The Literary Diplomat
By
Ambica Gulati
Navtej Sarna (IFS Retd)
Navtej Sarna (IFS Retd)
The Bookshelf
Pursuing a parallel passion as a writer, Navtej Sarna has written ten books across several genres – novels, short stories, travel, history, literary essays, and translations, as well as regular columns, Op-eds, and book reviews.
‘I never found moving around to be a hindrance to my writing. On the contrary, travel helps me write—the experience, exposure, and excitement give me more to write about. No matter where I was, writing was always on my mind. In Geneva, I did not get enough time to write and managed only a couple of short stories.’
Sanra’s early influences come from authors such as Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Graham Greene, William Somerset Maugham, and other modern twentieth-century writers. His first novel, We Weren’t Lovers Like That (2003), is an intense literary story that is still popular. The short stories collection, Winter Evenings, has stories set all over the world – from the mountains of India and Bhutan to the cities of Europe.
Sarna was a published short story writer before attempting his first novel. His first stories were broadcast over BBC World Service and published in the London Magazine (UK). The other books also came about organically.
Fascinated by the Indian presence in the heart of old Jerusalem, he researched and wrote Indians at Herod’s Gate. His book, Second Thoughts, a compilation of essays on books, writers, and the life of writers, was written over seven years of reading and travel, each essay originally a column for The Hindu newspaper.
The Book of Nanak is based on the teachings of the founder of Sikhism and was commissioned by Penguin India in 2003.
Sarna has translated two books: Zafarnama and Savage Harvest. The first is a translation of the stirring letter in Persian verse written by Guru Gobind Singh to Mughal emperor Aurangzeb. The second is a translation of his father’s most powerful short stories based on the landscape of Partition.
‘Novels are long, tedious work, requiring research and patience, but with more satisfying results,’ says Sarna. The Exile, based on the life Maharaja Duleep Singh, the exiled last maharaja of Punjab, took close to six years to write. ‘For this work of fiction, I physically tried to trace his life. I went to his country estate in England, walked through the streets of Paris where his homes were located, and even went to Lahore several times. I visited his estate and his grave at Elveden in the UK many times. I wanted to get under his skin, feel his emotions and read his thoughts, before I presented the story.’
Even for his latest book, Crimson Spring, he adopted the same rigorous process, and it took almost eight years to complete. The book revolves around the horrific Jallianwala Bagh massacre of 13 April 1919, but covers many other streams of history that were coming together in Punjab in the early twentieth century – the revolutionaries, the freedom struggle, the Gurdwara Reform movement, and the First World War (1914-8).
Life Now
Moving between his summer home in the picturesque hill station of Mashobra in Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, and New Delhi, he lets his creative and cultural juices flow while spending more time with his family.
Sarna’s wife Avina has been a pillar of strength in this journey of life. The Indian Foreign Sservice had strict norms about working wives, but ultimately his wife managed to study and work in most places. ‘Of course it meant going the extra mile, learning languages and all that.’ After her MD, she worked in Bhutan, Geneva and Washington DC and finally moved to public health. Having completed her master’s in the subject from George Washington University she got her doctorate from Ghent, Belgium. After nearly two decades with the Population Council, she retired as its India head.
The children, Satyajit and Nooreen, are both advocates and avid readers too. Satyajit, despite his hectic schedule, has added to the family’s writing tree. He has two published books to his credit, a book of poems and a novel.
About life after the foreign service, Sarna says: ‘While it was a wonderful existence during the service days, life after that has been equally good. I have deliberately not taken up any sort of permanent assignment. I have been writing, speaking, doing occasional advisory work, and a lot of reading.’
He has been part of advisory boards and governing councils of many renowned institutions such as his alma mater, Shriram College of Commerce, Kautilya School of Public Policy, News Broadcasting & Digital Standards Authority (a self-governing authority for television headed by a retired Supreme Court justice), and the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum.
Taking life in his stride, Navtej Sarna seems to cherish all experiences that come his way, waiting for the time he can turn them into unique creations. He does not let on to his plans for the future: we must wait for his next work and more tales from this literary diplomat.
