Literary teddy bears!

"Do you believe Indian writers published by the West have conformed to a specific style?

Not so much a style as a certain formula, limitations on content, the expectation of a cultural- social-spiritual-exotic biriyani, good for an evening out for the White Masters, not too hot, not too aphrodisiac, an Anglofriendly masala, not politically or sexually impudent. Have you noticed that teddy bears don’t have sex organs? They want us to be their literary teddy bears, pettable and dispensable at will. I am an independent, autonomous human being with sex organs, and I refuse to be a Western reader’s teddy bear! But many of us oblige."

Guess who's talking. Not any familiar published Indian author, for sure. Note his in-your-face tone and style. One needs balls to talk like this. Here's a writer who is not bothered to be as as savvy, clever and politically correct as other Indian writers. He just speaks as he thinks and experiences. It is as simple as that. And it's not bullshit. It makes sense.

Richard Crasta writes quality books for his own literary pleasure, publishes them himself, and sells them too. Publishers and distributors have never favoured him, but he has his fans and some of his books are best sellers.

He's my idea of a writing geek.

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