Interview with Pramudith D. Rupasinghe Author of Bayan

Tell us a little about Pramudith Rupasinghe – where the man was born, his education, job, and family in a few lines.

Pramudith was born in Gampaha, Sri Lanka as the elder child. His father and mother both worked as teachers. After his studies, he started working as a humanitarian following the Indian Ocean Tsunami. For the last 17 years, Pramudith has been working as a humanitarian diplomat serving the population in need in different parts of the world, including Africa, East Asia, South Asia, and Europe.

He published his debut novel Footprints in Obscurity in early 2016, and the second the most discussed work “Behind the Eclipse” in late 2016. Both stories were set in the African continent, where he served over 6 years. For Behind the Eclipse - written centered on the West African Ebola Crisis 2013-2016, Pramudith first got international attention. The book has been listed among the ten best books written by Sri Lankan authors of all time by Pulse Magazine. Footprints in Obscurity has been listed among the ten most extraordinary books written by Male Sri Lankan authors by the Curious Reader India.

What inspired you to write this book, Bayan?

My work allows me to always sit on the rupture and see how deep it is; I have seen the worse of human situations and witnessed the extreme of human suffering that has a traumatic impact on anyone- the exposure to such events. Therefore, writing is therapeutic, as I mentioned above a few times. That itself is an inspiration.

In this world, most people die unheard, and the moving stories of these people that could inspire millions of others go four feet under the earth with them completely unheard; I think I try my best to pick those that my eyes come in to contact with and take them to the world. I do not choose to write about anything and everything; when I come across a theme or a subject matter, I always look at the story's impact on ‘social change.’

Suppose you ask me what inspires me to write. In that case, it is merely ‘People and their stories’, and Bayan is no exception except that the life of Ivan Nikolaevich stands out with full wisdom and experience that are mostly beyond the average. The way he lives his old life surrendering to nature's rules is worth being told to the world over.

The book explores in-depth “aging" through Ivan and his Bayan (inanimate companion). And in the background, the irreversible transformation of life in the ex-soviet republics and people's struggle in adapting to the new capitalistic social system is depicted.

How did you research Bayan? Did you, on occasion, travel to Ukraine? Have you met Ivan?

I met Ivan a few times, and I am always in contact with him. I met him in 2015 when I first visited Ukraine, and then I met him a few more times. The book is fiction. The story is written based on the conversations I had with him whenever I met him and added more fictional elements from the realities that his generation encounters today.

The conversations between Ivan and the stranger depicts the reality of millions of aging people in Ukraine and all ex-soviet republics across Eastern Europe and Central Asia. And when it comes to the landscape, it's my travel across the country.

For the book's historical timeline- as it covers from WWII to today across all changes the people and the country endured, I had to read a lot and check with people who lived those moments in their lives. Otherwise, I would not have touched the realities that add value to the fiction, making it a more practical work with a skeleton made out of realities, fleshed with a philosophical exploration of life, and with a skin of literature.

How did you gather all the invaluable wisdom you’ve offered the readers in this book?

If I give you a direct answer, ‘from the people and connecting with nature”. People are moving universities. Their diversity, individual differences, the cultures they represent, the languages they speak, the beliefs they hold onto, and how they live are the sources of knowledge.

Every conversation I had, and each person I met so far, has transferred knowledge of some sort to me, and the wisdom is born when man connects with nature. None teaches a better lesson to man than nature. Every interaction that the man does have with nature, irrespective of good or bad in our parameters, he learns a lesson as per how nature judges his action.

I think Bayan as a book represents my admiration of nature to a considerable extent, and it also talks a lot about how ‘conversations” or “connection with people’ can transform you.

Tell us more about this beautiful title. How did you decide on it? Was it a simple process, or was it a product of deep thinking? Why not name the book Ivan or maybe only - The story of a stranger? Was it Bayan because you also wanted to draw attention to this long-forgotten musical instrument?

Bayan is an old soviet type accordion that is not as sophisticated in its design and soft in the way it operates- you may require to put a lot of effort to play the melody with its round small stiff buttons while pumping air at the same time.

The book's main character, Ivan Nikolayevich, plays the Bayan when he is sad, happy, and indifferent. For him, it is his companion, no difference from a good friend, partner probably much more than that.

