INTERVIEW WITH N. S. RAVI By SUNIDHI JAIN.

N. S. Ravi holds a Masters degree in Economics from the University of Delhi and has had a distinguished and chequered career in senior positions in public and private sector enterprises dealing in jewellery, infrastructure and textiles and apparel in Europe, Africa and India. He speaks Tamil, Hindi, English and French.

Ravi is married and has two children.

‘Those Were the Days’ is his debut non-fiction work.

He can be reached at nuranisravi@yahoo.co.uk

1) Congratulations Sir for your debut Non-Fiction. Could you just give your readers quick details about your book?
Thanks for the wishes. This is a very simple book which traces how the country has evolved over the last fifty years in various areas. 
Not many know that fifty years back we were a country of about 40 crores habitants and did not have enough food grains grown to support the population. We had to depend on free gift from a country like USA. Today we are not only feeding three times the population but also exporting food grains. No other country, not even China which everyone talks so much about has a parallel record. People have not been told how the country has moved forward.If they are made aware they will all
realise  that based on this sort of track record we can look forward to a great future!

2) This being your debut non-fiction, how difficult was it for you to think about the plot?
I was lucky that even before I decided to write the plot had got itself finalised. It was just a matter of bringing it out in proper readable form.

3) Was it difficult for you to think about the title for your story?
No I was blessed to be able to recall a favorite English song of my mine of late sixties which was also a craze amongst many college going students of the time. What I was planning to write and the title of the song blended and complimented each other.

4) The cover is appealing. Who designed it and was it like what you thought it to be or even better?
The cover was designed by the design department of the publishing house. I do not think I could have even thought of a better design.

5) What was your actual thinking behind writing this book?
I got the distinct feeling after reaching out to more than eighty plus engineering cum management graduates who were working with me in a project that their awareness of the way the our country has shaped over the last fifty years was shallow. Some were not even aware of the struggles. Let me explain this better by giving you the example of a telephone. Today you walk to a vendor and if you have all documents required you walk out with a telephone connection. Compare this with the situation forty to fifty years back when people had to wait for five to ten years for a connection. How many youngsters of today know this? It is not their fault since no one has bothered to take effort to tell them these things!

6) Being an author, you must be a book lover as well. Which is your favorite book and why?
You are correct I love books and wish it was not at the low end of preference amongst today’s youth. Indian mythology as a whole is my favorite genre and obviously both Ramayana and Mahabharata are two of my first since these were the two with which I started my foray into serious book reading under the guidance of my father. Victory of good over evil is an Indian way of life and these two books are the best in making this abundantly clear. Most of us can read it as many times as we want it without feeling silly.

7) Any upcoming project you are working on?
I am in the process of completing my first draft of a novel. If everything goes as scheduled, it should hit the shelves by early next year.

8) What other things do you like to do other than writing being an author?
Being a writer or an author is a very recent phenomenon. I have been a working professional in various capacities and different countries for nearly forty years and this is my second avatar if I may say so. Let me hence enjoy this for the time being.

9) While writing this book, what were the thoughts running around in your mind?
I was reasonably focused with the desire to complete the book at all cost. I had to thus ensure that my thoughts did not wander and allow my focus to drift which could be detrimental to my completing the book.

10) Lastly before you leave and this phase of questions ends here, would you love to leave a message for your readers?
All Indians should consider themselves to be blessed to have been borne in this country with its rich traditions and heritage .It is for us to ensure that we work for betterment of the country so that it can get back to its top position which history has recorded. Be proud of the country since it is you and me who make the country what it is.