BCS students given tips on creative writing

Shimla, March 22

Interview the subjects and their relatives, whether the character is fictional or factual and even visit the character’s environment for a more authentic experience for the reader, Khushwant Singh, author of recently released book The Opium Toffee, told students of Bishop Cotton School (BCS) at a creative writing session here today.

Khushwant Singh told the young audience about his creative writing process and how he researches his books. He quizzed boys on what they enjoyed reading and what they liked writing about. The Cottonians were very chatty and had many questions.

He said that movies were being made on his three books and he was excited to see how they develop on screen. He would follow up his creative writing workshop with young Cottonians in near future to see how they develop their ideas for interesting storylines.

The script of the book is based on a traumatic life unravelled through the withered pages of the diary of Ajit Singh, first love of supermodel Shabnam Singh, who saw him begging on a street in London. She was shocked to know the circumstances that led to it and his traumatic life.

The story traverses between London’s 90s and the turbulent Punjab of the 80s, and opens a window into Punjab’s disturbing history through a tale of love, faith, betrayal, and misfortune. Offering an intriguing journey through the highs and lows of Shabnam and Ajit’s teenaged years, India’s fashion industry and the gaping abyss of drugs, extremism and illegal migration, The Opium Toffee is as much about the power of love as it is about India’s dark past.