time.

Why was I nervous then? We'd discussed how we'd do the reading. Rough formats always help. People had RSVP-ed. But by 2:45pm, only five bright students from the Global Indian International School had arrived. Then Zafar got there and it was a relief. When I asked him if everyone who'd said yes, would show, he calmly assured me, they would. After all, it was a Saturday afternoon and timing's do tend to fluctuate.

Rana was wrapping up the last of his interviews downstairs and true to Zafar's word, the room was filling up. Having moderated authors sessions across continents, I know there's nothing like a room filled up, an audience is what everyone needs. A couple of thoughts were playing in my head, though there wasn't much time to engage in it, the school students had questions for me.

"What shall we call you, Mam or Aunty?"
"You can call me, Deepika."
"No, that would be disrespectful," they reminded me.
"Then, whatever you wish."

"Aunty, we haven't read the book, can we still ask questions?"
"Of course."
"Is he a nice author?"
"You'll find out in less than 10 minutes."

The students from 6th and 7th standard and their questions were the biggest assurance that we'd got something to remember on our hands.

The reading was part of the lead-up to the Singapore Writers Festival. And Phan Ming Yen, Director, Artistic Development, The Arts House gave us a short and sweet trail of Crossings.

With that, it was time to know Rana and his writing better.

Singapore turned out to be the perfect talking point. One of the stories in 'Tokyo Cancelled' was inspired by the time he spent in Malaysia, his visit to Singapore and the contrasts between the world. A short reading followed. Then it was thoughts fast and furious. Globalisation and literature, the significance of fairy tales for writing about the contemporary world, the places he picked. Why writing? Was it fool-hardy to plunge into writing full-time? Like many others before him, Rana's debut was also written while he had a full-time job that helped him criss-cross the globe, with some places inspiring some of the stories that made it to the book. Then his move to Delhi - something that was meant to be a three month experiment. "It was love," he said of his journey to the Indian capital. Three months has turned into a couple of years and the energy of the city, the people around him continue to inspire him as much as they did, the first time he got there. Then the 13 stories - not a story less, not a story more. It was nothing to do with luck or numbers, it was more a case of the number of stories that fell in place. Sharing his writing. Rana had no qualms on that front or taking the criticism or comments that follow.

The conversation was interspersed with sharing of stories of flights cancelled. The students in our midst turned out to be the perfect story-tellers. One of them was too young to remember, she told us, but she did remember where she was when the flight was cancelled, another one made a will leaving everything to her friends, one delightful boy spoke of his life in transit, a long-distance flight cancelled and how gameboy came to the rescue. There were some stunning tales in a perfectly global landscape.

We sat between worlds, inspired by works of art, thoughts, questions, the title of the book questioned:
"Why 'Tokyo Cancelled' why not Singapore cancelled or KL cancelled?"
"Was 'Tokyo Cancelled' your title?"

"No, I had over 100 possible titles, scribbled in my note pad and I can't imagine I ever thought of them."

"Who is your favourite author?"
Rana picked Roald Dahl and left us with this gripping reading from his forthcoming book, currently titled 'Half Life'. It's set in Bulgaria, look out for it in 2009....

With the exception of his back, which tortures him every morning, the man's health is still passable, and yet, by the sheer force of numbers, his death cannot be so far away.

As a child, the man watched his grandmother stick up biographies of the dead on the trees outside their house. She had come from a village near the Black Sea - cut off, now, by the border - and it was the dead from this distant village whose accomplishments were memorialised on the trunks of the plane trees planted equidistantly along their street. Every day, it seemed, was the death-day of someone or other from that remote place, and his grandmother told him the stories over morning tea as she wrote out her obituaries. She tied them with string to the trees, where they decomposed gradually in the rain, to be renewed the following year.

"How do you remember?" he asked her again and again, for it seemed marvellous that the entire history of that lost dynasty could be preserved in her mind. But his father disapproved of the rural practice, and her own life was never written up on a tree.

Sensitive, like all infants, to the beyond, the man had in those years a powerful sense of the infinitude of generations.










P.S. A special thank you Robin Greatbatch for sparing the venue, the helpful staff who gave 'service with a smile', a new meaning. To everyone from the SWF, the Arts House, Alina from MPH Books, to Jayapriya, Zafar, Bala and everyone of you who showed up. Saturday afternoons are never easy and I'm truly appreciative of the time you spared. And to Rana, for leaving us with so many thoughts. As Ron, rightly mentions on his website: "it takes 20 mins to read a story of the 13 and the whole day to analyse it." In my case, its longer than a day for sure. Don't know about my 8 year old, who has set herself the target of finishing it before her brush with David Davidar. Yes, more readings are on their way. Watch this space.

