Wednesday, December 19, 2012

‘The Man Who Loved Hate: My entry for the Get Published contest’



The Idea

‘The Man Who Loved Hate’ is not the typical boy-meets-girl love story. In fact the principal protagonist in this story, who is also the narrator, has no girl to love; he never had. The narrator is materialistic but is not a miser. He is generous to the poor and the needy, and he often indulges in philanthropic activities. He loves people and respects women. Despite that he is not interested in anything remotely connected to what is called romance. Although he is ready to appreciate ‘true love’, he is convinced that there is no such thing in the 21st century. Whenever he had had the opportunity, the narrator proved that even if money may not be able to buy love, it is the decisive factor in one way or the other. His views have offended many including his friends, all of whom were either in love or wanted to experience it. As a result he is the man they all hate but he revels in their hatred. Hate is what he loves the most

The story is of that one day when this ‘lover of hate’ meets three strangers on a train journey from New Delhi to Kolkata. Situations force them to enter into a debate on love in which the man tries to plant his own views on them while they continue to oppose him. Who wins? Will the man be able to prove that love is conditional or will the strangers emerge victorious? Why does the man reject the very notion of love? Why is he a ‘lover of hate’? Above all, who are these strangers?

What Makes This Story ‘Real’

That it is my story.

This is my entry for the HarperCollins–IndiBlogger Get Published contest, which is run with inputs from Yashodhara Lal and HarperCollins India.

2 comments:

Khoty Mathur said...

Absolutely want to find out who won the argument. What a pity if this post gets lost in the 300+ others. A red heart from me.

Unknown said...

Double thanks! First is for the 'red heart' and second for expressing interest. I will write this story regardless (of its fate in the contest).