A Tete-a-tete with Ajinkya Bhasme, Author of "When The Devil Whispers

WHEN THE DEVIL WHISPERS"_ - A crime thriller and psychological horror based on true events written by multi-faceted personality - AJINKYABHASME, AN ALUMNUS OF IIT MUMBAI, ENGINEER, DANCER, AND AN ARTIST. _ A Chemical Engineer from IIT Mumbai, Ajinkya worked as a scientist in the pharmaceutical company - Dr. Reddy's Labs, Hyderabad. After working there for 4 years where he started writing his novel in his free time, he moved to UPL, in Mumbai. Ajinkya is currently a performance coach and HR manager with agrochemical giant - UPL. Between all this, he also found time to train the winner of DID L'il Champs in season 4, Jiya Thakur. The book was launched on October 11, 2018, by SUSHANT DIVGIKAR, Indian model, actor, performer, singer and video jockey who won Mr. Gay India in 2014.   BV: When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer? Ajinkya: My mother, who is a lawyer, used to tell me stories from her work which always thrilled me. I loved to hear how people responded differently in different situations. It got me attracted to human psychology and my life started revolving around these stories. I was always fairly reclusive and selectively social, later, however, I realized that my introverted character is because I loved to live my life in stories. I started writing short poems to express myself more. I had my family and teachers read them and give me criticism. Once, my school principal asked me to try writing a short story instead of a poem. I tried my hands on it, and between us, the story was nauseatingly unscrupulous and terribly crafted. My principal read it with negative criticism and asked me to never write stories again. I took it as a challenge and wrote my first fantasy fiction when I was 12-years-old. The book was well appreciated by a lot of people and their love and support made me believe in myself. And that is how I began to write.   BV: How long does it take you to write a book? Ajinkya: It really depends on the material. I am a very uncool person, so my social life is practically zero, which gives me a lot of time to write. If I take up a true story with a complex plot, it usually takes longer because of the research. Like, ‘When the Devil Whispers’ took me 4 years to finish just because the people involved in the story are still so disturbed decades later, that they refuse to trust anyone. On the contrary, if I take up a simpler plot, I can end up finishing a book in 2 weeks. I guess, being selectively social has its perks. BV: What is your work schedule like when you're writing? Ajinkya: I am that author who also has a corporate job. I don’t have complains, though. I love to keep myself busy. When I have a story at the back of my head, it percolates in my conscience and everyone I meet in my personal life becomes a study subject for character development. I even imagine certain bits of my plot in my dreams. So, when I am writing, I am working 24hours really. Ajinkya Bhasme BV: What would you say is your interesting writing quirk? Ajinkya: I am a positive pessimist, which reflects in my writing. I take darkness and make it good. Another major quirk in my writing is that I expect my readers to read paragraphs between the lines. Not everything will be narrated, you must pay attention to every sentence, imagine and interpret or you may miss something important. BV: Where do you get your ideas for your books? Ajinkya: “This novel is a fiction” is the greatest lie an author can tell. Inspiration is all around us, we just need to keep an open mind to accept it. I am unacquainted with the writer’s block yet, because every time I step out, something inspires me to sit in the middle of the street and start writing. BV: What do you like to do when you're not writing? Ajinkya: I dance, a lot. It is obsessive to the extent that my friends no longer find it weird if I am breathless at 3 am because they know I’d be dancing. In fact, one of my students also won Dance India Dance. I also love solving problems. I try to solve the Rubik’s cube in less than 70secs (my personal best). Or I travel, scouting for stories. BV: What genre do you like to write the most? Ajinkya: Mystery/thrillers. It gives me an adrenaline rush to create an intelligent plot where people can play the detective. If during the story, you have not had a moment of doubt on every single character, I have done something wrong. BV: Tell us about your book- WHEN THE DEVIL WHISPERS Ajinkya: A few years ago, when I was sipping coffee, my memory suddenly sprinted to the time when my mother narrated the most horrific story that she had witnessed in her career, the story that scared me so much as a kid that I refused to step out of my house alone for days. That particular thought covered my entire body in chills and I immediately took a paper and pen and wrote the words- “To err is human; to forgive, divine. And then there are crimes that are so cold-blooded and harrowing that even the devil is terrified to walk alone in the dark”, which 4 years later became the book called- ‘When the Devil Whispers’. This story had to be told because it is so uncommon in India to have serial killers and on top of that serial killers who are women. India is a very tolerant country and our law believes that people can change, so capital punishment is extremely rare in the country. When the women in the story were announced to become the first women to be sent to the gallows, it sent shivers across the country. Every aspect of this story in a way harmonized with me and I decided to write this book. You will be breathless towards the end finding out who the mastermind was.   BV: What are your future plans? Ajinkya: I am working on 3 more books right now. One is a corporate book on Diversity and Inclusivity. The other 2 are contrasting stories- one is a crime thriller based on another true story and another is a fantasy fiction which intends to create a parallel universe for people to live in. If all goes well, I will continue publishing books and entertaining my readers.   To know more such Indian authors, follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Download the digital magazine Spunky Indian to read exclusive stories.