"A Tale of Parallels"?

RAVI VALLURI is an officer of the Indian Railway Traffic Service and has worked at several places on different Zonal railways. He has also served in Mil Rail (Army Headquarters), where he was decorated with the Chief of Army Staff award. Currently, he is posted at Chennai as the Principal Chief Commercial Manager, Southern Railway. He is also the author of nine books- “The Matter of the Mind”, “Make the Mind Mt. Kailasa”, “The Infinite Mind” (co-authored with Ankush Garg), “NaMo 303 Words to Victory”, “Indian Stories: Images & Thoughts”, “Heartbreak at Coffee Shop An Array of Tales”, “Divine Whispers 365 Quotes of H. H. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar”, “Magic of the Mind” and “A Tale of Parallels”. His books were unveiled by H. H. Holiness Sri Sri Ravi Shankar. His first book “The Matter of the Mind” has been translated into Telugu and is available under the title “Manomoolamidham”. His sixth book “Heartbreak at Coffee Shop An Array of Tales” has been translated into Hindi and “NaMo 303 Word to Victory” has been translated into Kannada. “Divine Whispers” has also been converted into an audio book and is available at audible.com. He is also a faculty of the Art of Living and conducts the Happiness Programme, yoga and meditation sessions of the Art of Living, besides helping counsel addicts and undertaking courses for those dependant on alcohol and drugs. He has had a penchant for theatre, public speaking and writing since his school days and continues to fuel these interests. At present, he contributes to the Free Press Journal and also blogs at https://ravivalluri.wordpress.com. Ravi Valluri has been interviewed by Doordarshan National, Doordarshan Uttar Pradesh and Doordarshan Gorakhpur apart from appearing on Radio FM, Secunderabad and Rainbow FM, Bareilly. The author can be reached at 9618664024(WhatsApp) and at valluri.ravi@gmail.com. 1. What was the most difficult part to write in the book "A Tale of Parallels"? It was a challenge to combat living in the Officer's Rest House at Sterling Road Chennai as my wife and I were holed up while the second wave of the pandemic struck our nation. We were relocated from Prayagraj to Chennai. We were living in a huge building , but the two of us were in one room. So it was a mental battle while living in a room. I had conceived the prompts and several stories were floating in my mind . In many ways , we were living in Agyatvas / exile I reckoned. Somehow , I wanted to draw a parallel from the epic Mahabharata while weaving these stories. Fortunately my son had sent a book on Mahabharata curated by the noted author DevDuttPattnaik ( a Coffee Table Book brimming with illustrations and several stories). This was the magical moment. I would call it divine grace. As I pored over the masterpiece , ideas germinated in my mind. Now came the difficult part of intertwining the tales with the plots in my mind. All these plots and stories were pertaining to current affairs. There was a prompt with me called 6 in 5000 . That was about a family from Mirzapur and Prayagraj in current times. It was indeed a daunting task to draw a parallel with Mahabharata. 6 in 5000 , I could convert into the five Pandavas and Draupadi say 5000 years back and could weave a story of present times in Eastern UP. My wife changed the title to A TALE OF PARALLELS. And interestingly this became the title of the book as well. So yes drawing those parallels of Mahabharata with current day events was challenging and a daunting task but not an insurmountable one. 2. Your previous books are about the positive mindset and positive lifestyle. Can we expect the same in this book ' A Tale of Parallels' as well? I had written a book of fiction - short stories called HeartBreak at Coffee Shop - An Array of Tales. That was not all about positivity. But there were several unexpected twists which led to positive vibes. This collection of short stories is not a self helpbook or on the human mind. It is full of fact , fiction and numerous twists relying heavily on Mahabharata . Since Mahabharata deals with good conquering feindish forces similarly this remains the underlying theme and positivity emerges from several twists , turns and the accompanying mayhem. 3. The book cover looks so unique and insightful, is there any hidden meaning behind the cover image? The cover is indeed quite engaging . And we had to grapple with it with a lot of discussion. My publisher AKS Publishers , our promotion agents Jashn Events , my wife and I worked on it. It took time , but I am happy with the cover. If one looks at the cover closely , at the bottom are the images of the original Pandavas and above are modern day characters . In between are two sets of arrows in which the title is mentioned. So this is a reflection image through the two sets of arrows. Arrows could represent Arjuna vanquishing the Kauravas , or Bhishma lying on the bed of arrows or the macabre situations of today. So through an apocalypse now kind of a situation , the reader stumbles into tranquility and peace. This is what I have attempted and hoped to offer the readers. 4. Have you ever traveled to research for your stories ? I have been posted to several parts of the country. This is the ninth zonal railway I am working at in Chennai. With so many transfers , and staying at places lices like Alllahabad, Guwahati , Bangalore , Hyderabad , Guntakal , Secunderabad , Chennai , Ambala , Bikaner , Jaipur , Delhi ....to name some some I have had the opportunity to interact with a large cross section of people and seen various places . This has provided me with the feel of real India . And thus I do not merely write sitting in an airconditioned room without visiting a place like Bapatla , Chitrakut or Mantralayam . This exposure has helped me immensely in my writings. And Indian Railways is called the Lifeline of the nation which provides an opportunity to discover India. its culture and people who populate the landscape of my stories both fiction and non fiction. 5. What has influenced you the most as a writer? My experiences in life, especially the recovery from alcoholism to sobriety through the Art of Living . The grace of Master H. H. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar metamorphosed my thought process which helped me in writing immensely. Life is the biggest teacher which resonates in my writings and I am sure this is the case with all artists. Next while in school and college I was an active participant in music theatre workshops under the tutelage of eminent personalities , dabbled with writing , public speaking and over the years have learned Hindustani Classical music ( unfortunately have not continued with it in an uninterrupted manner ) contributed to my writing. My mother encouraged me to fuel my passion and my wife has been a merciless editor. So all these factors have contributed me to develop as a person and have also shaped my writings. 6. A Tale of Parallels will be the best read for which age group? Any one who is above 18 years would enjoy reading the book. 7. How many hours a day do you write? What is your favorite time to write, and why? Around two to three hours on weekdays and more on holidays and weekends. But it is not that I am not preparing to write at other times. My mind keeps hunting for plots . Usually I write in the evenings and at times in the mornings. Our work schedule is exceedingly hectic in the Railways , so I find time late in the evenings.