Tushar Raheja

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Tushar Raheja, the young Indian novelist. Tushar Raheja.JPG
Tushar Raheja, the young Indian novelist.

Tushar Raheja (born 1984) [1] is an Indian storyteller and mathematics researcher based in Cambridge, UK. His first book Anything for you, Ma'am, a comedy, was published in 2006 [2] while he was an undergraduate student in Indian Institute of Technology Delhi. [2] His first feature film The Bizarre Murder of Mr Tusker , a sci-fi, noir, starring BAFTA nominee Victor Banerjee, is due for release. [3] [4] His writing has been compared to that of P. G. Wodehouse by The Hindu [5] and The Times of India [6] and his books have gone on to achieve massive success, consistently remaining on the national best-selling charts. [7] [8] Raheja chose not to climb on the bandwagon of formulaic books but instead devoted himself to mathematical research and the study of narration. [1] Romi and Gang (published July 2013 by Pirates), previously titled Run Romi Run is only his second book in the market. [1] The book about the unalloyed dreams of the young in the Indian hinterland revolves around cricket. [9] It has been praised by The Hindu, [9] Hindustan Times, [10] The Daily Telegraph among other publications. Raheja is one of the few authors in India to combine widespread popularity [7] [8] with critical acclaim. [5] [6] [9] [10] In 2015, he obtained his PhD from IIT Delhi in the field of applied probability.

Contents

Personal life

Raheja was born and brought up at Faridabad. [11] His parents are doctors, his father a graduate of Armed Forces Medical College, Pune (AFMC). Raheja did his schooling from Apeejay School [12] and DPS Faridabad. He obtained his B.Tech in industrial engineering from IIT Delhi [11] in 2006. Anything for you, Ma'am, his first novel was also published in the same year. [2] He followed it up with research in applied mathematics and completed Masters of Science in Operations research in 2010. In 2015, Raheja was awarded a PhD by IIT Delhi in the field of applied probability. [1] Kiran Seth of SPIC MACAY and Sandeep Juneja were his thesis advisors. [13]

Books

Anything for you, Ma'am

Anything for you, Ma'am shot to national fame after its review in The Hindu headlined Outsourcing Wodehouse. [5] The Times of India compared the plot to a classic Jeeves Wooster saga. [6] The main protagonist Tejas has a propensity to land himself into comical troubles like Wooster and has an array of Jeeveses around him in the form of his friends and family. The book was especially praised for 'cleverly localising the Wooster persona. So English aristocracy, the idle rich, the lad sent down from Oxford, the young man with great expectations and little ability, the chappie whose only survival tool is a smart gentleman's gentleman called Jeeves – all this is turned into rich material for humour of a local kind.' [5] There has been criticism of the book's ending which is compared to a Bollywood movie. [5] [14]

Romi and Gang

Romi and Gang, while it has been likened to Enid Blyton's stories for its innocence and the sense of nostalgia it evokes, [15] [16] [17] and has been considered by Hindustan Times to be 'the equivalent of watching Lagaan', [10] it is closer in spirit to Swami and Friends. [18] It is the story of the boy ubiquitous in maidans all over the Indian hinterland who dreams of being the next Sachin Tendulkar [15]

Romi and Gang is unique for its subject. Not many novels have been written about cricket all over the world. [19] It has been noted for the remarkable shift in the Raheja's writing style from his first book. Raheja does not intend to stick to any particular genre and is working on a science fiction book at the moment. [20] Romi and Gang is also unique for the inclusion of 25 full page pen and ink illustrations by Biswajit Das which were included to lend the book an old-world charm. [16]

Films

Raheja has moved on from writing books to directing films. The international rights of his first feature film, The Bizarre Murder of Mr Tusker, were acquired at Berlinale by an American sales agency. [4]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jeeves</span> Fictional character in P. G. Wodehouse stories

Jeeves is a fictional character in a series of comedic short stories and novels by English author P. G. Wodehouse. Jeeves is the highly competent valet of a wealthy and idle young Londoner named Bertie Wooster. First appearing in print in 1915, Jeeves continued to feature in Wodehouse's work until his last completed novel Aunts Aren't Gentlemen in 1974, a span of 60 years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aunt Agatha</span> Fictional character in P. G. Wodehouse stories

