BS Murthy

Biography

BS Murthy is an Indian novelist, playwright, short story, non-fiction 'n articles writer, translator, a 'little' thinker and a budding philosopher in ‘Addendum to Evolution: Origins of the World by Eastern Speculative Philosophy’ that was originally published in The Examined Life On-Line Philosophy Journal, Vol. 05 Issue 18, Summer 2004.

Born on 27 Aug 1948 and schooled in letter-writing, by 1983, he started articulating his managerial ideas, in thirty-odd published articles. However, in Oct 1994, he began penning Benign Flame: Saga of Love with the ‘novel art' and continued his fictional endeavors in ‘plot and character’ driven novels, Jewel-less Crown: Saga of Life and Crossing the Mirage: Passing through youth.

Then entering the arena of non-fiction with a ‘novel’ narrative in Puppets of Faith: Theory of Communal Strife, possibly a new genre, he ventured into the zone of translations for versifying the Sanskrit epics, Vyasa’s Bhagvad-Gita (Treatise of self-help) and Valmiki’s Sundara Kãnda (Hanuman’s Odyssey) in contemporary English idiom.

Later, ascending Onto the Stage with Slight Souls and other stage and radio plays, he returned to fictional form with Glaring Shadow - A stream of consciousness novel and Prey on the Prowl - A Crime Novel to finally reach the short story horizon with Stories Varied - A Book of Short Stories.

Then, as a prodigal son, he returned to his mother tongue, Telugu, the Italian of the East, to craft the short story తప్పటడుగులు (Missteps) only to step into the arena of Indian English Writing with Of No Avail: Web of Wedlock.

While his fiction had emanated from his conviction that for it to impact readers, it should be the soulful rendering of characters rooted in their native soil but not the hotchpotch of local and alien caricatures sketched on a hybrid canvas, all his body of work was borne out of his passion for writing, matched only by his love for language, which is in the public domain in umpteen ebook sites.

Some of his published articles on management issues, general insurance topics, literary matters, and political affairs in The Hindu, The Economic Times, The Financial Express. The Purchase, The Insurance Times, Triveni , Boloji.com at https://independent.academia.edu/BulusuSMurthy

He, a graduate mechanical engineer from Birla Institute of Technology, Mesra, Ranchi, India, is a Hyderabad-based Insurance Surveyor and Loss Assessor since 1986.

He takes keen interest in politics of the day, has an ear for Carnatic and Hindustani classical music and had been a passionate Bridge player.

He's is married, to a housewife, with two sons, the elder one a PhD in Finance and the younger a Master in Engineering.
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My ‘Novel’ Account of Human Possibility

Whenever I look at my body of multi-genre work in English, the underlying human possibility intrigues me no end, and why not for my mother tongue Telugu, touted as the Italian of the East, has no linguistic connection with it whatsoever.

To start with, I was born into a land-owning family in Kothalanka, a remote Indian village, of Andhra Pradesh to be precise that is after the British had folded their colonial tents from the sub-continent, but much before the rural education mechanism was geared up therein. It was thus the circumstances of my birth enabled me to escape from the tiresome chores of primary schooling till I had a nine-year fill of an unbridled childhood, embellished by village plays and enriched by grandma’s tales, made all the more appealing by her uncanny storytelling ability. Added to that, as my great great maternal grandfather happened to be a poet laureate at the court of a princeling of yore, maybe their genes together strived to infuse their muses in me their progeny.

However, as the English plants that Lord Macaulay planted in the Hindustani soil hadn’t taken roots in the hinterland till then, it’s the native tongues that held the sway in the best part of that ancient land. No wonder then, well into my secondary schooling, leave alone constructing an English sentence, whenever I had to read one, I used to be afflicted by an unceasing stammer. Maybe, it was at the behest of the unseen hand of human possibility, or owing to his foresight, and /or both that, in time, my father had shifted our family base to the cosmopolitan town of Kakinada to admit me into Class X at the McLaren High School. And with that began my affair with the English language, facilitated by Chinnababu, my classmate, which, courtesy Abbimavayya, my maternal uncle, found fruition in the continental fiction, in translation, however to the detriment of my mechanical engineering education to the chagrin of my vexed father.

Nevertheless, even as the Penguin classics imbibed in me the love for language that is besides broadening my outlook of life, my nature enabled me to explore the possibilities of youth. That’s not all, all through; it was as if destiny tended to afford my life to examine its intrigues while fiction enabled me to handle its vicissitudes with fortitude that stood me in good stead throughout. Besides, in those days of yore, as letter-writing was in vogue, I was wont to embellish my missives to friends and the loved-ones with the insights the former induced and the emotions the latter stirred in me. So to say, all those letters that my latter-day novels carry owe more to my ingrained habit than to the narrative need of my muse.

