It is not often that book lovers are treated to a novel with a sound track. Wings of Silence, the debut novel of singer and composer Shriram Iyer, is a tome with a difference. It is an attempt, said to be the first of its kind here, to weave together a book and some music. So it wasn’t surprising that the launch had a musical opening with the author crooning A R Rahman’s hit number from Lagaan, Mitwa o Mitwa.
The book was launched on Thursday at Landmark, Nungambakkam, by Vasanthi Bala, former principal, DAV Public School; Karun Raman, fashion photographer and Vignesh Menon, director.
In Wings of Silence, the author who hails from Bangalore narrates the story of two brothers, their struggle and the conflict they face under different circumstances.
A trained Hindustani singer as well, Shriram calls the book set in the backdrop of the 1980 Moscow Olympics, 99 per cent fiction. “I relate to the protagonist, Saurav Sethi, a lot. I wanted to be good at everything exactly like him. But the rest is a dream,” he says.
Discussing the 1980 Olympics setting in the book, the author says that the particular game had its share of turmoil due to the Cold War. “Several players bore the brunt of political upheaval. However, at the same time, I didn’t want to make a political statement in the book,” he says.
The author admits that he had to do a little research for the book. “I spoke to several hearing impaired people in their forties. They could relate to the era easily and provide an insight into the hardships and challenges faced at that time,” he says.
Shriram, an alumnus of IIM-Bangalore and a management professional settled in Melbourne. He has written short stories, play scripts and screenplays. He released his pop album Dhundh Mein in 2007, apart from performing close to 400 concerts in India, Australia, New Zealand and USA.
Though of late, he has been touring extensively for the promotion of his first novel, he is set for penning more, he reveals,
“I want to stick to fiction. I am planning to write a whodunit and mythological thriller simultaneously.”
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