Bureaucrat pens book on search for lost way of life-Gautam Datt

It seems like India’s foreign service officials have been bitten by the creativity bug. If former spokesperson of the ministry of external affairs Nirupama Rao was seen singing at a concert last week, her successor Navtej Sarna has hit the headlines with his first novel.

The book, which is expected to hit the stands this week, has nothing to do with diplomacy. In fact, service rules for IFS officers prohibit them writing on their subject until retirement.

Mr. Sarna’s Novel, We Weren’t Lovers Like That, is the story of a person whose struggle to come out his mid-life crisis leads him on a nostalgic train journey from New Delhi to Dehradun.

It is about Aftab Chandra, whose 40th birthday coincides with the celebrations of the new millennium. At that defining moment Aftab, who is looking for answers to many questions after his wife walks out of his life, catches the Shatabdi Express for Dehradun, the city where he had spent his childhood.” It is the story about a person who goes back to his old town leaving the tinsel world of Delhi and embodies nostalgia for a lost way of life,’ Mr. Sarna told The Asian Age. But he points out that it is not the story of a man who comes to a big town from a small place, gets disillusioned and goes back. 

“It is about the transition of a person from teenage idealism to middle age materialism. For some the transition is smooth but for others it is disconnected,” he adds.

Dehradun was chosen as the setting as the place held special significance in the author’s life. He spent about five years in the picturesque town during his school days. And he underwent the experience of travelling to Dehradun in 1999 on the Shatabdi Express after a gap of about 15 years.” I just happened to go there and walked again on the streets and bazaars which helped me frame the book,” he said. He started writing the book after that unplanned trip when he was posted in Washington.

Writing comes easily to the IFS officer who has contributed regularly to various literary magazines across the world. Even as his first venture is all set for release, the next project is already lined up.

He has already finished a book on the life and times of Guru Nanak for Penguin India.

The book by Mr. Navtej Sarna has brought to light his creativity. It comes after a concert by his predecessor Nirupama Rao who surprised many by her performance.