Sabarna Roy is the author of six critically acclaimed bestselling books: Pentacles, Frosted Glass, Abyss, Winter Poems, Random Subterranean Mosaic: 2012 – 2018, Etchings of the First Quarter of 2020.
A civil engineer by profession (he passed out from Jadavpur University in 1988), Roy spends his time on books, music, movies, and international television series when he is not writing or working in an engineering-manufacturing organization in Kolkata.
With no love for pets or gardening (although he loves forests and wildlife) or socializing, and a lot of time for introspection and deep (and not-so-deep!) thinking, Roy’s works reflect his views on the global order and individuals striving to find their place in it.
TBE: Tell us about your book, can you share with us something about the book that isn’t in the blurb?
Sabarna Roy: The book opens up my radical political side, and in some parts my commentary on contemporary affairs. Besides the fact that the topics are very random, and may not have any explicit connection with the other. The way our mind works, right?
TBE: What inspired you to publish Fractured Mosaic? Was it a particular moment or had you wanted to share your experience with journaling for a while?
Sabarna Roy: All the pieces in Fractured Mosaic were published pieces in various reputed media houses. I compiled all of them, and wanted my readers to go through this randomized bouquet of writings.
TBE: How was your publishing experience with Leadstart?
Sabarna Roy: I have been publishing with Leadstart since 2010. This should sum up my experience.
TBE: How do you want readers to engage with Fractured Mosaic? What do you think would be a reader’s ideal experience with it?
Sabarna Roy: I want my readers to engage with Fractured Mosaic with intellectual fluidity and harmony, the way the random images and voices of our minds crave for.
TBE: Why did you decide to create a journal instead of writing a fiction or non-fiction book? How do you think the reader engages differently with this type of book?
Sabarna Roy: I have written fiction and non-fiction. Journals contain both, in the form of ideas and thoughts. Journals are monologues and soliloquys, at times wild and at times mellifluous. From the bowels of the brain.
TBE: I imagine a lot of the work in creating this book was the layout. Can you tell us a bit about the process of creating layout? How did you know what you wanted and what would work well?
Sabarna Roy: Well, the layout has been crafted like the body of an iguana – serrated and terrorizing to touch at.
TBE: Do you read much and if so, who are your favorite authors?
Sabarna Roy: I am a voracious reader. Kundera, Murakami, Pamuk, Coetzee, Paul Austere, Kerouac, John Le Carre, Osip Mandelstam, Upamanyu Chatterjee, Mahesh Dattani, T S Eliot etc.
TBE: What do you like to do when you’re not writing?
Sabarna Roy: Thinking in silence is a major pastime of mine.
TBE: A common misconception entwined with authors is that they are socially inept, and they are often associated with loner tendencies; is there any truth to that?
Sabarna Roy: I believe there is some truth to that. However, the fact is many authors love bragging about their loneliness although in reality, they may not be lonely at all.
TBE: Is there anything you are currently working on that may intrigue the interest of your readers?
Sabarna Roy: I am presently working on an intriguing romantic play.
