A Karva Chauth night that planted idea of Indiyapa in Captain Vinod Dubey’s mind
- Arijit Bose
- Mar 18, 2018
- 3 min read
Captain Vinod Dubey and his fellow colleagues were travelling from Australia to Japan onboard a ship. It was a Karva Chauth day and he would repeatedly turn a gaze towards the starry sky in search of the moon. He had also asked his close friends to inform if they spotted the moon while on a cleaning task on the deck. With many surprised as to what was going on, they enquired of this typical curiosity.
Vinod told them that this was a day when a better half fasts for the entire day in India and then breaks her fast after the moon is spotted. Pat came the reply Yaar Ajab Indiyapa Hai. That day itself he decided that he would one day fulfil that one crazy wish to write a book on the uniqueness of Mother India.
As a man who wanted to follow his heart and write about something that gives him peace, he wrote 20 pages about Varanasi and showed it to colleague Sagar Shukla. Sagar along with other well meaning souls guided and pushed him to go about with the penchant to write a book.
He would each day while travelling to office take a one hour bus ride and utilize the time to write his draft. An old lady was kind enough to keep him in high spirits to finish the book, who also said that she would love to go through the book once done.
While there were troubling phases like that of a broken ankle which made him absolutely immobile courtesy a recovery process, he spent one month and a half religiously to finish the final draft. And that’s how Indiyapa was ready to move to the publishers. Published by Hind Yugm and with artwork by Vijendra S Vij, Indiyapa has already sold over 1000 copies on Amazon in less than a week.
All this amidst keeping pace with his love for badminton, marathons and other day to day activities that keep him busy.
The book primarily on Banaras has varied stories and elements from other cities of India as well. Written in simple lucid language, the protagonist of the book Shuklaji is simple, clean and down to earth.
Vinod says that it is about a 60s person who is different from the typically brash gentry you will find in these days. He calls emotions his USP.
Vinod Dubey became a captain in 2010. Having spent 3 years with the Singapore Shore Management for him Singapore is like a fair in a village. A beautiful place that gives you the feel of a destination out of this world.
He cannot stop praising his better half Shweta for her support.
His biggest inspiration was his mentor Suryabhan Singh who taught him that if you study well and show solid commitment things change. In a world where you need to know English to prove you are a cool dude, he trained 3 years to learn the language.
Busting the myths about a very colourful life at the merchant navy, Vinod who hails from Bhadohi known for its carpet industry says that he Joined the Merchant Navy after doing everything that a normal person would have experienced and done in life. Rubbishing the chatter that merchant navy members are globe trotters, he is quick to add they have to do a lot of back breaking work. Unlike popular perception a ship does not even wait at a port for six hours, he rues.
He laughs and says, “It is a life filled with isolation. With alcoholism having proven disastrous for many a person on ships liquor is now a complete no for those on sail. While money is not an issue for those with the Merchant Navy, the flipside is that one spends two months in land and seven months onboard a ship which is no less than jail since we are cut off from the world.”
So if you are tired of the Qtiyapa and Cyapa of life you should definitely grab a copy of Indiyapa – When Bollywood Met Reality wriiten by a Mango Man for the people of this country. While each village wants to be at par with a Delhi or Mumbai, the book talks about the simple pleasures of village life.
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