A companion who never judges him, listen to him without boredom or resentment, accept him unconditionally, and does not react to his actions.

On the one hand, the Bayan is a passive character “inanimate character” in the book, and the symbol depicts the companionship between the main character Ivan, and the “Inanimate object”. And on the other hand, Bayan symbolizes soviet society, communism, and the soviet lifestyle being an iconic musical instrument with strong soviet characters.

Thus, considering all the aspects mentioned above, I believe there is no other best suiting name for the book, though the name does not sound typically English.

Bayan is based on a stranger’s act of kindness that Ivan had full faith in- Kindness that went beyond Ivan’s life. Do you believe these kinds of people still exist in reality? Or are they existential just in stories?

We are amidst a worldwide pandemic that no one was able to foresee the proportions of. Did you happen upon any humanitarian stories amidst this catastrophic disease? Do you see another book coming up sharing this experience?

I lived today's situation between 2013 and 2016 when I was working in Liberia. My book Behind the Eclipse is set in Liberia, Guinea, and Sierra Leone- three countries severely affected by the West African Ebola Crisis in 2013.

The scenario that the world population encountered today, I encountered along with people Liberia, Guinea, and Sierra Leon from 2013 to 2016. Behind the Eclipse says it all. The only difference is that the story is based on an Ebola Epidemic by a strain of Ebola with a history of mortality ranging from 25%-90%.

Today we face a COVID-19 pandemic with less than 4% mortality. I think I have already done it.

Ivan fathered another girl outside the holy bonds of marriage. It is a morally incorrect act of an otherwise adorable character. Do you have any qualms about this? Do you think readers might take this well?

I think there are millions of children born out of wedlock.

On one bank of the river, parents foster children rightly, creating the enabling environment for their growth, creating opportunities, and expanding their horizons while remaining as partners. An old school “piece of paper” is losing its validity as the human is progressing. And on the other bank, formally wedded couples fail to be good parents. When you cross the waters and touch both banks, you will realize that marriage is a paper, tradition, and an old hat losing its significance as we move on. And Ivan had a daughter with his first wife, and then with Nadia, he never got married but fathered a daughter. Olga with whom he remains attached. And his first daughter is far away in terms of their bound.

The nature of bonds between Ivan and his two daughters and between Ivan and Nadiia highlights that it's not the marriage/paper of the tradition that dictates your relationship of add value into them, but how deep you are bound with each other.

I think a readership falls in love with a deeply philosophical novel as Bayan would easily navigate the realities depicted in this context.

You’ve written about a musical instrument in your story. How important is music to you in your life? Do you play or sing? What are your hobbies?

How important do you think is reading other books or literature important as a writer?

I think, though every reader is not a writer, every writer is a reader. And every reader is a book lover, and no writer hates books. Reading and writing are like the cover and the content pages of a book. It is sufficient to understand how vital a reader is.

Literature being a product of thought, it allows us to understand life broadly and deeply. As authors, we do write about things deeply connected to life. I believe reading books help writers to explore themselves as writers.

And I believe writers also need to breathe and enjoy a book of someone else, forgetting that they are writers. The moment you remove your writer lens and enjoy a book of another like an ordinary reader is just precious. It helps us come out of the writer's shell at least for some time and live the lives of millions of our readers.

Books you are currently reading or want to read?

I am currently reading Warlight of Michal Ondaatje, and there are quite a few other books in the queue. On average, I read 30-50 books in a calendar year. As a habit, I do read before I sleep. That I have been doing since the days, I could remember.

If I answer the second part of your question ‘what books I want to read’ I would not be able to answer because I am a kind of a person who does not judge a book by reviews of the others or so-called “best-selling lists’ or the endorsements of the magazines of newspapers. I read whatever I come across. Some books I read fully. Some I read only the first few chapters.

Are you currently working on a new project? Can you tell us something about it?

There is an ongoing work set in one of the largest brothels in Bangladesh. It depicts the unspoken realities of sex-workers' life through the story of a girl who was sold to the brothel trafficked from a remote village in Chittagong.

The book is supposed to be out in the early half of the year 2021. I intend to launch it in Bangladesh.

Thank you to the author for this wonderful and insightful interview. And Best Wishes for your future writing and books from all the readers at Mru's Books and Reviews.

Happy Reading!!