In Conversation With Debalina Haldar On The Release Of Her Second Book "Wrinkles In Memory"

Debalina is an alumna of the 2015 batch of IIM Lucknow. She is the Critics’ Choice Award winner of Illuminati ’11, winner of the McGough & Co. International Letter Writing Competition and recipient of the winning award of Anubhuti ’14 at the Lucknow Literary Fest. Her debut novel, The Female Ward, was internationally published in 2013. Debalina works as a Management Consultant at Deloitte.

At the outset of her new book release, she engaged in a freewheeling chat with the Media & Communication Cell, IIM Lucknow and talked about her writings and plans ahead . Following are excerpts from her conversation with the team-

Debalina, tell us about the new book - how different or similar is it from your debut novel? 

Wrinkles in Memory is a collection of short stories and my second book. It is releasing in August this year at the Delhi Book Fair, 2016. My debut book was a novel and hence, both conceptually as well as plot-wise they are very much different from each other. I have always been fascinated by the idea of short stories. The most delightful part of short stories is their impact albeit the length. A larger part of my childhood was spent in Kolkata and hence, the stories are mostly rooted to the aristocratic city of joy. However, in the later years, I moved to Mumbai where my parents live now and likewise, few stories in the anthology originate in Mumbai.

How would you explain the book title?

Think about your brain. What perhaps comes to the mind is a two-lobed, roundish, grey mass with lots of wrinkles, formed by experiences and memories. I sincerely hope the journey through this book would create lots of amazing memories for my readers. Hence, I call this book, Wrinkles in Memory.

How long did it take you to complete this book?

I wrote this book in the 2nd year at IIM Lucknow. It took me, roughly, three to four months to write the first draft. It has always been the process of editing that takes the longest time for me. I look at the very minute details in every description. Unless I’m convinced, the process keeps running the cycle of versions.

How easy or difficult was it to find time in between the hustle and bustle of corporate life?

It was crazy. In between late night meetings and early morning flights, it was, much to my surprise, actually relaxing to go back to my writing desk. I think the key to this has been discipline and persistence.

Do you anticipate a point of convergence of passion and profession in your life?

Very frankly, I don’t. I have always been a very people oriented person. I look at consulting and writing, in your words profession and passion, in the same light. Presenting clients with sustainable solution and readers with solutions for sustenance. I enjoy doing both.

What role did IIM Lucknow play in enhancing your writing career and overall personality?

Whatever I say about IIM Lucknow, I feel would be less. This place, the ideal setting conducive to learning, my peers from diverse backgrounds, amazing ex-students doing great in their fields… I had seen inspiration all around. I was a part of the Media and Communication Cell which, by far, was the best thing that had happened to me in campus. It ensured that I continued writing in between the busy campus life. I learnt the art of balance.

IIM Lucknow takes pride in the varied opportunities it provides to its students. How much was that an encouragement for you?

To this question, I would share a few facts. I must take this opportunity to talk about the story, the third chapter, ‘Shackles of the Night Sky’, set in the African country, Rwanda. I learnt about the genocide and the war between the Hutus and the Tutsis and was highly moved by the unbelievable numbers that statistics showed. ‘Shackles of the Night Sky; is the story of a Tutsi woman who takes care of a Hutu child in the wake of the Rwandan genocide. This story was given the 1st Prize in IIM Bangalore’s Annual Entrepreneurship Summit, Eximius, which had the theme, ‘The Road Less Taken’. Again, ‘Little Crayons at the Back Gate’ had won the short story competition Anubhuti in 2014. It was organized by an NGO called Sarthak Foundation at the Lucknow Literary Fest and ran across India.

Apart from these I had won Philips Campus Journos, Deloitte Maverick- Be the One, was a Special Invitee at Godrej Loud and was selected among the top 30 student leaders at HUL Premier 30 League – all had links to my writing career. I regard my campus as my fairy godmother!

What message would you like to convey to the aspiring writers out there?

Write, simple! All else will follow.

It’s been more than a year since your graduation. Do you miss campus?

I miss everything… the ad-hoc committee meetings, the unprepared, hesitated steps towards Hall 1, sitting inside the classroom in between a bunch of clueless students about the case being discussed, the mess, the competitions… life was too good to be real!

----------------

Media & Communication Cell wishes a huge success to the book Wrinkles in Memory and thanks Debalina for her precious time and words of advice to the literary talents in and out of the campus. It also looks forward to more such engagements with her in future.

(This Article is written by Subhra Pratim Halder, class of 2018 student at IIM Lucknow. He is the winner of two national level essay competitions by National Human Rights Commission and has been awarded Best Paper by Indian Student Parliament for his essay on युवा मन के विचार: युवा भारत की आकांक्षा . He is a member of Media & Communication Cell, IIM Lucknow.)