Providentially, when I was thirty-three, my eyes and mind seemed to have combined to explore the effect of the led on the leader, and when the resultant ‘Organizational ethos and good Leadership’ was published in The Hindu; I experienced the inexplicable thrill of seeing one’s name in print. Enthused thus by the fortuitous development, I began to articulate my views on general, and materials management, general insurance, politics, and, not to speak of, life and literature in over a score of published articles. But fiction writing was nowhere near my pen and the thought of becoming a novelist was beyond my horizon for Leo Tolstoy, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Nikolai Gogol, Ivan Turgenev, Emily Zola, Gustav Flaubert et al (I hadn’t read Marcel Proust and Robert Musil by then) were, and are, my literary deities, and how dare I, their devotee, to envision myself in the sanctum sanctorum of the novel.

All the same, when I was forty-four, having been fascinated by the manuscript of a satirical novella penned by one Bhibhas Sen, an Adman, with whom I had been on the same intellectual page for the past four years then, it occurred to me, ‘when he could, I can for sure’. It was as if Sen had driven away the ghosts of those literary greats that came to shadow my muse but as life would have it, it was another matter that not wanting to foul his work, as he hadn’t obliged the willing publisher to pad it up to a ‘publishable size’, that manuscript remained in the literary limbo.

So, with my muse thus unshackled, I set to work on the skeletal idea of Pardonables, the working title of Benign Flame, with the conviction that for fiction to impact readers, it should be the soulful rendering of characters rooted in their native soil, not the hotchpotch of the local and foreign caricatures sketched on a hybrid canvas, the then norm of the Indian Writing in English. Yet, it took me a full fortnight to make the narrative flowing with the opening – ‘That winter night in the mid-seventies, the Janata Express was racing rhythmically on its tracks towards the coast of Andhra Pradesh. As its headlight pierced the darkness of the fertile plains, the driver honked the horn as though to awake the sleepy environs to the spectacle of the speeding train.’

However, from then on, it was as though a ‘novel’ chemistry had developed between my muse and the mood of its characters that shaped its fictional course, and soon I came to believe that I had something exceptional to offer to the world of letters, nay the world itself. So, not wanting to die till I gave it to it, I tended to go to lengths to preserve my life that was till I delivered it in nine months with a ‘top of the world’ feeling at that. Then, when one Spencer Critchley, an American critic, thought that – “It’s a refreshing surprise to discover that the story will not trace a fall into disaster for Roopa, given that many writers might have habitually followed that course with a wife who strays into extramarital affairs” – I felt vindicated about my unique contribution. Just the same, as there were no takers to it among the Indian publishers and the Western agents, I was left with no heart to bring my pen to any more paper (those were the pre-keyboard days) though my head was swirling with many a novel idea, triggered by my examined life lived in an eventful manner.

Nevertheless, sometime later, that was after I happened to browse through a published book; I had resumed writing, owing altogether to a holistic reason: while it was the quality of Sen’s unpublished work that set me on a fictional course from which I was derailed by the publishers’ apathy, strangely, it was the paucity of any literary worth in that published book that spurred me back onto the novel track to pursue the pleasure of writing for its own sake. It’s thus; I could reach the literary stations of - Crossing the Mirage and Jewel-less Crown that was before my pen, in the wake of the hotly debated but poorly analyzed post-Godhra communal riots, took a non-fictional turn with the Puppets of Faith.

Thereafter, as if wanting me to lend my literary hand to other genres, my muse heralded me into the arena of translation, ushered me onto the unknown stage, put me on a stream of consciousness, took me to crime scenes, dragged me into the by-lanes of short stories, and driven me into the novella fold. However, as a prodigal son, I took to my first steps into the Telugu short story field with my ‘Missteps’ తప్పటడుగులు.

Whatever, it was Michael Hart, the founder of the Project Gutenberg, who first lent his e-hand to my books ever in search of readers. But who would have thought that life held such literary possibilities in the English language for a rustic Telugu lad reared in the rural Andhra, even in the post-colonial India? So, the possibilities of life are indeed novel and seemingly my life has crystallized itself in my body of work before death could dissipate it.

My body of work of ten free eBooks, in varied genres, is in the public domain: https://g.co/kgs/iA9zkd

Smashwords Interview

When did you first start writing?
I had started writing articles on management when I was 32-year old but began penning fiction only turning 46
What is the title of your maiden fictional work?
Benign Flame: Saga of Love, which I believe raised the 'novel' bar
Read more of this interview.

