The Ekkos Clan and my First Author Encounter

Back in 2014, I was very much into Dan Brown- reading all his books in a spree. As everyone who has read The Da Vinci Code can attest to, once you've finished the book, there's only one thing to do, google books similar to it. And I was browsing through the suggestions google threw at me, one name caught my eye. The Ekkos clan, written by an IIT graduate, was featured in many lists. It's not every day you get to see such names, listed alongside Dan brown. And I got intrigued and started searching for the book details. I found the premise very interesting, a thriller set in Indian Subcontinent that combined ancient history, linguistic palaeontology, mathematics, music and a mystery story.

And I set out to search for the book in the bookshops of Kathmandu. Sadly, I couldn't find any that had the book available. And since Indian online portal Flipkart didn't deliver to Kathmandu, I had given up my hope. But showing a daring only 19 years have I emailed the author directly. Phew.

I wasn't expecting any reply. I knew that authors get hundred of emails from their readers. Sudipto Das, the author, to my great surprise replied. And he very generously offered to send me a soft copy of his novel, The Ekkos Clan. And I was finally able to read his novel. It was amazing, beyond my exception. I was used to reading western philosophies explored in mystery. But reading about eastern philosophies, linguistics and their roots felt refreshing.

And here's a thing I realized. Authors, to us readers, are somewhat of a mythical figure. I know their name, I know their face and every detail about them, still, I can't comprehend them as a regular human like us. To me, they are always a name, a face, who gave me a wonderful gift of their creativity, but not a real person, that live, eat and breathe like us. It may be a fantastic musing by me, but it has always made my reading all the more enjoyable. And when I get the chance to see them, talk to them, interact with them, it's a surreal feeling. That's why this little incident is one of the most cherished moments of my life. My first Author Encounter, as I like to call it.