Interactive Session with Zuko

Hello Lovelies,

Today we have Zuko whose Figmented Reality got released recently and I am going to interview him on my blog. He is a dyslexic and would enlighten us about it along with some sneak peak of his book.

Lets get started then:

Tell us about yourself?

I was born in Dombivli,Mumbai. I was there till was 9. Then I moved to Chennai after that. I was officially diagnosed as Dyslexic when I was  9-19. I finished my schooling in Chennai and after that did my under-graduation in Mechanical with Spl.in Energy from Vellore Institute of Technology-University. After that, I worked for a company in Kochi where I started writing and finished my book. Now I am in business with my father.

So you are dyslexic? Tell us more about it?

If you had seen Taare Zameen Par, I could call it my childhood biography. He is into art and I was into Maths back then, and ended up being a writer. I was diagnosed at very early age with Dyslexia as I used to write 7 asL or b as d and vice versa. In my mind what I was writing was d but in the book it was b. My mind was faster than my hands could write and so if I wanted to write “I AM NOT INTERESTED”, I end up writing “I AM INTERESTED” because in my mind, I had already written the word NOT but my hands couldn’t keep up. I am in Business now and I read twice every mail, before I send out and also ask my father to read once before I send it because in Business a word can mean a whole lot.

What all problems you faced while going through dyslexia?

The problems I faced were very little to the things my parents had go through. As Seinfield says “Kids are candy moronic brains” and that is true. The feeling was more of helpness rather anything. It wasn’t that I am choosing to write like Mirror. There were times in exam where I would solve the problem in the ROUGH COLOUMN and get the answer say 375 and then I would write ANSWER : 357 . It wasn’t something I was choosing to do but it was involuntary. There were teachers who would give me marks based on the rough coloumn work but there were some who wanted the right answer, and not the right concept.

You write under a pen name Zuko.Please tell us the story behind taking up this name?

I have become tired of explaining Zuko, because it was name I had since I was in first year of college in my Facebook profile. Zuko is a character in the series AVATAR:THE LAST AIRBENDER. In a way I could relate to him. He tries his best to convince his kingdom(mainly his father) that he could be the next king that he starts going into the wrong path and finally decides that the path he is going isn’t the same. I could relate myself to him because I wanted to prove to the world that I am not a useless person and I am still trying to prove and I don’t think I will never stop.

What was the thought process of writing this book?

The book was emotionally draining for me because I had to be in the shoes of the characters to start thinking like them. To think like an addict, to think like a killer etc. it wasn’t easy, it took some emotional burden but I felt I was more matured at Chapter 24 than I was in Chapter 1. I think it reflected on my writing too.

 

Why you took up a psychological topic as your career background says you are a marketing person?

I don’t know where the fascination of psychology started. I am really fascinated by the human brain and its workings especially on the topic of addictions. I started watching documentaries on human mind, narcissism, serial killers and taken youtube classes on Psychology. It is still my fascination and I would like to a full fledged course in Psychology someday.

Who inspired you for writing this book?

Dr.Nikhil Chandwani and my jealousy towards him. He is junior to me, writer of 4 books, a PhD, has company & a private coal mine by the age of 23 and for him to say that I was a better writer than him, motivated me to start writing Figmented Reality. After the first chapter, I sent it to him and he said to me to complete the book. He used to message me daily evening asking me to write. Once I was in the flow, I took time out of my schedule to write for 1 hour or 1000 words. It was unnecessary for him to do that but he still did.

Siddharth’s character is the most complex one. Can you tell is it inspired from a real character or is it fictional?

I think, no character, be it in book(I have read very few) or a movie(I have seen a lot) is fully fictional. There is always a bit of someone in the characters portrayed. Characters are inspired by someone or the other.

What is your future plans regarding writing?

My passion has always been BUSINESS. I do take time out to write. I have written poems published in my blog www.zukosid.blogspot.com . I am already half way through my second book and quarter in my third, and two in my mind a concept.

Will you take up the same genre or something different? The readers want to know.

Second book is a crime novel, partly sequel of first. Third is on dreams and a pure fiction which I am writing with one of my friend, he is an author too. Third is on religion, which I need to be sensitive on, so I am thinking on how to make it as sensitive as possible which is in the concept stage. Fourth is law drama which I have just started thinking couple of days back. I hope it all becomes a book. It ain’t easy to convert concept to a 30,000 word book.

About the Author

Siddharth Sabari is a blogger and writer from Chennai. Born in Mumbai and he spent half of his schooling days in Mumbai and half in Chennai. As a child, he was diagnosed with dyslexia and found it difficult to cope with language in his early years. Inspite of his difficulites, and with support of his mother, he passed out from Vellore Institute of Technology in 2013 as a Mechanical Engineer with specalization with Energy, and worked for a public limited company for two years before joining business with his father in Chennai. He was awarded the First Indian Dyslexic Writer by K L University Vijayawada. He can be contacted at [email protected] or at https: //www.facebook.com/siddusab

Also Read the book Review: /2016/08/05/book-review-of-figmented-reality/