Journal: The Birth of a Book — The Middle River
Let me tell you how a book is born.
September 2007
There is something truly special about the River Narmada. I visited it in 2007 when my nephew turned one year old. We traveled to Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, where I was captivated by the grandeur of the River Narmada.
It flowed gracefully between marble rocks, deep in the valley, and disappeared into the misty clouds at the Dhuandhar Waterfalls. The beauty of this magnificent river left a lasting impression on me.
February 2024
Some of you may know that our first project, "Bachelor’s Wife and Other Stories: Tales Inspired by the Ramayan," is currently in progress. We are reaching out to publishers. I remember the moment when we had just finished the edits with our amazing editor, Falguni Jain, at the end of February. We were about to take a break—though I didn't realize it at the time—until we resumed the project again in September.
March 2024
March is a difficult month for Shweta as it marks the anniversary of her father's passing, which inevitably led to a break in our routine. Shweta has lived in Bhopal but hails from Nagpur, the region of the River Narmada. Her bond with her father is unmatched. What she experienced after his death is something I’ve only caught glimpses of. From what I've seen and understood, the profound love she harbors in her heart stirs something deep within me.
It was a day after Shivratri. I shared the pictures of the four kaal-puja ( four prahars, each prahar is 3 hours, starting 6 pm to 6 am). As we were chatting about the decorations, on March 9, 2024, Shweta Hitesh Joshi wrote to me, which triggered this chat:
Shweta:“I want you to write something that incorporates Narmada and Shiva. She is a Vedic-era river, older than the Ganga.”
Ashok: Do you want mythology or contemporary story
Shweta: Mythology
Ashok: So the storyline for the entire book will be mythology
Ashok: Yes
Shweta: Search/research/discovery
Our search for sources on the Narmada River began in March and continued until May while Shweta was in Milan. During this time, we shared various reading materials through different links. However, we encountered a lull from May to September as she was transitioning from Italy to India.
I was not satisfied with our research progress, but due to other priorities at work, my focus shifted away from this project.
October 2024
This is how I always have been, I took up the search again one day and stumbled upon a treasure trove of Narmada stories on 18th October 2024.
Here is the gist of the conversation:
[22:55, 18/10/2024] Ashok Personal: Here is the breakthrough: https://www.wisdomlib.org/hinduism/book/the-skanda-purana/d/doc425729.html
[23:01, 18/10/2024] Ashok: Skandapurana
[23:04, 18/10/2024] Ashok: Single source, easy to work through. Enough stories.
[23:05, 18/10/2024] Ashok: Our writing style.
[12:13, 19/10/2024] Shweta: Omggggg
[12:13, 19/10/2024] Shweta: This is a treasure
[12:14, 19/10/2024] Shweta Joshi: I knew about Rewa Khand but didn’t know so many stories would be available
[12:14, 19/10/2024] Shweta: This is a gem ❤️
At that moment, everything changed for this project and book. When Shweta discovered the treasure trove from which we could draw our inspiration, our work was complete.
November 2024
We formed a WhatsApp group to track this project separately. On the 11th of November, Shweta dropped a message.
Shweta: “So the Rewa Khand of Skand Puran is called Narmada Purana. Have sent you that. But couldn’t get in English 😬. Another by Amrit Lal Vegad….describes the geography and locational beauty around Narmada.”
Exactly four days later, I got the two books.
This inspired our next journey, project, and book. Here we are, with our initial reading material on the Great River Narmada.
More to come. My gratitude to Shweta continues…
~Ashok Subramanian © 2024
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