The dark side of storytelling

There is an unwavering calmness surrounding the sacrosanct walls of Anantha Padmanabasawmy Temple, Trivandrum, until a dead body is found inside the holy pond! Thus thickens the plot of Ravi Subramanian’s latest novel — In the Name of God. With multiple plots, deaths and stories that run seemingly parallel to intersect at an unexpected point, Ravi’s thrillers are engaging to every reader.

A fan of John Grisham and a banker himself, Ravi Subramanian’s books are mostly based on the world of banking. “I fell in love with killing characters at my will! It gave me a sense of power,” he shares. Stating that all his characters for the books are inspired from real life, Ravi says, “Interesting episodes happening in my life and the lives of people around me inspire me to write about them.”

Talking about In the Name of God, he reveals, “It has no religious connotations. The temple contains a lot of wealth ($20 billion approximately) and there is very less protection. My book is just a fictionalised interpretation of what could have happened.” Assuring that all the factual information present about the royal temple is true, he adds, “The data was taken from the Supreme Court’s inspection report. There is no data that is misleading to the reader.”

Questioning the controversial feedback of people who got offended with the book, he backfires, “Why did they not get offended when the incident was happening? Why do they get offended when someone documents or writes about it?”

Stating that he respects the feedback and criticism given to him, Ravi states, “I’ve grown because of the feedback from my readers. I do respect their comments, because they’ve spent money on my book and took the time to send me a message. One reader told me — humans are not black or white, they are grey! And that review changed my writing. Reviews do affect me seriously, but don’t have a negative impact on me.”

When asked about the trick to what makes a thriller gripping, Ravi shares, “In the Name of God has 120 chapters; each chapter consists of up to three or four pages. Each chapter ends on such a high note, that the reader is compelled to read one more; eventually reading the whole book at one go! My stories need attention and a lot of involvement. When one opens the book before going to sleep, I want the battle between the drooping eyelids and tired fingers to be won by the latter. I want the eyes to be wide open after one page, until the end.”

Unlike other writers, Ravi does not prefer solitude or a picturesque setting to get started. “Being alone distracts me. I write comfortably sitting in my living room, along with my family. I don’t prefer to leave them alone for months and come back after writing a book. Even with the TV running and the doorbell ringing and my family around me, I can work peacefully!”

He concludes by saying, “My books are not read just for fun. The 400 pages give you an overall experience. It is a package that will give you loads to think about.”