Stories already written by nature

To write a novel is to travel through scientific and philosophical pathways, well-known author V J James tells us.

Award-winning contemporary Malayalam writer V J James has been writing for over two decades, while juggling a full-time job as an engineer at the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, Thiruvananthapuram.

From his debut award-winning novel Purappadinte Pustakam (The Book of Exodus) to his seventh novel Anti-Clock, James’ books have largely dealt with the struggles of the marginalised as well as folklore, myths and stories of birds, animals, seas, forests and mountains he has encountered on his travels.

He has also authored five collections of short stories and four children’s books. Two of his novels have been translated into English and more are on the way. James has won various awards for his books including the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award, the Muhammad Basheer Award and Vayalar Award. His seventh novel, Anti-Clock, which confronts ancient enigmas baffling mankind such as birth, life and death, was longlisted for the 2021 JCB Prize for Literature.

Excerpts from an interview

How would you describe your journey from your first novel Purappadinte Pustakam to your seventh novel Anti-Clock?

Every novel is an inscription of a writer’s philosophical journey and one finds oneself travelling simultaneously through scientific and philosophical pathways to comprehend life, time, and the ‘great knowing’ called Nature. Writing is also a sort of self-exploration for me, a journey to one’s own self. Over the years, while writing, I have seen new ideas cropping up, some of which I had never contemplated about before. So, writing has really been a transformative process.

Nature and its relationship with humans is a recurrent theme...

A writer never creates any story. He only finds the stories that nature has already written. Just as we access TV programmes by tuning to the frequency of the channels, stories written by nature are discovered by the writer. To unravel these hidden stories, one has to be in sync with nature. I always had an affinity for nature and travel and that continues. It is part of my existence and I wait for nature’s signal to begin writing.

Were you satisfied with the quality of the translation of your acclaimed novel Anti-Clock into English?

The translator, Ministhy S (who is also a bureaucrat) has deep knowledge of Malayalam literature and is proficient in English. We had regular discussions at every stage of the translation. I was happy she captured the essence without losing the authenticity of the original, a view that is shared by many.

Your thoughts on regional literature translations?

The uniqueness of our times is that books in regional languages are gaining greater attention than before. The fact that translated books are appearing in the long lists, shortlists and final award lists of literary awards of India will undoubtedly pave the way for many more translations from regional languages. There is definitely a surge of interest in Malayalam literature as well. This is also due to the efforts of writers, translators, and publishers, not to mention social media and literature festivals.

Is not juggling a full-time job and novel writing very challenging?

Most renowned Malayalam authors juggled creative writing alongside hectic professional jobs — Sethu, O V Vijayan and M Mukundan, to name a few. Paradoxically, the brain acquires sharpness and is forced to learn how to focus because one is already caught in the throes of a job and its offshoots. In fact, I would argue that the probability of indulging in creative writing diminishes because of too much free time and the consequent lethargy. The engineer in me has helped me tremendously in evaluating the precision and conciseness of a story or novel. To me, writing and engineering complement each other.

Your next book?

I cannot predict when my next work will be out. Writing, for me, is an unpredictable activity and completing a piece of writing by a certain deadline is arduous. A few months ago, a collection of short stories ‘B Nilavara’ (Temple Vault) was published. I am now concentrating mainly on translations.