'Guilty of Love, Your Honour' deals with themes of love: Rajesh Talwar

Rajesh Talwar who had studied Negotiation at Harvard, Human Rights Law at Nottingham and Law and Economics at Delhi University has worked for the United Nations on legal and justice-related issues in Somalia, Liberia, Kosovo, Afghanistan and Timor-Lese.

He has 26 books to his credit including fiction, non-fiction and children's books including "The Judiciary on Trial," "The Third Sex and Human Rights," "An Afghan Winter" and "How to Kill a Billionnaire." His new book "Guilty of Love, Your Honour" is a legal thriller which is a story of deep and passionate love, friendship and court drama. He shared his experiences in a chit chat with "The Hans India".

Tell us about yourself and your journey as a lawyer and writer?

When I started my practice as a lawyer, I found many things that were wrong about the court system. I started to write about these in various national newspapers. At the time, I was also teaching law at Delhi University alongside my legal practice.

Around that time, the British Chevening scholarships were announced and they were offering full scholarships to do an LLM at the University of Nottingham. Since I practiced law, taught the subject and also wrote on it, I ticked all the boxes and was awarded the scholarship.

Upon return to India routine, I felt dissatisfied with routine legal work, so when I received an opportunity to work with the United Nations in Kosovo, I took it without any hesitation. I have now worked for the UN across three continents in various countries.

To come to the writing now, I enjoyed writing on legal issues but loved literature even more. So, I had started to dabble in fiction even as I wrote my legal columns for newspapers.

When did you first realise that you wanted to be a writer?

It was in school, I believe. I was an average student in most subject, but in class 9, a new subject was introduced called Essay Writing. Every week we had to write an essay in class.

Suddenly, I found that I was topping the class in that one subject. In all other subjects I was lagging behind but in essay I was topping the class. This surprised me, my class mates and even the teachers. It continued to happen week after week. At this stage, I realised that maybe in the future I would be a writer.

When and how did the idea of writing a book come to you?

I started with legal literacy books. Once my articles started to appear in newspapers with some frequency, it occurred to me that a book guiding the lay person about important things to look at while making a Will could be useful. At the time Kapil Malhotra of Vision Books (Orient Paperbacks) was thinking along the same lines.

So, "Making Your Own Will" was my first book and it became a bestseller. It sold at airports, railway stations and I even saw copies selling on the pavement in Connaught Place. It continues to do well till today. And then the other books, which included novels, children's books, plays, etc. began to follow.

What is your writing process like?

I write almost every day, more during the weekend, but also on weekdays before or after office hours. How much I write depends on the office workload since my work with the United Nations can be very demanding.

I write non-fiction on week days and fiction on weekends and holidays. In fiction you enter this imaginary universe that you have created, so it's difficult to combine that kind of creative writing with the day to day job.

Tell us a bit about your book 'Guilty of Love, Your Honour.'

It's a simple enough plot in which Luv, a lawyer, practicing at the courts in Delhi, falls in love with his best friend's girlfriend. Luv finds out Jeet, who works as a high-flying corporate executive, is to be married to Simran, the girl he loves, and he tries to keep his emotions under check. Luv feels a great sense of responsibility towards his friends, especially since he, Jeet and Kartik have been best friends since Hindu College days. But falling out of love isn't so easy.

Jeet, on the other hand, cannot seem to get over Sabrina, the girl who unceremoniously dumped him. As he pines for her, he takes to the bottle, and his alcoholism spirals into an outburst Luv must control.

Will Luv betray Jeet and confess his love to Simran? Or will he stand aside, as best friends should? That's the basic plot so the novel deals with the themes of romantic love, friendship, fidelity and the idea of balancing freedom with responsibility.

What has been your most cherished experience while writing this book?

Reliving my college days was necessary in order to write certain sections of the book, but I also greatly enjoyed that experience. It brought back a host of wonderful memories. I also enjoyed setting up scenes in restaurants in Delhi that I visited frequently as a youngster such as Bercos and DePaul's in Connaught Place.

What are the tips you suggest for young authors?

Try and write every day, even if it's only a sentence or two. Don't be satisfied with your first draft. Write, rewrite and rewrite yet again till you feel your prose is fully polished. If you are writing fiction, pay attention to all the important elements in a story, such as characters, narrative voice, dialogue, settings and the theme or themes. Great works of literature are born when all these things blend together.