Xaverian, Tony V. Francis, spoke about the history of St. Xavier’s Collegiate School, which he merged with his fantasy in his book The Autograph Seeker, before a select audience at An Author’s Afternoon — presented by Shree Cement and Taj Bengal, held in association with t2, Prabha Khaitan Foundation and literary agency Siyahi — at the Alipore star hotel in conversation with Debnita Chakravarti, a professor of English at Shri Shikshayatan College. Excerpts from Tony speak...

THEATRE TO SCHOOL

When a postal stamp comes out, there is a first-day cover which represents what the stamp is all about. I might have in Class III or IV when St. Xavier’s Collegiate School first-day cover came out. The stamp was familiar but the picture was not, because it did not look anything like the St. Xavier’s Collegiate School we are studying in. It was a grand structure. So every time I went to the auditorium, I tried to figure out if it was the same, but it was not. 

Much later I discovered the story… there was a theatre in Calcutta called San Souci Theatre and there was this very beautiful actress (Esther Leach). She was a widow but she was so beautiful that there were lines outside just to date her. One day her dress caught fire and she got burnt. This, a lot of people might know. After that the theatre started plummeting and things began to go wrong. 

There was this manager, who decided to do something dramatic. Remember, this is at the peak of the time of English prejudice. He said, let’s stage the play Othelo. Instead of painting a British actor’s face black, he decided to get a native. He decided to put Esther’s daughter (Alice Anderson), on stage with Baboo Bustomchurn Addy. 

The day this was supposed to be staged, there were cops protesting outside. They were like, how can a native man hold a married English woman’s hand? So this play was banned for a week. The next week, when the play was staged, it became a huge hit. But no one knew what happened to the actor and the actress later on. This is all true, and history does not tell me what happens to them. So, where the history stops is where my imagination comes in. 

The theatre finally shuts down and becomes St. Xavier’s Collegiate School. When you have a story like that, you have to narrate it. This story is dark, there is betrayal and illicit activities. I am a sunny person by nature, how much darkness can I bring in?! So I thought, let’s bring in this schoolboy who is in love with this Anglo-Indian beauty and merge these stories. 

INSPIRATION TO WRITE

Everything I have done in my life is because I felt that I was nothing in school. I was short, had malnutrition and pimples on my face (laughs). I was horrible in sports and therefore I was put into obstacle races! I couldn’t debate or elocute, but somewhere there was an aspiration. After years, a friend was like, you remember you had a Mickey Mouse tiffin box? I was like, really? You even noticed that I had a Mickey Mouse tiffin box (laughs)! So while I thought I was nobody, there was a bunch of people who thought I was somebody. So, all of this is to prove that I can do something. 

LOVE FOR AUTOGRAPHS

I think it all began with those scrapbooks where you get friends to jot down and because I have been in radio, I had the privilege of meeting a lot of celebrities who came to the studio. I think there is something unique about autographs. Imagine Amitabh Bachchan’s autograph in front of you! It’s living and very personal. 

I called my book The Autograph Seeker because I liked collecting autographs. I wanted to do something very unique, something no one else had done before. So I merged these autographs with the story, and because these autographs were in my name I could give it a twist saying this boy liked collecting autographs and his name is Tony. Everyone has their full names mentioned except Tony because it’s not me, it’s my alter ego (laughs). 

THE LOVE STORY

A few of my friends here will remember that there was a school for the mute across St. Xavier’s Collegiate School and our school would give them the permission to play basketball. I was in Class VII or VIII then. I remember distinctly about this girl playing. She was very beautiful. I used to wonder if there were any possibilities and if I could muster courage... but how do I communicate with her? Some of it remains in your being. From there emerged Vinny (a character in the book). 

So how does this boy who talks a lot communicate with a girl who can’t speak? She is everything that he is not. She is athletic, she is taller than him, she is a bully... you will not feel sympathetic towards her. She is not the goody-goody type, she has got her own edginess. 

TRAILER TO THE BOOK

When you begin writing a book, you are told to prepare a log line, which is two to three sentences describing the book. My log line is that it’s a story of a schoolboy in Calcutta who against all odds puts up a play on the history of his school. The play features the love child of a married English woman and a native Indian, set in British India. Helping him with the play is a mute Anglo-Indian beauty who he is in love with but who will leave him forever. I was told that when you go to the publisher, no one has the time to listen to the entire story. You have to catch them for two minutes and tell them an attractive log line. So if this is engaging enough, then the book will be read by all.

THE ACT OF WRITING 

This was my last couple of months in Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore, and the shooting of Three Idiots began over there. Suddenly you see Aamir Khan and Rajkumar Hirani and they had decided to stay on campus. They played table tennis and also decided to teach. My best lessons were from Rajkumar Hirani. He said a couple of things which I have used for my book. He said, write for yourself, then it will be unique. If no one likes it, one person will like it and that’s you. That’s how it all began. 

Since it’s about school, I decided to bring in my school teachers and then I got the autographs in and I wrote down about certain things that had happened. I was starting afresh. I have got no baggage. No one knows about me, so I can do whatever I feel like. If it doesn’t work, nobody will come to any session. But when it is personal and you indulge in it, somewhere it hits a chord. So, if any of you are thinking of writing a book, start with yourself. You will probably not remember what you had for breakfast, but you will remember something that hurt you or made you laugh. That is the gold dust and from there, your story emerges. If you note all that down and give it a little twist, you will come up with a very compelling original story.

Hirani also said that for him, every scene should either make the audience laugh or cry or should be dramatic. So that’s what I tried. 

I read things that make me happy. I like Anuja Chauhan... she, again, goes into her life. P. G. Wodehouse remains my favourite. My book has a lot of Wodehouse style.

 

Text: Malancha Dasgupta
Pictures: Biswajit Kundu