The Royal Enigma is a historical fiction about a young man, Nawin, who is living during a time of horrible political upheaval in India. The tyranny and caste system are in place where the rich are rich and everyone else is poor. Nawin is trying to decide his plight in life as a young man. He is unable to see anything beyond a never ending pit of oppression. He witnesses abominable injustices to innocents.Revolution breaks out, and many vie for political power and position. The country is torn between the past tyranny and a new democracy. The king himself becomes nothing more than a mere figurehead of sorts with his powers diminishing by the day. War and militant groups have encompassed the land. In the aftermath poverty, devastation and fear guide the people. Much older and wiser, Nawin finds himself back where it all began understanding what and who truly matters to him.
Krishna Bhatt does an excellent job vividly portraying the tragedy of a people and placing the reader inside the reality of a tortured country. The story was difficult to put down and I found a certain pizzazz to his writing style.
The Royal Enigma on Amazon
Interview with Krishna BhattElle: How long have you been writing and when did you fall into it?
Krishna: I used to read a lot in my younger days too. Where I grew up there was no electricity till 1978. Radios were rare. The only connection with the world out was books besides newspapers, apart from the stories my father told me. Travelling too was not very popular. So I read whatever I could find.
It was porn too at times, even at a young age, besides many religious papers and pulp fiction. But I came across many good writers like Prem Chand in Hindi. I realized the importance of a writer like him much later. When I saw more of the world outside my family and grew older and read more trash.
Writing I started as I thought I have a story to tell which is unlike anything I have read so far. I have also discovered that my own writing calms my aching nerves, whenever I am agitated. Though it also is a source of more agitation for its incompleteness, at another attempt.
So I take seriously what a reader thinks of my writing.
Elle: Please tell us a little about your writing process.
Krishna: It is all in the head, processing the things around endlessly, talking to myself all the time, till I am exhausted to sleep. As soon I am awake it all resumes. But an actual writing happens when I am really inspired. Once I begin the work does not take long to take shape. After it takes a shape I do a lot of rewriting. It is when I have a project I am working upon. It is the time of some visible production process. So it is a lot of pain. Otherwise I remain idle. I have been idle for two years now in that sense. I do not want a distraction to this process of my lifestyle, as it could consume my energies and shift the balance of my life, which I have found after a lot of trials and errors. I like the boredom and loneliness of this kind of life. If you aren't entertained you feel the need to create something entertaining.
Newspapers make me agitated when my day begins. Full of rage, I try to find a literature which will soothe me. But mostly I am disappointed. Then I return to the good books in my collection and read a few paragraphs. But at times I discover something which agitates me more. I haven't tried writing myself for the last two years almost, since there was no inspiration. But I am not worried about it, as it is not a job. So there is no salvation if you decide that you are a writer.
Elle: If a fiction writer, are any of your novels based on events in your life?
Krishna: Most good works are based on the life you have seen. Rest is pulp, porn, propaganda or occult. I religiously shun this type of work. I am older now. I do not claim to be writing of the things unknown to me. It is for the more gifted ones. But I am surprised by my own writing at times, as many things I find which I was not aware of. They existed in me subconsciously. It is the happy and funny thing. Had I not written them I might not have known them.
Elle: What was the greatest challenge you faced with publishing your work?
Krishna: Publishing traditional is challenging. More so when the industry is under cartelisation through mergers of publishing houses, after the advent of self-publishing. So I call it 'syndie' publishing. Then there is the trap of genre. You need to fit into a type, in order to be defined and published. A newer style based on experiment stands no chance. And the world is full of happy people, who read what they are told, along with the antidepressant medication they take. It is all a controlled show. Self publishing is the alternative. But it is an anarchic world. May be an order will be established in this new world, by the discerning readers, and not the editors.
Elle: Do you have a favorite author or book?
Krishna: I like the short stories of Guy de Maupassant. I like the travel books of Colin Thubron and Bruce Chatwin. V S Naipaul has written a few great books. The writing style of Mo Yan surprised me recently, as did 'The Great Gatsby'. I read Prem Chand often. Paul Theroux has written well about the plight of a writer's life. There are so many others I like.
Elle: Do you have any advice for other indie authors?
Krishna: I think one good book from a writer in a life time is enough. Becoming ambitious to write trilogy is ugly. Not only for Indie but for 'syndie' writers as well. It is not a show business. So being seen too much beside your work is not the real success. But I feel old saying such things.
Elle: What genre or genres do you write and why?
Krishna: I think I write stories which could also qualify as non fiction or travel writing, looked at differently. So genres do not define the writer. If you think that writing is about telling truth to the readers, you are incorrect. You do not refer to history books to find the truth, but you read the fiction of the time.
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