An Interview with Rajessh M. Iyer, Biographer of Uncle Pai

Rajessh M Iyer, a storyteller and a children's author, has worked with Amar Chitra Katha as a Creative Director before donning other roles in the writing and publishing space. He speaks to us at Lampshade Writers about writing the book, sourcing anecdotes and a few tips for biographers. 

Rajessh's latest book, the biography titled Uncle Pai, a publisher's journey of the famous Amar Chitra Katha, is published by Fingerprint and is available in independent stores and on online retail portals.

Why did you think of writing this book?

Actually, I didn’t, despite working in Amar Chitra Katha for some years. The idea was mooted by my literary agent, Mr. Suhail Mathur. I was apprehensive in the beginning whether there was enough material other than what everyone knows. But I was in for some surprises when I met those who worked with him.

You have researched into the life of Uncle Pai, including personal stories about the tiffs between husband and wife, how did you learn about so many anecdotes from Uncle Pai's wife?

Mrs Pai would often come to Amar Chitra Katha office and while I was there I had this privilege since she’d make it a point to meet me. In every meeting she’d recount many incidents and meetings, including the one you mention. Actually these anecdotes are quite commonplace among old ACK staff. She had in fact recounted this instance and others many times to many of them. Sadly, I wasn’t aware of my penning Mr. Pai’s biography one day, else I would have spoken to Mrs Pai in details about a few lesser known anecdotes. 

How has your relation been with Uncle Pai? Anything that you have not mentioned in the book?

I have never met Mr. Pai. I started working in ACK after Mr. Pai’s demise. In hindsight, this seeming-handicap came as a blessing in disguise. I could approach the subject's life with a certain amount of detachment which is essential for any good biography.

The art of writing a biography is difficult but you aced it. Have you written biographies before? Any tips for people who want to write biographies?

Thanks, but this is my first biography. Perhaps, that’s also the reason of putting in extra effort to make sure there are no loose ends. I have corroborated every statement by multiple sources to make sure it’s authentic, recording almost every conversation so that I keep going back to them during redrafts. The only tip I can give (though I doubt if I’m qualified with just one biography under my name) is to glance between the gaps, read between the lines and observe beyond the obvious. The real story invariably lies there.

How long did it take you to write the book? What was your preparation like?

The entire process from ideation to printing took two and half years. The preparation was to meet as many people as possible and find common stories to tie them in sequence. Also keep your mind open to know what’s genuine. People are prone to exaggerate, contradict and even be extremely confused. Just because someone is close to a person doesn’t mean the words spoken are true. You need to develop this mechanism to find out.

Any tips for writers and publishers?

For writers, I’ll say have patience and perseverance. Both work wonders, especially if you’re writing novels. Everything takes time: from the idea to take shape into a book, the book to be printed and finally publishing. For publishers, all I can I say is try to hunt stories that have not been told. After all, India is the land of infinite stories, it’s time we dug deep to come up with good ones.

Rajessh M Iyer with the book