There are two contrasting characters in Deepam Chatterjee’s novel The Millennial Yogi (Penguin India; Rs 299) –– Vini and Jay. They are from different generations while their life’s crisis remains the same. Vini, who was a ruthless businessman who left his scruples behind to progress in life till fate rewrote his story, shares his acquired wisdom to a stunned audience every evening at the local tea shop. Jay on the other hand takes the wrong route of bribery to propel his business forward. Through these characters, Chatterjee has written a book that is steeped in mysticism, poetry and philosophy with something to think about for everyone. The author who happens to be a former army officer and who writes for The Telegraph, spoke to us over Zoom about every thought that went on in his mind about the making of the book. Excerpts…
Do tell us about the inception of this book and your choice of making it a fiction piece instead of non-fiction.
You would be probably surprised to know that I had already submitted about 30 non-fiction proposals before this my editor. I am a visiting professor of mysticism at Mumbai University and the lack of educational texts made me think of including India’s tryst with mysticism in this book. The mystical poems in every language have so much depth in them that I decided to incorporate my own translations into the text. I had initially only written about the older character Vini and I made his journey almost mirror mine –– a journey that I had gone through from being a part of the Indian army to understanding my own spirituality. As for the name, it’s my Instagram handle and it’s just something which stuck. So here we are now with The Millennial Yogi.
Do tell us a little about your journey from the army to mysticism and spirituality and how has that been like...
It’s been a very interesting journey. My father is a retired major general and his older brother was a lieutenant colonel. My grandfather was one of the first postmaster general of independent India. My entire family has been a part of the armed forces –– a great mix of navy and army. But I was never interested in joining the academy. I was a typical bald Bengali guy who had a penchant for singing!
It was after joining the army and passing with flying colours that I realised that it wasn’t something I wanted to do. I still ended up serving at multiple places like Siachen but health issues compelled me to quit the army eventually. I had nowhere to go and nothing to do. I had no health or education that would equip me for a life and I was in a very bad mental space. It took me a long time to heal myself before I started teaching Art of Living for a few years. Eventually I joined the film industry as a consultant and discovered my love for writing. Meandering through life, I have finally reached a point that has given me this book.
While you based Vini on yourself, who did you base the young, erratic, passionate Jay on?
Jay came out of me again –– it was the younger me who was more angsty. I left the army when I was about the same age as Jay. I had gone through facial paralysis and a bad heartbreak. I came to Mumbai and started observing people. All my characters arrived from these observations. I combined three separate story ideas to write this book. Some of Vini’s teachings to Jay came from my own lived experiences.
I have only used poetry which I understand in the language that it’s originally written. There is Punjabi, Bengali, Marathi translations in the book and while my language skills are shaky when it comes to few languages, I was convinced about only writing from a place of deep understanding.
For someone who preaches Hinduism, what are your thoughts on how the religion is being used as a propaganda in India?
I have been extensively writing in The Telegraph and my views are very clear on this. I am a Hindu but not a saffron Hindu. I am a millennial Hindu who sees anything to do with mythology and rituals as something that needs to be respected. But it’s also okay if one doesn’t follow it. I learnt so much about secular living in the army. One can enjoy a festival without getting completely involved in it, just respecting it from a measured distance.
I am worried about the situation unfolding around us in our country right now. I have even heard people say that I have written pamphlets on Hinduism so I must be ‘their kind’ of Hindu. And I want to tell them that Hinduism is a way of life. One can’t impose our own views on another adult. This is where I see millennials coming in. They are asking questions and making choices. Vini is older and softer and he doesn’t impose his choices on anyone. Jay on the other hand believes in making his own choices and mistakes and learning from them. When I say millennials I mean all generations that are living through this millennium and Hinduism needs to catch up to their evolving choices. We live a fast-paced world with changes occurring within and around us every day. Nobody can be forced to listen to this, wear that or do that!
If there are three things that you had to tell millennials, that would enable them to make their journey a little smoother, what would they be?
This book is full of them! First point, however, would be to tell them to stick to their choices. Don’t be bogged down by opinions of people who haven’t had the same lived experiences as you. The second thing would be to stick to relationships and give them time. One can’t be looking for an escape route at the slightest issue that crops up. And the third thing would be to learn to be a great leader. You can be a good creator but leading by example is the only way to live a great life.