Bahadur on latest book: It’s reality of war, but palatable

An officer of the Indian Revenue Service since 1989, author Sanjay Bahadur was longlisted for the inaugural Man Asian Literary Prize in 2007, something that not many authors can boast of ! Now, with his latest book, Bite of the Black Dogs, a military action thriller that draws from real-life Special Forces operations in Kashmir, he attempts to grip readers with the on-ground action.

“It’s based on an operation by commandos Rashtriya Rifles. They received the Shaurya Chakra for encountering militants. Names and locations have been fictionalised... I would’ve opted for a nonfictional account, but I wanted to bring the blood, grime, and the almost dispassionate engagement that the soldiers have with the work they do, in a manner that is palatable,” says Bahadur.

How did he source details? “Research was necessary, as the on-ground action, military jargon, the time period, size of the unit — all of it had to be authentic. Visiting actual locations wasn’t possible, so I met commandos or visited places where they were trained (Shillong, Belgaon etc.). I also went through unclassified documents on the operation. Readers are smart, they get to know if research lacks, and the book collapses,” says Bahadur, who attempts to write across genres. “Think of any good director, say Christopher Nolan; he has made Dunkirk, but also films on Batman, my approach is similar. One should be able to tell a story across genres.”

Any tips for amateur writers or hopeful authors? “I’d share an advice that [Indian novelist] Vikram Seth once gave me, ‘Get down and write the first page of whatever you want to write about, and then go ahead and finish it,’” concludes Bahadur.