Faith in the time of fanatism

At just 23, Anusha Devi Harish is all set to launch her first book A Bizarre Captive’s diary. To generate a bigger buzz around her book, the author has begun to give a different reason as to why people should read her book, every single day! Revolving around religious fundamentalism in a parallel universe, she assures us that it’s not all dark and serious but rather deals with what most people in today’s society face.

The book which took her barely five months to complete, revolves around the protagonist — Tara, who’s monotonous routine is interrupted when a man claims to terrorise the religious city of Schedoty with bombs!

“Everything in the book is a metaphor for events taking place in the country on a daily basis. It only takes place in a parallel universe because I didn’t want to openly target or offend people,” reveals the author who is also studying her Law at Christ University.

“I think my life at college was a major influence on my writing and is what inspired me the most. I understood that people tend to take drastic steps to survive — whether in college or in the world and they don’t care about the repercussions it has on others. The story also deals with friendships, love, relationships, losing people and so much more,” adds Anusha who is an avid reader who claims to not have a social life!

“How else do you think I completed the book so soon?” she laughs before adding, “My life is very monotonous — I wake up, go to college, study in the library, work in my room and sleep. Tara’s character reflects my attitude in that sense.”

The author also reveals that her parents didn’t know about her book until three months ago! “They only got to know eight months after I finished everything and got the deal. But they haven’t reacted yet because they want to keep me grounded. They are more excited about reacting to the responses since they haven’t read it yet,” she giggles.

“I’m the only person who has read the book completely. That’s the tedious part of self publishing. And I have read it so many because I know the innate response of people is to look for errors as soon as they hear that the author is self published!” reveals the author in conclusion, admitting that she has read her book 94 times to make sure it is perfect and up to the mark!