Khurshid Alam Interviews Vinay Capila

For his Work ‘The Revolution and Other Stories‘

QUES: How did the idea of writing come to you?

VC: I cannot recollect, I started writing stupid poems when I was in Class 10, when I was about fourteen years old. Prose writing came about ten years later. It was just spontaneous – an effort to express ones thoughts.

QUES: If story telling is difficult or easy? Your
views?

VC: I think it is fun.

QUES: Do your stories have any message?

VC: Not necessarily, but sometimes
there is a philosophical undertone to some of them. Some of them have a
satirical element.

QUES: Which story according to you is the best
one in your anthology The Revolution and Other Stories and
why?

VC: It is difficult to say – they are
so diverse in content and tone. I like “Musings at the Farm”, because there is
a lot of philosophical element there. More depth.

QUES: I personally liked the story Fish
and Chips the best. Your view.

VC: It was a ‘fun’ story; even though
there is a rich mixture of pathos and irony in there.

QUES: What according to you is the difficulty
before a writer in India?

VC: I wouldn’t know, since I wrote
these over a period of time, as a means of self- expression, never with a
thought about publishing. However, when I decided to publish I realized how
difficult it can be.

QUES: What has been the response to your
anthology?

VC: I have very little idea. My
publisher is not very communicative on this issue, even though I have tried to
ask him a couple of times.

QUES: Do you plan to write any book?

VC: I am currently in the process of
writing a novel, which I hope to complete by the end of this year.

QUES: What are you reading presently?

VC: A wide range of books. I am also
doing audio recording of books for the visually impaired; so a diverse range of
books that the NGO concerned gives me – ranging from course books to novels to
religious books.

QUES: Who are the best story writers in India and
abroad?

VC: Sorry, but I am not able to answer
that question.

QUES: Given the fact that Alice won the Nobel
Prize in literature in 2013 for story writing. What is your reaction?

VC: Wow! How can someone write 900 odd
pages of a thriller! (?) I am struggling to complete 300 pages in what I
writing now. I guess I am not very good.

Sorry, no more
comments from me.

Title: The Revolution and Other Stories
Author: Vinay Capila
Publisher: Angus and Graphers Publishers Pvt. Ltd.
Available: Amazon

About the Author

Vinay Capila (70), a graduate from St. Stephen’s College, Delhi, with Honours in English Literature is a retired person now.

He has been writing short stories and poems since college days. He has recently published two books: one a collection of short stories titled The Revolution and Other Stories, and another one a poetry anthology titled Little Matchsticks.