‘Quantity is not important, quality is’: Nidhi Dalmia talks about his latest book ‘Afternoon’ and the inspiration behind it

Talking about the idea behind his book, Nidhi tells indianexpress.com that he wanted to describe how it felt growing up in the late 1960s and his own coming of age. “The 60s were a period of hope and idealism, which me and many others thought would never end,” he says.

Through the book’s main themes, the author wanted to write about the universality of human emotions and feelings, and even more so of the human experience, which he considers to be a “brotherhood of all men” and “attempts at any categorisation are a distortion of the continuum”.

 

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“I wanted to tell a tale about how one is torn between love and obligation, between the head and the heart, between one’s social contract and what one really wants. ‘Afternoon’ best reflects how our lives are shaped by the choices we make and factors beyond our control,” Nidhi says.

Before venturing into writing, he managed Dalmia Biscuits and oversaw operations at Edward Keventers in Delhi. But Nidhi’s love for fiction writing existed deep down, right from his childhood.

“I always wanted to write. I remember my best friend wouldn’t believe me when I told him I wanted to be a writer when I grew up. He would say, ‘You are from a top industrial family, you will be an industrialist.’ He didn’t understand that I wanted to write in addition to running a business — not in place of it. Once I fulfilled my family commitments, I began my journey of becoming an author,” he shares.

 

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Taking inspiration from iconic authors like JD Salinger, Jean-Paul Satre and others, Nidhi’s work has been influenced by their narrative-building and storytelling prowess that exude the beauty of human connection.

‘Heaven Has No Favourites’ by Erich Maria Remarque is his favourite novel of all time and Nidhi’s writing too portrays the intricacies of love and the challenges it presents, like the German writer’s work did.

When asked what he enjoys the most about writing, Nidhi says that the process of crafting the story is the most appealing to him. “The description of events and places, so that one gets to be there, to be a witness. The reward comes from the pleasure of description, of living those moments in those places, and making the characters come to life. More than that, there is a certain pleasure in conveying emotions that people feel with an empathetic gaze.”

But Nidhi agrees that writing a book is a lonely job and doubts are bound to come. “Tastes and liking are subjective. But there is a fear that will it be good? Will the reader like it? Will it give pleasure and stir the reader’s imagination? Above all, the challenge is to believe in yourself and your writing despite everything.”

One added obstacle on his path was running a business full-time while pursuing his writing ambitions. However, he persisted as he weaved the story, little by little, one day at a time.

His advice is the same to aspiring writers — to have the discipline to sit without disturbance and write for a certain amount of time or a specific number of words every day — even if it does not turn out to be good or there is a lack of motivation.

 

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Nidhi further elaborates upon the importance of not worrying about critics. “You can’t please everyone, only enough readers have to like your work,” he says.

The author also espouses universal wisdom that is often forgotten by writers. “Show don’t tell. Each word has to be well thought out. Don’t try to waffle or pad. Quantity is not important, quality is. Therefore, sincerity counts.”

If someone had to write his biography, Nidhi says he would choose a writer who can delve into other peoples’ lives and narrate the archaeology of it in a seamless manner.

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