Agatha Gregson, née Wooster, later Lady Worplesdon, is a recurring fictional character in the Jeeves stories of the British comic writer P. G. Wodehouse, being best known as Bertie Wooster's Aunt Agatha. Haughty and overbearing, Aunt Agatha wants Bertie to marry a wife she finds suitable, though she never manages to get Bertie married, thanks to Jeeves's interference.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bertie Wooster</span> Fictional character in P. G. Wodehouse stories

Bertram Wilberforce Wooster is a fictional character in the comedic Jeeves stories created by British author P. G. Wodehouse. An amiable English gentleman and one of the "idle rich", Bertie appears alongside his valet, Jeeves, whose intelligence manages to save Bertie or one of his friends from numerous awkward situations. Bertie Wooster and Jeeves have been described as "one of the great comic double-acts of all time".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gussie Fink-Nottle</span> Fictional character in P. G. Wodehouse stories

Augustus "Gussie" Fink-Nottle is a recurring fictional character in the Jeeves novels of comic writer P. G. Wodehouse, being a lifelong friend of Jeeves's master Bertie Wooster and a country member of the Drones Club. He wears horn-rimmed spectacles and studies newts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Madeline Bassett</span> Fictional character in P. G. Wodehouse stories

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<i>Right Ho, Jeeves</i> 1934 novel by P. G. Wodehouse

Right Ho, Jeeves is a novel by P. G. Wodehouse, the second full-length novel featuring the popular characters Jeeves and Bertie Wooster, after Thank You, Jeeves. It was first published in the United Kingdom on 5 October 1934 by Herbert Jenkins, London, and in the United States on 15 October 1934 by Little, Brown and Company, Boston, under the title Brinkley Manor. It had also been sold to the Saturday Evening Post, in which it appeared in serial form from 23 December 1933 to 27 January 1934, and in England in the Grand Magazine from April to September 1934. Wodehouse had already started planning this sequel while working on Thank You, Jeeves.

<i>Much Obliged, Jeeves</i> 1971 novel by P. G. Wodehouse

Much Obliged, Jeeves is a comic novel by P. G. Wodehouse, published in the United Kingdom by Barrie & Jenkins, London, and in the United States by Simon & Schuster, Inc., New York under the name Jeeves and the Tie That Binds. Both editions were published on the same day, 15 October 1971, which was Wodehouse's 90th birthday.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bingo Little</span> Fictional character in P. G. Wodehouse stories

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jeeves in the Springtime</span> Short story by P. G. Wodehouse

"Jeeves in the Springtime" is a short story by P. G. Wodehouse, and features the young gentleman Bertie Wooster and his valet Jeeves. The story was published in The Strand Magazine in December 1921 in London, and in Cosmopolitan in New York that same month. The story was also included in the 1923 collection The Inimitable Jeeves as two separate chapters, "Jeeves Exerts the Old Cerebellum" and "No Wedding Bells for Bingo".

<i>Stiff Upper Lip, Jeeves</i> 1963 novel by P. G. Wodehouse

Stiff Upper Lip, Jeeves is a novel by P. G. Wodehouse, published in the United States on 22 March 1963 by Simon & Schuster, Inc., New York, and in the United Kingdom on 16 August 1963 by Herbert Jenkins, London. It is the ninth of eleven novels featuring Bertie Wooster and his valet Jeeves.

<i>The Code of the Woosters</i> 1938 novel by P. G. Wodehouse

The Code of the Woosters is a novel by P. G. Wodehouse, first published on 7 October 1938, in the United Kingdom by Herbert Jenkins, London, and in the United States by Doubleday, Doran, New York. It was previously serialised in The Saturday Evening Post (US) from 16 July to 3 September 1938, illustrated by Wallace Morgan, and in the London Daily Mail from 14 September to 6 October 1938.

Roberta "Bobbie" Wickham is a recurring fictional character in the Jeeves and Mr. Mulliner stories of English comic writer P. G. Wodehouse, being a mischievous red-headed girl who is fond of practical jokes. She is a friend and one-time love interest of Jeeves's master Bertie Wooster, and a relative of Mr. Mulliner.

