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Interview with Paras Joshi

Anukriti Jain

Paras Joshi is a student of USLLS who has penned down a novel titled Equilibrium, the first volume of The Avaasya Trilogy. The novel depicts the complex convergence of the past, present and the future of the planet and galaxy. He is an avid blogger with a flair for writing and he spends his quality time penning short stories. You can follow his blog:http://parasjoshi01.blogspot.in

Q. Being a law student, what inspired you to write a science fiction? What was the driving force to choose this genre?
A. Well, the book was there first, law came pretty later. So I was actually a guy who had written a science fiction coming to a law school. I started this book when I was only sixteen and a humanities student. As a huge fan of the way John Grisham approaches his legal thrillers- with an ultimate aim to write legal thrillers myself- I guess law was a natural progression after humanities.
Q. Your story revolves around a teenager, Arya. When you were outlining the character, how closely did you relate to Arya?
A. Obviously Arya is very close to my heart and I see shades of myself in him. Arya is seventeen in the book and I was seventeen as well by the time I finished writing this book. Many of his responses, behavioural pattern etc. are somewhat influenced by how I would have responded under similar circumstances.
Q. When did you realize that writing is what you want to do? What was the incident that changed your life and brought you closer to your love for writing?
A. It was pretty early on. I guess when I was around twelve and in class five. Yes! I wrote a short story titled 'Emilio Esparada and the sword of life' back then. That was when I knew this is something I'm totally going to do later in life.
Q. Where do you see yourself in the next ten years?
A. Hahaha. Probably living in a sea-facing villa, somewhere in a quaint beach town. Writing.
Q. How did you nurture this whole concept of ‘Equilibrium’, weaving it so beautifully in the form of words?
A. I started working on the Trilogy when I was sixteen. But the actual period of writing was only a month, I guess. I spent most of the time plotting the storyline, identifying the key points of the universe I was creating, making chapter structures and plotting the character. Once these things were in place, the rest was a smooth sailing
Q. How do you think your college life is bringing you closer to your dreams and how does it inspire you to become a better writer?
A. See, college opens a whole new world to you. I'll be generic here rather than perspective, because I think everyone will agree with me here. New experiences; new people; new interactions; your horizon widens. You are introduced to new ideas and new perspectives. It adds to your thought process. Naturally, you grow as a writer.
Q. At last, what would your message be to the students of USS?
A. I'll just stay one thing. Dream! It is the most important thing in life. The start of almost every great thing has been with a dream. If you want something, strive for it, and the entire universe will come together to make it a reality. Magic happens, you just have to believe in it.

You can read more about Paras Joshi and his book on the facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/equilibriumsaga