Lockdown musings
There’s a flip side to everything — many people were able to give voice to their creative selves during the lockdown. An anthology of short stories stands witness to that
The lockdown pushed many people to do things they otherwise wouldn’t have tried. Mahesh Rajan, a Chennai-based corporate professional, debuted as an author. His Illusions of Control is a collection of seven short stories, in the genre of ‘Speculative Fiction’.
The tagline of the book, ‘Stories of beings with a hero complex’ aptly describes the content.
Mahesh, who works as Director of Strategy for a technology company besides being an independent management consultant, says, “I’ve always wanted to write, but my crippling selfdoubt never let me do anything productive. The fear of what people would say held me back from everything that I wanted to do. But I came across a
video Hip Hop Tamizha, and was inspired”. Responding to criticism about his music and acting skills in the video, Hip Hop Tamizha had said, ‘You are right, if I, like you said, a nobody, can do it, everyone can do it.’
About the title of his book, Rajan says, “I kept making so many plans, and so did my friends, but nothing in life ever goes according to our plan. All our plans to control our fate are merely an illusion. And hence the title.”
Talking about how the lockdown helped him, the debutant author says, “It locked me down to a room, and forced me to write. With no distractions, I had no excuses.”
Recounting his writing experiences, he says “I like listening to music when I’m thinking about a scenario or storyline, and tend not to pay attention to anyone or anything around me for some moments after the track is over. Now imagine not paying attention to what your wife tells you during that time! I’ve also forgotten to take my pup for a walk while I was writing, and he’s made a mess in the living room multiple times!”
On his future plans, Rajan says, “I do have one more story that I would like to tell. I’m hoping I can actually get myself to sit down and write it.”
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About the title of his book, Rajan says, “I kept making so many plans, and so did my friends, but nothing in life ever go according to our plans. All our plans to control our fate are merely an illusion. And hence the
title.”
I’ve always wanted to write, but my crippling self-doubt never let me do anything productive. The fear of what people would say held me back from everything that I wanted to do. But I came across a video by Hip Hop Tamizha, and was inspired
— Mahesh Rajan