Interview: Chandru Bhojwani

Hello and welcome to my first interview session. Today I'm going to be interviewing Chandru Bhojwani, author of The Journey of Om, which I reviewed here.

1. So, lets begin this interview by asking you what kind of books are there on your bookshelf? What books are you reading right now? Which genre of books do you generally read? Which books do you re-read again and again?

I have several books on my shelf waiting to be read including Synchro Destiny by Deepak Chopra, Lords of the Bow by Conn Iggulden & John Burdett's Bangkok Haunts. I don't re-read books but I'd say A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth, Bangkok 8 and Wolf of the Plains rank as my top 3 books. As you can see i'm more partial to fiction novels but I do read some spiritual books from time to time.

2. Tell us something about your work before "The Journey of Om"?

I have been writing for Beyond Sindh for over 5 years now and have had numerous article and short stories published in the publication. My short story, The Love Letter won the Mirage short story competition and was published in 2009 in an anthology Inner voices and my short story, Zero is scheduled to be published in a Canadian anthology. A lot of my work can be found on my site www.chandrubhojwani.com

3. Did you always want to be a writer? How did you get into writing? What inspired you to write "The Journey of Om?"

I never studied or trained to be a writer. It started as a hobby. In writing I found an avenue through which I was able to express my thoughts in a witty, tongue-in-cheek way while getting my point across and entertaining readers. I never expected it to go anywhere until a reader told me I had missed my calling. When Beyond Sindh came knocking, it reinforced what my readers thought. Still, I never considered myself a writer and felt like a pretender when I referred to myself as one. As a result of the feedback, support and especially with the publishing of my first short story, The Love Letter I believed that writing was a road I could seriously embark on.

As for the Journey of Om, it initially started as a short story and over time I just kept adding to it. It was a story I felt that needed to be shares especially since it depicts a unique male perspective that is rarely voiced in this kind of genre.


4. What kind of people do you think this book will reach out to?

The Journey of Om is a tale about relationships, love, betrayal and life in general and has something for everyone. That said I felt it would appeal to those in their young twenties through to those in their fifties.

5. What is your favourite thing about books and reading? How have books made an impact on your life?

I'd have so say my favourite thing is finishing a book and having that sense of accomplishment. Great books leave me pondering for days or even weeks! I'd have to say books helped me realise my potential and played a part in helping me create my style of writing.


6. Quick take. Answer the following with the first words/phrase that comes to your mind, in five words or less:

- Spirituality - Answers & Guidance
- Om (your character) - Flawed & Human
- Love - Complexly Beautiful
- Life - Living & Experiencing
- Books - Knowledge & Escape

Thank you Chandru for agreeing to be part of my blog.

If you're a published author who would like to be reviewed/interviewed by me, shoot me an email at sakhisshah [at] gmail [dot] com (Please remove the spaces, and replace the [at] with @ and [dot] with . thanks)