RANA'S GRAND NARRATIVE

The year was 2005. The month March. A proof of 'Tokyo Cancelled' had arrived on my desk. It was Rana Dasgupta's debut, which was well on its way to setting literary circuits ablaze.

Critics hailed it as the 'Canterbury Tales for our times', 'an epic story', 'a timeless fairytale ethos' - could a first time author ask for more? That was one of the many questions that played in my head as I started the nail Rana down for a phoner chase. It finally happened when he was on his promotional tour in London.

The story was intriguing - 13 passengers stranded at an airport. Tokyo, their destination, is covered in snow and all flights cancelled. To pass the night they form a huddle by the silent baggage carousels and tell each other stories. Rana spoke at length about how this narrative evolved. About lives in transit and stories from the great cities that grew into the stunning novel which is about the hopes, dreams and disappointments that connect people everywhere.

"This book is not about solving things but asking certain questions," he's said before. And much of it has evolved from Rana's own travels across the globe. A former marketing professional, he has had "a great appreciation for journeys. I tend to prefer the kind of wisdom that comes from travel than the kind that comes from staying in one place."

Interestingly enough, he started writing the book for himself and his immediate circle of friends and a publishing contract came along the way - from Toby Eady no less.

If you missed hearing him at the Ubud Writers Festival, you'll get another chance soon enough.

He'll be passing through Singapore early November. Watch this space for details of an engagement with a fine literary mind.

YOU ARE INVITED

Thank you all for your emails and calls in response to this post.

Yes, it's taken a bit of time firming things up, but you know that thing about good things and scenic routes.

We believe we've found the perfect spot for the perfect reading. Pull out your diaries and mark these details for:

A READING BY RANA DASGUPTA
ON SATURDAY, 3rd NOVEMBER
FROM 3pm-4pm
AT LITTLE BALI, 9, LOCK ROAD, GILLMAN VILLAGE
PH: 6473-6763

It's just the kind of place that will set you thinking. Rana is not one to sugar coat his words, so come armed with questions. I loved what he had to say about reviews:
"I'd rather see a bad review that has engaged with my book, than a good one that has not."

And this one on what drives some of his writing:
"My writing is above all influenced by conversations with people, particularly the artists and writers that surround me in Delhi. Then its travel. I tend to prefer the kind of wisdom that comes from travel than the kind that comes from staying in one place. And then of course there is culture - art and films are the significant things for me. And the internet."

If you don't have a copy of Tokyo Cancelled, you can buy it before or after the talk. Unless there are compelling excuses, I hope to see all of you here. Yes, it's a hidden slice of Singapore. Take a look:




Stick around to soak in the ambience or some art.....

Or even dinner....


IF YOU ARE DRIVING:
It's tucked away near St Andrew's Junior College. Turn left into Malan Road from Alexandra Road, then take another left at Lock Road to be transported into a nostalgic corner consisting of former army barracks.

The talk is free. If you need more details, the email is readalong@gmail.com

WRITE THAT AGAIN!

Having started reviewing at the age of 18. Getting bad reviews shredded to pieces, with a couple of pieces flung right at my face, I got the best training I could from the Tribune Book Editor - the late T K Ramasamy.

It may sound like a cliche, but they really don't make Eds like him any more. After all, can you count the number who can deliberate with you on the content or even the angle of your story? More often than not, as some of them clearly demonstrate there is no life beyond commas and full stops. PERIOD!

I was blessed (though I didn't think that way) each time Ramasamy handed me a book to review. It always came with this cryptic note "Read it first. Write what you read. If it doesn't make sense to you, it won't to anyone else."

Which is why when I see reviews right off the book jacket, it never ceases to anger me. If I want to know what Julie Birchill has to say about Nirpal Singh Dhaliwal's book, dear critic, I can do it myself.

In fact, authors themselves respect reviewers who can take them on. As Rana Dasgupta had rightly said during an interview I did with him many many moons ago (when 'Tokyo Cancelled' was being launched) "I'd rather see a bad review that has engaged with my book, than a good one that has not."

Which is also partly why, when I read stuff like this, I really think Paul Theroux's rather unflattering term about critics rings true. If you missed it, he happily dismissed them as 'eunuchs' - I disagree of course, coz there are a couple of good ones out there, though the bad ones are more than far and few between. Here's proof:

"Members of the fashion and fashion publishing industry - will read it with a chortle. Editors will read it with a wince, civilians will read it with mouths open... (I'll save you rest - it ends thus) My! Oh My! What a fun read!"- A freelance writer on 'The Devil Wears Prada' in Femina
Another one:
"I am chary of uncertainty"- In The Straits Times
Then can you please not go on?