His debut novel The Virgins was released early this year (2013).
He was born in Prayag (Allahabad), a well-known place of confluences. He did
his schooling from Banaras (Varanasi), a city that rests on the banks of the holy
Ganges. He graduated in Engineering from Trichy (Tiruchirappalli), the fourth
largest city of Tamil Nadu and was named after a daemon. And the final stream
of his education in shape of MBA was from MDI, Gurgaon (Guru Gram), the millennium
city. He is working as a consultant for a well-known business advisory firm.
We have Siddharth Tripathi with us today who is busy these
days in writing his second novel. Welcome Siddharth and thanks for sparing some
moments for us out of your busy schedule.
Your
real name and pen name?
They are the same - Siddharth
Tripathi
Please
share some of the best memories of your childhood
I remember running after
dragonflies in my grandpa’s garden, tending to cows and reading a lot of Amar
Chitra Katha, Tintin and abridged classics. I still remember reading Great
Expectations in the abridged form.
About
your education
I’m a B.E from NIT Trichy and
an MBA from MDI, Gurgaon. I currently live in Gurgaon and work as a consultant
for a business advisory firm.
What
career did you plan during your education days
I was too busy reading,
listening to music and aimlessly roaming the streets of Banaras. I didn’t have
the time to plan a career. In hindsight, that was a good thing.
What
is your biggest source of inspiration in life
I have two big inspirations.
One is my grandfather – he lived life on his own terms and inspired me to write
and to do things that I like doing. The second are The Beatles – their music
and their story has never ceased to inspire me.
What
hurts you most in this world
That I don’t have enough time
to write as often as I would like to.
If
you had to live a day of your life as one of the living or dead personality,
who would it be and why?
Ray
Davies of the Kinks – I would like
to know how he wrote the kind of songs he did!
What
is your favorite genre and why?
I don’t read books based on
genre. I do like
humor (especially dark humor) e.g., Philip Roth, Evelyn Waugh, Joseph Heller, J
D Salinger, Bernard Malamud.
What
is the purpose of your writing?
To tell a story that only I
can tell.
Which
of your work published so far?
What
are your forthcoming writings?
Yes I am writing a new novel.
It’s a funny, fast paced, unpredictable story about eccentric young people
struggling to find their identity.
What
are your future plans?
To write and to travel a lot
more than I do today.
What
four top most things you take care of while writing a book?
Your
dream destination on Earth?
To watch Paul McCartney
perform ‘live’. That would be it no matter where that is.
Your
origin of birth and other countries you have visited/ stayed.
India. I have been to several
countries in the Middle East (mainly due to my work). I have vacationed in
Europe, New Zealand, Indonesia and Thailand.
What
best things you liked in these countries around the globe?
Europe and New Zealand –
their infrastructure and their traffic discipline – it’s just amazing to
witness a completely different world after driving in India for so long. Middle
East has amazing food – Arabic and Lebanese cuisine is interesting, in Dubai
you would get better Indian good than what you get here in India.
Your
favorite time of the day?
Nights when I’m sleepless and
great new ideas occur to me out of nowhere.
Your
zodiac/ sunsign?
Scorpio.
Your
favorite color and why?
Red. No reason. I like red
cars maybe.
Your
favorite book and why?
Catch 22 by Joseph Heller. Its wild, funny, dark, eventful and enlightening –
it has everything I expect from a book.
Your
favorite celebrity and why?
Paul McCartney. He and Ringo
Starr are the two Beatles still alive and I like him just a bit more than
Ringo.
Your
favorite food?
Andhra meal with lots of ghee
and gun powder.
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