<i>Thank You, Jeeves</i> 1934 novel by P. G. Wodehouse

Thank You, Jeeves is a Jeeves comic novel by P. G. Wodehouse, first published in the United Kingdom on 16 March 1934 by Herbert Jenkins, London, and in the United States on 23 April 1934 by Little, Brown and Company, New York.

<i>The Mating Season</i> (novel) 1949 novel by P. G. Wodehouse

The Mating Season is a novel by P. G. Wodehouse, first published in the United Kingdom on 9 September 1949 by Herbert Jenkins, London, and in the United States on November 29, 1949, by Didier & Co., New York.

The following is a list of recurring or notable fictional locations featured in the stories of P. G. Wodehouse, in alphabetical order by place name.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scoring off Jeeves</span> Short story by P. G. Wodehouse

"Scoring off Jeeves" is a short story by P. G. Wodehouse, that features a young gentleman Bertie Wooster and his valet Jeeves. The story was published in The Strand Magazine in London in February 1922, and then in Cosmopolitan in New York in March 1922. The story was also included in the 1923 collection The Inimitable Jeeves as two separate chapters, "The Pride of the Woosters Is Wounded" and "The Hero's Reward".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Aunt and the Sluggard</span> Short story by P. G. Wodehouse

"The Aunt and the Sluggard" is a short story by P. G. Wodehouse, and features the young gentleman Bertie Wooster and his valet Jeeves. The story was published in the Saturday Evening Post in the United States in April 1916, and in The Strand Magazine in the United Kingdom in August 1916. The story was also included in the 1925 collection Carry On, Jeeves.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Bhadani, Priyanka (29 May 2013). "Childhood revisited". The Asian Age. Retrieved 22 August 2013.
  2. 1 2 3 Verma, Varuna (30 July 2006). "Write choice". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 6 November 2008. Retrieved 22 August 2013.
  3. ↑ "The Bizarre Murder of Mr Tusker". IMDb .
  4. 1 2 Pandolin (1 December 2016). "This Will End In Murder - When stories come to life | Pandolin". Pandolin. Retrieved 15 August 2017.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Duara, Ajit (11 June 2006). "Outsourcing Wodehouse". The Hindu . Archived from the original on 13 June 2006. Retrieved 22 August 2013.
  6. 1 2 3 "Review – Archived from The Times of India". 2006. Retrieved 22 August 2013.
  7. 1 2 "Print Pick". The Hindu. 9 June 2006. Retrieved 22 August 2013.
  8. 1 2 "Best sellers". The Hindu. 1 May 2012. Retrieved 22 August 2013.
  9. 1 2 3 Dangi, Gaurav (11 August 2011). "More than just cricket". The Hindu. Retrieved 22 August 2013.
  10. 1 2 3 Sharma, Neha (8 October 2010). "Crazy about cricket". Hindustan Times. Archived from the original on 23 October 2010. Retrieved 22 August 2013.
  11. 1 2 Aslam, Saira (17 July 2010). "Reliving childhood". The Hindu . Archived from the original on 23 August 2013. Retrieved 22 August 2013.
  12. ↑ "Anything for you, Ma'am". Crossword. Retrieved 22 August 2013.
  13. ↑ "Thesis advisers". TIFR. Retrieved 22 August 2013.
  14. ↑ D'Souza, Cheryl (30 July 2006). "Watch out, Nick Hornby!". Deccan Herald. Retrieved 22 August 2013.
  15. 1 2 Ghose, Chandreyee (29 July 2013). "Archived from The Telegraph – Of Romi, friends and their cricket dreams". The Telegraph. Retrieved 22 August 2013.
  16. 1 2 "BookReview :: Romi and Gang by Tushar Raheja". b00k r3vi3ws. Retrieved 22 August 2013.
  17. ↑ Patnaik, Sunaina (3 August 2013). "Book Review: Romi and Gang". sunaina-patnaik.blogspot.in. Retrieved 22 August 2013.
  18. ↑ Kannan, Kartik. "Romi and Gang". myblogoncricket.blogspot.in. Retrieved 22 August 2013.
  19. ↑ Massie, Allan (15 February 2012). "Why there are no good English novels about sport". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 17 February 2012. Retrieved 22 August 2013.
  20. ↑ "The jack of different genres". The Asian Age. 30 July 2013. Archived from the original on 23 August 2013. Retrieved 22 August 2013.
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