Moments of innocence

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Walking down memory lane, if one were to remember the happiest days of life, chances are high that schooldays would dominate one’s thoughts. The first day in school, friends and bullies, first crush, pretty teachers and the strict ones, classes bunked and the coming of age.

Revisiting the many special moments of schooldays, Ravinder Singh, the author of I Too Had a Love Story and Can Love Happen Twice?, has come up with his third book, Like It Happened Yesterday.
“It is so ironic that when we are in school, we long for the freedom of college life. Yet given a chance, we would any day love to trade our adult life for the hassle-free schooldays. Just like my earlier books, this is also a first-person account and is 90 per cent my story. It follows the schoollife journey from the first day to class 12,” says Singh, whose earlier titles struck a chord with youngsters.
The formative years and the stepping into adulthood phase is a period of curiosity and exploration — of the world outside and the person within. Singh says, “While growing up, every child has numerous questions in mind. The answers to these are discovered only over a period of time. For instance, every child at one point ponders how he or she was born. Set in the ’80s and the ’90s, the era when children were not subject to Internet- enlightenment, the book premises on all such conundrums.”
Coming from a very small town in Orissa called Burla, the software engineer started writing around 2007 after his then girlfriend died in an accident and he wanted to dedicate a memoir to her. “I have never been into reading much. But after the personal tragedy, I felt the need to vent my emotions by wielding a pen. My first book was a result of this urge. At that time, I didn’t know it would get such a response,” he says. It was only after his readers edged him on to write through mails and social networking sites that he started work on his second book and took to writing full-time.
Ravinder had been a part of the corporate world for almost eight years working with the likes of Infosys and Microsoft. Asked if he misses anything about the corporate lifestyle, he smiles and says, “At times I miss the cubby-hole discussions and coffee-vending machines. So I end up walking into my publisher’s office to get a feel of corporate life.”
With numerous youngsters and first-timers coming up with their literary works, does he feel that this is the best time to venture into the arena? “I would say it is a case of demand and supply. Many youngsters are moving from tier two and tier three towns to metros for employment opportunities, especially with BPOs and call centres. They need to be equipped with decent English speaking skills. The simple reads come handy in helping them spruce up their language. So yeah, if you have a story, just get going,” he suggests.
Known for his love stories, is he a romantic at heart? “Let’s say I am an immensely emotional person and get affected easily by what happens around me easily,” he concludes.