The book without a face

In the world of publishing a debut book functions like an introductory chapter You are introduced to a new piece of work a fresh experiment in language and the firsttime author If a reader enjoys this combination the chapter opens a world of opportunities for the writerFor two books that released this year it almost ended where it began Numair Atif Choudhurys Babu Bangladesh and Rudrakshi Bhattacharjees This Is How It Took Place were published posthumously Both were evidently fine works of literaturemdashone by a discerning scholar and another from a teenager with a distinctive voice If there was an opportunity lost it was to get to know the writer betterKanishka GuptaLiterary agent Kanishka Gupta believes the most unfortunate bit is that the author was not around to see what became of his work Gupta had acquired the rights for Choudhurys manuscript from his family after he died in a drowning incident in Japan last yearThis was almost a year after he had first learned about the novel in November 2017 from Bangladeshi writer Nadeem Zaman who Gupta was representing Nadeem told me that his friend Numair had written a book in the genre of magic realism and that he thought it was something very special recalls Gupta But Numair was quite suspicious and wary of parting with the manuscript thenShinie AnthonyAnd rightly so The book was a labour of love Choudhury began writing it somewhere in 20032004 as part of his doctorate at the University of Texas in Dallas After evading Guptas requests to see the manuscript for months when Choudhury finally showed it to him he was blown away Set in Bangladesh of 2028 it begins with a biographer attempting to document the life of an enigmatic and controversial political luminary called Babu in the process he uncovers the story of the nationI had never seen anything like this come out of the subcontinent Though Choudhury did meet Gupta in Delhi he refused to commit to a deal That same year in September while in Japan to present a paper on anthropological magical realism at a literary conference he passed away It was heartbreaking I had lost a friend and we had lost a literary genius a man of great talent I was also affected by the thought that this book would never be read It felt like a great book had been snatched away from us says GuptaFortunately Choudhurys sister Talita who is based out of California and educator mother Lubna shared Guptas sentiments His sister in fact managed to retrieve the final draft of the book from his laptop and handed it over to Gupta who then sealed the deal with HarperCollins India My brother was a bachelor and these were his babies This was what he left behind and it meant a lot to him Talita says in a telephonic interview explaining why the family decided to part with the manuscriptIn the case of Bengalurubased Bhattacharjee editor Shinie Anthony learnt of her work through her mother an old friend after the 16yearold passed away in 2017 We started to gather her writings from school magazines writing workshops her computer drafts etc She had written poems short stories and a novella At first we just wanted to put it all together chronologically and recreate her in some form as tangible memory But once we began to read we couldnt put it away The search grew frantic as her voice grew on us says AnthonyWhat stood out for her was the maturity of her voice She was a young teenager when she thought these stories up but her understanding of human failings is perennial There is a kind of eternity to human emotions and that is where she comes in with her set of skillsHer debut includes a collection of 16 short stories Writerpoet Jeet Thayil otherwise known to be selective with book blurbs was generous with praise describing Bhattacharjee as prodigious gifted and precocious Her death he called an incalculable loss to Indian literatureBringing a book out in the absence of an author however comes with its own set of challenges Rahul Soni commissioning editor with HarperCollins India who took charge of Numairs debut says that while the manuscript was in excellent shape from having been worked and reworked over the years there were places where he wished we could have worked moreNumair himself had marked out lines for further expansion That wasnt possible and we stayed with what we had I decided to keep my intervention to the minimum and let Numairs work speak for itself he says Anthony and Sohini Basak of HarperCollins who worked on Bhattarcharjees book also chose to make minimal edits We had decided to not change the work unless absolutely necessary and truly those occasions were very few says BasakIt is only post the release that publishers and family members have to contend with a few bitter truthsmdasha good book usually needs a face to go with it A lot of media and awards depend on the author being around for interviews and photoops Literary festivals will by and large only host sessions on books where the authors are around says SoniGupta also made a case for posthumously published writers at the recentlyheld Dhaka Lit Fest after Choudhurys novel became the first posthumous debut to be nominated for the Shakti Bhatt First book prize in its 13year historyMy mum who is griefstricken by his death took it very hardmdashthat deceased authors not considered for certain things She feels its an injustice to her sons work But Numair was a true humanist And I often tell my mum that Numair would have disagreed In my opinion he would have said There are many greater injustices out there People are sufferingCatch up on all the latest Mumbai news crime news current affairs and also a complete guide on Mumbai from food to things to do and events across the city here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates