Kolkata-based debutant author Sudipto Lahiri’s And Miles To Go peeks into the human mind

And Miles To Go is about a few protagonists from diverse backgrounds and their struggles in life
Sudipto Lahiri's debut novel
Sudipto Lahiri's debut novel

Kolkata-based civil engineer Sudipto Lahiri has penned his maiden novel ‘And Miles To Go’ that puts the spotlight on human psychology and behaviour in pursuing their goals in life.

With Kolkata in the backdrop during 2011 and 2013, the story follows the life of a few protagonists from diverse backgrounds, their deep-seated desires and their virtues and vices. Talking about the novel that is inspired by Lahiri’s own life experiences, he says, “Once reflecting back at my life I realised that it was filled with twists and turns, thrills and drama, right from my childhood. I was not even ten-years-old and had witnessed my parents escaping a life-threatening accident. My life was a journey with ups and downs and smiles and tears. The journey was difficult but I never left my dreams. I just had one mantra and that was to never give up.”

Though Lahiri knew he had a knack for writing, it was his loneliness that gave him the window to write. He says, “My official tours gave me hours of loneliness and to deal with that loneliness I started writing. The characters of my story became my friends. They helped me to create a separate world for me. I was fascinated with the concept. I could create and rule their lives and concoct incidents at my own will. I felt like God.”

<em>Sudipto Lahiri</em>
Sudipto Lahiri

Another reason that nudged him to write was the impact of different literary figures in his life.  “I was deeply moved by so many legendary authors – Rabindranath Tagore, Sarat Chandra Bose, Saradindu Bandhopadhyay, and so on,” says Lahiri who took 1.5 years to finish the novel.

Though Lahiri had written poems earlier but writing a novel was a challenge. Talking about the challenges, he says, “There were three primary challenges that I faced with my debut novel. First, synchronizing the passage of events and the journey of the characters in the storyline in a three-year timeline. Secondly, making a smooth convergence of two worlds was critical and thirdly, balancing writing with my work schedule.”

What’s next? “The next venture will be a collection of short stories of different shades of love, horror, crime and betrayal. I expect my second book to come out in the next 3-4 months,” informs Lahiri before signing off. 

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