'The most important work of my life is over'

Is what journalist and author Tarun J Tejpal says shortly after the launch of his third book, The Valley of Masks

The launch of Tarun J Tejpal's third novel brought along two fears. One, of the opening up the pages of a title the author himself describes as having the power to disturb you, and the other, of questioning him. Our first interaction led him to send me an email with the first published review of the title, by Shashi Tharoor as a conversation starter.



If throwing questions at a man who set off journalistic aspirations in an entire generation wasn't enough, I now stood close to the additional burden of merely brushing past the shoes of the celebrity reviewer. Some courage and a few caffeine doses later, I encountered a rather humble man who picked up calls before I heard the phone ring and seemed more concerned about my deadline than I could be.

A true blue journalist, he goes beyond the intricacies of writing and delves into more practical matters, measuring his words and ensuring your questions aren't lost to an ongoing monologue.Political psychologist Ashis Nandy describes The Valley of Masks asu00a0 putdownable because it has to be punctuated with intervals in order to comprehend the depth of the thought and writing. Set in an imagined valley in the Himalyas is a parallel world that lives on an idea and is driven by a messiah called Aum, rightfully named after the first sound of the universe.

An idea of purity surrounds this world and the dominance of equality and discipline are established above all. Inhabitants of the valley are forced to take names after the six brothers in the Mahabharata (Karna inclusive). A Karna is the narrator of the story. The names don't matter so much anyway, individualism is not important.u00a0 The children are collectively brought up by the mothers and there are no fathers.

The valley is far removed from contact and the inhabitants live by the books of principles put down by Aum, guilt stricken and overwhelmingly devoted. After a certain age, their faces are covered with masks to drive away the last remaining signs of individualism.

The imaginary world is one bereft with a clan of people called wafadars and pathfinders. There is no place for digression, none for love or betrayal. Besides delving into a futuristic parallel universe and its functioning, the novel explores the tyranny of an idea representing a community, The Valley of Masks subtly points at the existing world, its ways and comes out as a novel crafted with an intensity that will make you cringe, cry and fear. In an interview with The Guide, Tejpal talks about being a journalist turned writer, inspirations and more.

What was the process involved in writing this book? How did it all begin?
It begins with the book fermenting in your head. It is initially the process of arriving at an idea and a narrative. Then comes the day when the first sentence of the book comes to you and it follows from there on. In this case, the idea came to me somewhere towards the end of The Story of My Assassins. By the time I
finished The Story of My Assassins, I was already deeply drawn into the idea.

How was writing this book different from your previous ones? How much time did it actually take?
Each book has a different tone. The Valley of Masks took under two years of actual writing time and a year and a half for the idea and the narrative.

Your first book talked about the past, the second is set in the present and the third one is almost
futuristic in nature. Is this a planned series?
It wasn't planned and I never thought of it that way. The process of arriving at a book is sublimal and not one that is conscious.

What was the sort of research that went into the making of this book?
There was not so much research that went into this book specifically. It is universal and primarily imaginative. The Story of My Assassins required research, but this one is dominantly imagined, be it the setting or the characters.

What, in your experience, is the advantage of being a journalist turned writer? How much has Tehelka inspired you?
Being a journalist turned writer is a huge advantage. It opens your windows to a lot of material which would otherwise be inaccessible. A lot of interesting material and stories become accessible to me because of Tehelka and the work it does constantly. You still have to work to convert it into a piece of art though.

What is the downside of being a full-time journalist for a writer? How do you manage your time and juggle the two?
You are constantly traveling with the themes. You are short on time when you are a fully engaged journalist. About 90 per cent of my life is Tehelka. The struggle to find time is always huge. Most of my writing has been on the run. There is no discipline of time and space but I do have a fair idea of the work I have to do. If I get fixated on time, I won't be able to write.

You took to writing at a much later stage in your life. Was this a conscious decision? Is it an advantage to be a middle-aged writer amongst many younger ones?
I wanted to write during my under graduation, when I was a teenager but journalism thoroughly consumed me. I was also obsessed with the idea of doing something new. I was searching for a particular kind of book.
I am grateful I didn't write earlier and lived the depth and the scope of a book before taking to writing.

Your advice to young authors?
Live, live, live. Go out there and live. Out of the living comes the writing. We are at the end of a rich and long tradition. Read deeply and live. The material comes from life and the process comes out of reading.

Where do your inspirations lie?
I am inspired by a whole slew of authors like Frank Kafka, Dostoveski and George Orwell. Besides, I have always believed that the Mahabharata is the greatest novel written and that reflects in my books. At the end of the day though, the struggle for a writer is to find a unique voice of his own.

Your book is a parable of an existing world, an allegory on dictatorial regimes. What parallels do you draw to this in the existing world?
Not really dictatorial. It is the tyranny of the whole idea. It examines the pathology of the human mind and the extent of its deformity. Of what it takes to pursue the idea of purity. Why does a Jihadi decide to kill himself over living a full life? It is all around you- in the killings in Norway, in Jihadis, in Hindu fanatics. It is when the idea becomes more important than the man. The book is also a strong cry in the favour of individualism over collectivism.

What do we expect next from you? Is there an idea waiting to be translated?
Right now, I feel completely empty. The most important work of my life is over. I have run dry.


The Valley of Masks, Published by HarperCollins, R 499, Available at all leading bookstores