In his words

It wasn’t just the language that the first time novelist fell in love with. When Bhattacharya first visited Guyana,he was a cricket writer and was covering a test match in the West Indies. “I can’t really explain the attraction that I felt for Guyana,” he says,“It’s like how you can’t explain why you like a certain kind of music.” Undefinable as it was,the attraction was strong enough for him to return and stay for a year,after spending only a week there. He found it relatively easy to slip into the Guyanese mode of life.

Perhaps the most difficult aspect would’ve been communicating,but to Bhattacharya’s practised ear,Guyanese Creole,or Creolese,had a cadence similar to roots reggae,which finds it’s origins in the same Caribbean region where the little island nation is located. And it’s no wonder that he tried to capture the lush beauty of the place through frequent use of Creole. “When I wrote the first draft,it was almost entirely written that way. But my publishers pointed out that my readers might not understand a lot of it. So I then used a lot more literary English,but still kept most of the dialogue in Creolese.”

The plot of The Sly Company of People Who Care revolves around a young man who,just like the author,is a former cricket correspondent who comes to Guyana after having falling in love with it on a previous brief visit. He meets intriguing characters,such as diamond hunter Baby and irresistible Jan. In fact,the book published by Picador India,is perhaps more an exploration of Guyanese way of life,than a traditional plot. “The main character is the country and the people,not the narrator,” Bhattacharya clarifies.