Where to find BS Murthy online

Where to buy in print

Videos

BS Murthy's Genres
Visual presentation of BS Murthy's body of work of ten free ebooks

Bhagvad-Gita: Treatise of Self-help
Bhagavad-Gita is the most beautiful, perhaps the only true philosophical song existing in any known tongue’ so opined William von Humboldt. In this modern rendition, the beauty of the Sanskrit slokas is reflected in the rhythmic flow of the English verse of poetic proportions even as the attendant philosophy of the song that is the Gita is captured in contemporary idiom for easy comprehension.

Sundara Kãnda: Hanuman's Odyssey
This audio rendition is of an excerpt from BS Murty’s ‘free ebook’, Sundara Kãnda: Hanuman’s Odyssey, which depicts the encounter between Ravan and Seetha, whom he kidnapped to Lanka.

Books

Inane Interpolations In Bhagvad-Gita (An Invocation for Their Revocation)
Price: Free! Words: 18,590. Language: English. Published: August 22, 2021 . Categories: Nonfiction » Religion & Spirituality » Hinduism » Rituals & practice
This ‘overdue’ work, may lead the ‘denied’ Hindu castes as well as the favored folks for an objective approach to the in vogue Bhagvad-Gita which could dispel the misgivings of the former and the delusions of the latter, thereby bridging the Hindu emotional gulf with its abridged book that restores its original form. Whether or not one concurs with its propositions, this original work could be o
Of No Avail: Web of Wedlock
Price: Free! Words: 14,360. Language: English (Indian dialect). Published: April 24, 2021 . Categories: Fiction » Coming of age, Fiction » Cultural & ethnic themes » Cultural interest, general
Having snubbed Venu's love when young, Priya seeks his hand in her mid-life as if to prove that all marriages are made in heaven but some are delayed on earth. What brought about Priya’s change of heart and how Venu responds to his old flame’s fresh overtures lend suspense to their romance in this eclectic novella.
తప్పటడుగులు
Price: Free! Words: 870. Language: Telugu. Published: August 4, 2020 . Categories: Fiction » Women's fiction » Feminist, Fiction » Cultural & ethnic themes » Asian American
పెళ్లంటే బస్సులో హడావిడిగ జేబుఱుమాలు పరిచి సీట్ సొంతం చేసుగునే వ్యవహారం మాత్రం కాదు. తొలి ఆకర్షణే వివాహ యోగ్యo అనుకోవడం అవివేకం. శారీరికత మానసికతని అన్వయించిన పెళ్లిలోనే ప్రేమ బతికి బట్ట కడుతుంది. ఆ కలయికే డెస్టినీ.
Stories Varied - A Book of Short Stories
Price: Free! Words: 22,470. Language: English (Indian dialect). Published: June 2, 2016 . Categories: Fiction » Women's fiction » General, Fiction » Cultural & ethnic themes » Cultural interest, general
This book of twelve short stories, centered on Indian women, delves into varied possibilities of woman’s life in complex situations arising out of social reengineering.
Sundara Kãnda: Hanuman's Odyssey
Price: Free! Words: 35,660. Language: English. Published: November 8, 2014 . Categories: Poetry » Epic, Nonfiction » Religion & Spirituality » Hinduism » History
Sundara Kãnda, the Canto Beautiful ,of the epic' Valmiki Ramayana' is sought for spiritual solace a many Hindus believe that reading it or hearing its recital would remove all hurdles and usher in good tidings! Miracles apart, it's in the nature of Sundara Kãnda to inculcate fortitude and generate hope in the devout for it’s a depiction of how Hanuman goes about his errand agaisnt all odds.
Bhagvad-Gita: Treatise of Self-help
Price: Free! Words: 15,180. Language: English (Indian dialect). Published: November 8, 2014 . Categories: Nonfiction » Philosophy » Asian philosophy, Nonfiction » Self-improvement
This modern rendition of Bhagvad-Gita, in 590 contemporary verse sans 110 interpolations, restores to the ancient philosophical thesis about man's existential crisis, its pristine character of integral humanism making it the Treatise of Self-help as Arjuna averred in the end to Krishna ‘Glad O Lord / Gone are doubts, / Sense I gained / With Thy words.' (s73, ch.18).
Puppets of Faith: Theory of Communal Strife (A Critical Appraisal of Islamic Faith, Indian Polity ‘n More)
Price: Free! Words: 98,930. Language: English. Published: November 8, 2014 . Categories: Nonfiction » Social Science » Islamic studies, Nonfiction » Politics & Current Affairs
This ‘book of logic ‘n reasoning’ appraises the Islamic faith shaped by the sublimity of Muhammad's preaching in Mecca and the severity of his sermons in Medina, which together make it Janus-faced to bedevil the minds of the Musalmans and on the other. It also analyses the evolution 'n decadence Hindu intellectualism, providing a panoramic view of Indian history with accent on its politics.
Onto the Stage - Slighted Souls and Other Stage and Radio Plays
Price: Free! Words: 52,680. Language: English (Indian dialect). Published: November 8, 2014 . Categories: Fiction » Plays & Screenplays » Asian, Fiction » Cultural & ethnic themes
This is a compendium of the author’s stage 'n radio plays set in modern Indian setting. 'Slighted Souls' revolves around the rebellion of the downtrodden and 'Men at work on Women at work’ is all about sexual harassment at workplace. While 'Castle of Despair' is built in the arena of man's despair for success, the radio play 'A Love on Hold' depicts the drama of love and possession.
Prey on the Prowl - A Crime Novel
Price: Free! Words: 39,020. Language: English (Indian dialect). Published: November 8, 2014 . Categories: Fiction » Mystery & detective, Fiction » Thriller & suspense
Even as Detective Dhruva was enamored of Kavya, whom he rescues from her kidnapper, Radha, the alleged poisoner of her man and his mistress, gatecrashes into his life. But when Kavya too joins him after her man, her kidnapper and the investigating cop were poisoned, there ensues the tussle of a love triangle, which gets unraveled in a poignant end.
Glaring Shadow - A Stream of Consciousness Novel
Price: Free! Words: 52,130. Language: English (Indian dialect). Published: November 8, 2014 . Categories: Fiction » Literature, Fiction » Visionary & metaphysical
This philosophical ‘novel of a memoir’ in a stream of consciousness is the self-account of a man's life and times as he makes it big in our materialistic world, and the way he loses his soul in the bargain, only to regain it when tragedy strikes him, which makes one ponder over the meaning of success in life.
Crossing the Mirage - Passing Through Youth
Price: Free! Words: 55,810. Language: English (Indian dialect). Published: November 7, 2014 . Categories: Fiction » Romance » General, Fiction » Coming of age
As life brings Chandra, who suffers from an inferiority complex for his perceived ugliness, and Nithya, who was bogged down being jilted by Vasu, together, they script their fate of fulfillment. Besides, life's poetic justice to their friend Sathya, who caused Prema's heartburn, and just deserts for Vasu owing to Nithya's retribution as he tries to stalk her, make this fiction stranger than fact!
Jewel-less Crown: Saga of Life
Price: Free! Words: 77,130. Language: English (Indian dialect). Published: November 7, 2014 . Categories: Fiction » Literature » Literary, Fiction » Women's fiction
This novel depicts the material raise and the moral fall of the ambitious Gautam and Sneha, his conniving spouse, and how that leads to the poignant death of the latter and the spiritual discovery of the former thereafter. Besides, this piquant story also pictures the tragic life of their sole offspring, Suresh Prabhu, and his eventual redemption through love for and of the spirited Vidya.
Benign Flame: Saga of Love
Price: Free! Words: 118,220. Language: Simple English. Published: November 7, 2014 . Categories: Fiction » Romance » Polyamory, Fiction » Women's fiction » General
Roopa marries Sathyam, hoping he would help her become a doctor but as he fails her, feeling let down, she insensibly sinks into the lesbian embrace of her friend Sandhya. Soon, in a dramatic sequence of events, she herself loses her heart to Sandhya's beau Raja Rao, and Prasad, her husband’s friend falls for her. This bar-raising novel nuances man-woman chemistry and portrays woman-woman empathy.

