Friendship, love triangles, memories, and an unhealthy addiction to chai — Ravinder Singh chatted all this and more with his fans at the launch of his latest offering, Will You Still Love Me?, at Starmark, Mani Square, on April 28. 

The author also took questions from everyone in the audience, chuckling when fans said they cried while reading the book, “I have a reputation to maintain!” Ravinder’s fans were a happy lot as the author signed every book they brought, including multiple copies of the same book that were for friends, girlfriends, boyfriends and even 
“ex-boyfriends”!

“Will You Still Love Me? is a deeply personal book,” said the bestselling author, referring to two tragic incidents in his personal life — the death of his then-girlfriend, Khushi, five days before their engagement in 2007, and his father’s devastating accident a few years ago, following which his right leg had to be amputated. 

The book is about Patiala boy Rajveer Saini, who is smitten by the Shillong-born Lavanya Gogoi. Their story takes bitter-sweet turns on its way to fulfilment, including obstacles that Rajveer never expected. A horrifying accident changes everything for both Rajveer and Lavanya. Will their love survive this? 

Before meeting his fans, Ravinder sat down for a quick chat with t2. Excerpts: 

Tell us about Will You Still Love Me?... 

I have seen tough situations in my life and I wake up to read about the tough situations in the lives of so many people. My morning begins with reading newspapers in which the majority of articles are sad stories. I’m a very emotional person. Pain moves me a lot, more than happiness. So I land up talking about that. Will You Still Love Me? comes at a time when I’m also celebrating the 10th anniversary of my first book, I Too Had A Love Story. I became an author 10 years ago because of a road accident, and 10 years later, I’m asking if people could be more careful the next time they step out on any road in India. Of course, I write romance but at the heart of every romance is a plot. So this book has been written with the agenda of spreading awareness about road safety. This also has to do with my father’s accident three years ago, in which he lost his right leg, and the accident in which I lost my then-fiancee. So my personal tragedies and the accidents that I read about make me think if we can avoid them. 

You always tend to juxtapose opposites, whether in love or friendship, like small-town girl Lavanya and Patiala boy Rajveer. What attracts you to these pairings?

I spent 25 years of my life in a very small town and now, I live in Delhi. I see the contrast, I have lived that contrast and in my heart, I’m still a small-town boy who has given up the conservative attitude and has embraced the modern, free world, but I don’t believe that people from small towns are nobodies. There are a lot of them who have done incredible work. I have seen both sides of the coin, and therefore I love to talk about how attitudes differ, how people make decisions differently and the simplicity of life versus options available to them. I think that adds an interesting flavour to the storytelling.

Do you ever suffer from creative exhaustion? 

No, I’m a very indisciplined and lazy author. I take a good amount of time. I know my peers would write three books by the time I would come up with my next one. But I enjoy that space, of taking my time and finishing one book, because I want to give that book everything that’s needed. It has to sink in and settle down. I also want to go beyond books and create content in different spheres altogether. So much is happening in the digital world now. So I keep thinking about that. I’m also involved with Black Ink, which is my baby publishing project for debut authors. But no, I never had this feeling because words are my bread and butter. If I stop writing books, it will stop my cheques. But I don’t want a premature book to come out, no matter how much readers say, “Jaldi lao, jaldi lao.” This book has come over a year after the previous one. Once you bring out a book, it will be there on the shelves for a good, long time and will be there in the minds of the people.

We stalked your Instagram account and noticed that you post a lot of inspirational quotes... 

I am inspired by life, in general. Every day, there is something new. And it’s all about perspective. I observe. I saw someone getting down from a Mercedes in Delhi and going to a golgappawallah — what you guys call phuchka — and he said, “Yaar, garmi bahut hai!” So I observed that and I thought, the next quotation I’m going to come up with will be on this, that a person who is in an air-conditioned environment 24x7, steps out for two minutes and cribs about the heat to this man who has been sitting there for the entire day. These little things make all the difference, you know. So I observe a lot. 

Do you think there is still a very sharp divide between a critic’s perception and popular perception of commercial and literary fiction? 

I think it doesn’t matter what critics are saying in today’s time. Slowly and steadily, the game has changed. It is a buyer’s market. Agar aap ka samaan bik raha hain, if there are people to read you, that’s all that matters. This morning, I was giving an interview to somebody, and the lady said, “Aap romance pe likhtey ho, kabhi kuchh serious subject pe kyun nahin likhtey ho?” I asked her, “Have you read my books?” She said, “No, I’ve only read the first one.” That’s the problem. That book is of an autobiographical nature because I was a heartbroken guy. But you never read what I wrote afterwards. You tell me why road-safety is not serious? Why youth politics is not serious? Why heartbreak or extramarital affairs are not serious? These things are breaking people apart! You know, if you tell me that romance is not serious, look at people getting into depression because of heartbreak. It is definitely serious. And that’s my only reaction to critics. And also, I do not want to react to critics. But if somebody puts a gun to my head and says, ‘You have to,’ then I will only say this. 

Writer, publisher, businessman — you wear many hats. What are your plans for the future?

I want to take content into a different space. I want to create a Black Ink ecosystem and provide a platform for people to tell their stories. Something in the space of audio, video or radio could be something new that I want to come up with. By the time I’m here next time, talking to you, some of it would have been done, or at least kick-started.

What is your favourite thing about your fans in Calcutta, apart from the fact that they bring you lots of sandesh?

(Laughs) Getting sandesh is the second reason. The first and the more important reason is that Calcutta reads. That’s what I posted on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook — Calcutta reads. No other place has shown me this much love consistently. I come from a Punjabi background and I wish that Punjabi people read this much. That is the phenomenal thing about this place. It’s such a fantastic market. We live in a country in which we don’t even have authors in double digits who could be full-time authors and making a good living out of writing. We are a country that hosts zillions of literary festivals but yahaan pe sirf kitaab likhkey kamaaney waaley kitney authors hain? Somebody is a journalist and writing, while somebody is something else and writing. In such a case, what can sustain an author is if people start reading. And if reading has to be promoted, then I look forward to Calcutta as the leader that other places should look up to.

SNAPCHAT

Currently reading: The Year I Met You by Cecelia Ahern.

Fave social media platform to interact with fans: Instagram. 

Most played song on your playlist: Mann bharrya by B Praak.

A TV series you are binge-watching: Suits. 

Last film you watched: Murder on the Orient Express. 

Fave way to fitness: Fitness happens in the kitchen more than in the gym.

Fave snack to munch on while writing: Chai ke saath oat cookies.

Fave thing to do in Calcutta: Eat! Sandesh, jhalmuri, fish, ras malai, Arsalan — it’s honestly a never-ending list. 

Fave holiday destination with wife, Khushboo: Greece!

Favourite writing app: MS Word, of course.