Suraj was born in Faridabad, Haryana on 02–04-1994 and on 3rd birthday shifted to New Delhi due to ill-health of his father. He studied in Mata Gujri Public School. He became obsessed with Literature in a very young and began writing short stories and poems, which could be read online at www.spinebreakers.com and www.youngwriterssociety.com.
He is currently studying History (Hons) in Delhi College of Arts and Commerce and partly working in a publishing house as an assistant.
He can be contacted at [email protected]
1. Let’s start with you. Tell us about yourself and your family.
I am in the first of year of History (Hon). I am also working in a reputed publishing house, Pigeon Books, as an assistant. Earlier, reading books was my hobby but now, as far as I know, it has become my work. My father owns an automobile shop in South Delhi, my mother is a housewife, I have an elder sister and a younger brother, and these two are the people in my family who have never read a story book apart from school books. My late grandfather, who was a mechanical engineer, is still my inspiration.
2. “My Life With A Soul” – How did you come up with the idea for this novel?
I came up with the idea on the day when I realized that I could have written better novel than the novels which are on fire these days. I am not saying that the novels nowadays are not good but still, I wanted to read something good and fresh. I was thinking a lot for a new concept in the days when I was preparing for my 11th class final exams. Then, in a dream, I saw a teen and an older lady romancing and telling each other that they could never be together in this world and that they would have to cross the bridge between the reality and dreams.
3. Your story treats love in a way that speaks more about the union of soul. What does love mean to you?
Love, ah, it’s a tough question, not because I don’t know the answer, but because love is different for everyone. Personally, I believe that love is an invisible web between two entities, which could take any form. A web is like a trap and we all know that somewhere in our life, we get trapped, sometimes for good. This good trap is a relationship. It could be between your mother and you, you and your father or between you and your boyfriend/girlfriend.
4. How much do you relate with your protagonist Sam? Are you similar to him or totally opposite?
I am quite similar to him because the way he loved Selda was very different. Sam tells us about the differences between the three streams of our educational system and yeah, I did not receive good treatment after taking Arts.
5. You have explored the anguish of a young boy. What do you think are the problems and concerns of a normal teen today?
Thank you for asking this. See, a teen always feels trapped between his oncoming adulthood and his innocence. He does not want to lose the child in him but he wants to grow up. He wants to love someone other than his family unconditionally but he also wants to stay alone and concentrate on his goals. There are certain problems in our Indian traditional upbringing which always end up irritating and frustrating a teen boy. His dad tells him to start working, his mother tells him not to get involved in the wrong practices, his relatives want him to talk like an adult etc. It’s not bad but still, he wants something of his own.
6. The book has a few dream sequences, and talks of bridging the gap between dream and reality. Do you believe dreams are a part of another world where we simultaneously co-exist?
Yes, of course, I believe that dreams are a part of another world. That’s how I came up the idea of writing a story out of it. It’s true that our dreams tell us about our illnesses in the real world. For example, there was a lady in America, who became blind at the age of thirty only. She was told by the doctor that she would never be able to see the world again. But, she came to India and met someone, I can’t disclose his name, he examined her and told her that she used to get jealous of the people so much. He made her sleep beneath the God’s statue and in the morning, he asked what she dreamt. That went for about a week. She asked for a cure. He told her to go to some ashram in the Himalayas and to get rid of her jealousy. She went there. Now, the lady is working as a CEO in America.
7. Tell us about your inspiration and role models.
Indeed my inspiration is my grandfather as I told you before. But, as a writer, I always seek for different inspirations. Role model, I think I have one in my life after my father, that’s my boss and friend, Mr. Kaushal Goyal. Trust me, he is someone I want to be like in the future.
8. When you are not writing, what do you love to be engaged in?
I am always engaged in some work. It can be editing, reading or repairing of my household electronics. Apart from this, I love talking to my friends. I talk a lot and I feel that every conversation I have always gives me something to write as a conversation between my protagonists.
9. What is the best compliment that you received for this book?
It’s a very tough question to answer because I have received so many emails and messages telling about my book and congratulating me for being an author at such a young age. But, yeah, if you ask me to choose one then, there was an anonymous mail in my inbox on 22nd January, saying, “I finished reading your book today and I am still thinking about Sam. I think you are Sam. And, I am also amazed after knowing that you are just going to be nineteen in April. Just one question to you, “How did you come up with this kind of concept in this young age? You are so young yet so mature. If you have some qualities of Sam then, trust me, your girlfriend will be so lucky. You are such a handsome and darling guy.”
10. Tell us about the novel that you loved reading the most.
There is not a single novel which I love reading the most. There are so many. I mean, as a bookworm, every day I wake up and think of a book that I have not read. But, I like erotic fiction.
11. Are you currently working on any new story or plot?
Yeah, I am working on my second book which again, has a very fresh concept. If you have loved my first book, then you are going to love this one doubly.
12. Finally, what would be your message to your readers and aspiring writers?
To readers, keep reading like this because authors are incomplete without you. To aspiring writers, read, research and write a lot. There is always something you haven’t read and written. That’s all.
Sam, an eighteen year old and young school student, becomes obsessed with a religion that delves into the dangerous nature of religion, love and dreams. He goes on a search of the truth, which according to him will change the course of the world he lives in. His depression, dreams, and his newly found love, Selda, takes him to the world, which he thinks is nothing but an illusion.
My Life With A Soul by Suraj Jangid
Things become complicated and his life turns into a chaos.
“What will you do if a girl says ‘No’ even after proposing her eighth time?”
“What will you do if your lover is suffering from Aids?”
“What will you do if your religion tells you that you can’t die?”
“What will you do if your girlfriend dies in front of you?”