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| Dhruba D. Roy, Author MY FIRST BREAKUP |
Dhruba D. Roy brings us his novel, MY FIRST BREAKUP,
which he wrote to help himself but believes will also help others worldwide,
given that we’ve all faced a breakup at one time. A reviewer says that “It is much more
intimate and relatable” than the usual ‘boy meets girl’ novel with “A different
and fresh approach.” He uses
humor to develop his characters but also incorporates a little of himself in
each of them.
In addition to being a writer, Roy also is a musician and a
software engineer. He is currently working on two projects: a sequel to MY FIRST BREAKUP and a
mythological fiction based on Greek, Christian, and Hindu history.
Q: Tell us about MY FIRST BREAKUP. Would you consider it a romance or contemporary fiction? What
theme did you want to develop?
Dhruba D. Roy: MY FIRST BREAKUP is about a character
whose name is Anirudh. The story revolves around this character who falls head over heels in love
with a girl in his childhood only to be drifted apart from his girl before high
school itself. The protagonist is obsessed with the girl of his dreams and
after being separated makes it the motive of his life to win her back in his
life.
The story
then gradually unfolds where both of them
do meet again. By
this time both of them have entered their adulthood and deeply respect the bond
that they had developed over the period of time. Anirudh discovers that he
loves music equally and also starts performing at many different gigs with his
musical band. But as we all know, nothing lasts the same forever. His world is
turned upside down when he had to abandon his musical band and move out of the
city.
The next
sequence of events paves the plot for the climax of the story which is the most gripping part of the story. Let’s
just keep that a secret for now.
MY FIRST BREAKUP is a combination of both romance and contemporary fiction. Infact the
book has a musical touch to it and I feel that’s a value addition for the
readers.
Q: You are an
engineer by training, as well as a musician and a freelance writer. What caused
you to also want to become a novelist?
Dhruba D. Roy: Hahaha…. let me tell you
something about this question of yours. It certainly wasn’t the engineer in me
who made me want to write a novel. Freelance writing was just a way to engage
myself in some activity when I was free. ‘Music’ is perhaps the driving force
behind this. I love music, especially the Rock N’ Roll of late 1970’s-1995’s.
The Beatles, Queen, Pink Floyd,
Led Zeppelin, Eddie Van Halan, Eric Clapton, etc. I loved their music. The
lyrics of their songs were so strong and captivating. It’s sad that I cannot
write lyrics of songs that good. And it was when my music band disbanded after
our graduation that I decided to start writing a book. It was a tedious task
and after many years of struggle, here I am with my debut novel MY FIRST BREAKUP.
Q: MY FIRST BREAKUP
is set in India. What makes it universal whose characters will relate to
multiple nationalities and countries?
Dhruba D. Roy: MY FIRST BREAKUP is based on
three fundamental things: Love, Music, and Friendship. These three factors are
very much universal to me, and the readers of any contries shouldn’t have any
problem connecting to it.
Another
thing that I feel readers will most certainly feel a strong connection with is
the plot of the novel MY FIRST BREAKUP. It is very simple and very realistic.
It is very common and it happens to almost all of us. Most of us go through our
First Breakup and it’s very difficult for any one to get break the shackles and
be normal again after such an event . This story is all about that and much
more :)
Q: Is there a hero or villain in MY FIRST BREAKUP? If so, what are the character traits of a villain? Does a villain need
to be a person? Or can a culture or circumstances substitute for a villainous
person?
Dhruba D. Roy: Yes, I consider that there is
both a hero and a villain in this story. I guess, both the characters of being
a hero and a villain is played by
the same factor called ‘Time’. It is ‘Time’ that gives happiness to the
protagonist and it’s ‘Time’ who knocks him down. It is ‘time’ that teaches the
protagonist the most valuable lesson in his first Breakup and that is ‘Learning
to Let Go!!’
Q: Did you write MY FIRST BREAKUP primarily to entertain readers, or did you want to deliver a
message?
Dhruba D. Roy: I wrote it to help myself. I
wanted to write, and I feel my thoughts might not even be well accepted by my
readers, but to be blatantly honest with you, that’s how I feel and all my
characters are endowed with a bit of my soul in them.
Q: How useful is
humor in telling your story or developing your characters?
Dhruba D. Roy: As a writer, I feel a story
should be a combination of all the flavors that can give satisfaction to its readers
and humor is one of those important ingredients. The story should always have
an element of humor, not necessarily all throughout the story, but in a
calculated fashion. This theory of mine stands true not only for humor but also
for all the other ingredients that are necessary to write a story.
Q: Did you find that
your experience as a freelance writer helped you to write a fictional novel?
Dhruba D. Roy: It definitely did. It gave me
the freedom to think and be more imaginative. Not only that, but my days as a
freelance writer also helped to become a better writer when it comes to
structuring the plot.
Q: What’s next? Will
you write more novels?
Dhruba D. Roy: Presently I am working on two
projects. The sequel to My First Breakup and another one is a mythological
fiction which is based on Greek, Christian and Hindu History. So, hopefully
either one or, if God permits, perhaps both of them.
Q: Tell us about
Dhruba D. Roy. What do you enjoy doing when you’re not writing or working?
Dhruba D. Roy: Dhruba D. Roy is a boring
engineer, a creative writer and an exhilarating vocalist.I enjoy playing my
guitar or traveling to new places with my friends when I am not writing or
working. This gives me happiness.
About Dhruba D. Roy
Dhruba Das Roy is a freelance writer, a musician by passion,
and a software engineer by profession. He is from Assam, but born in a small
town of Meghalaya, where he finished his schooling. He then obtained his degree
in engineering from the esteemed college of National Institute of Technology.
He discovered his love for music there and was the lead vocalist of his band,
“The Rozarts”.
He loves rock and roll and is a great fan of the pioneers of
rock and roll-(Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Queen and the list goes
on).Unfortunately, as engineering life came to an end, the band had to split.
Recently, he moved to Kolkata where he is working in one of the leading
software service based companies in India.
Not everyone can put thoughts into words. Dhruba had never
tried his hand in writing; but he had an experience, an experience which
changed his life for the better. Being a vocalist, his only way of expression
was through the creative way. He decided to pen down his thoughts, and he
discovered that writing came naturally to him. His thought process in the novel
relates to the general mass in many ways. He decided to stretch his limits and
ended up voicing his thoughts in a different way this time.
About MY FIRST BREAKUP
“Oh God, why me?”
This is perhaps what we think of when we go through a
‘breakup’.
This story is about Anirudh and Anvi.
Both of them have their own thinking which are not alike.
The story begins with Anirudh meeting with an accident. As
he slowly succumbs to the pain, he starts reflecting about his bygone college
days where he found his love for music. He loves Anvi dearly who is a long-lost
friend of Anirudh.
The story reveals how Anirudh struggles as the hands of
reality strikes him down.
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