BS Murthy's tag cloud

adultery    ancient india    bhagavad gita    caste in india    coming of age    dalit bahujan    dalit studies    discrimination    epics    fiction about abuse    fiction about infidelity    fiction about love    fiction about moral dilemma    fiction about relationships    fiction about women    fiction adult    fiction adult romance    fiction and romance    fiction books    fiction characters    fiction crime    fiction crime novel    fiction detective    fiction drama    fiction erotic romance    fiction lesbian    fiction literature    fiction memoir    fiction murder    fiction mystery detective thriller    fiction mystery suspense crime serial killer detective    fiction with strong female character    fictional indian lore    free ebooks    gita    gita transliteration    hanuman    hindu books    hindu dharma    hindu vedanta    hinduisam    hinduism    indian author    indian authors    indian fiction    indian history    indian life    indian literature    indian love story    indian muslims    indian novel    indian philosophy    indian poetry    indian radio plays    indian romance    indian romantic novel    indian stage plays    indian stories    indian theater    indian women    indian writing in english    interpolations    islam    islamic intolerance    islamic terrorism    jihadi mindset    juvenile crime    juvenile story    lesbian    literary fiction    love    love advice    love affairs    love and loss    love and trust    love stories    menage a trois    muhamamd    mythology adventure    mythology and magical creatrues    mythology and the supernatural    myths and legend    novella    oppressed    ramayana    reincarnation    short stories    shortstory    social reform    sociology    sundara kanda    suspense romance    teenage love    women and love    womens stories    young love