Gurpartap Khairah's novel How Dinkar Lost His Job And Found A Life is all about staying positive
Gurpartap Khairah started to write rather early. Starting with short stories whilst still in school, later he changed his genre and published his debut novel How Dinkar Lost His Job And Found A Life last year. While English remains his medium for prose, he pens poetry in Hindustani.
“I took writing seriously when I started teaching. Writing fiction opened a floodgate of emotions, there were so many narratives buried inside me,” says Gurpartap, who currently teaches English at Hindu College, Amritsar.
Some of his short stories were included in an anthology, titled Obsession: Eternal Stories of Life and Death. He soon realised that this genre wasn’t the way forward. “I reached out to publishers who all gave positive feedback but no deal. ‘This genre don’t sell unless you are a Ruskin bond’ was a standard reply.”
As the wave of recession hit and stories of depression and suicide became common, Gurpartap chose to look at things from a different lens, that of humour. “I wanted to work with an optimistic point of view, the life can take an unexpected turn if one loses his job,” says the author. He deliberately didn’t want to include a love track as he began writing. “But somehow Kirti appeared in the course of writing and is now favourite character of my readers,” he chuckles.
The novel that was published by Speaking Tiger also details his another love – for RD Burman’s music. “His tracks make it to my novel and aptly so!” Amongst the major literary influences on him, the ‘G-force’ reigns supreme. “Gulzar sahib and Graham Greene have taught me all that there is – to view and say in a distinctive way about ordinary things.”
Gurpartap has three more manuscripts ready – one is a political thriller; another a compilation of children diary entries and a short story collection that deals with love and sex, covering a whole gamut of emotions. — Mona
