About the novel- 2084 Babaji

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My last blog post was about motivations for writing the novel, Nude besides the Lake. Much before that, I had tried my hand at a smaller work of fiction that was published as – Mystic and the Blossoms.

I began writing, Mystic and the Blossoms, in 1984 while still a very busy professional teaching engineering at IIT Delhi and busy with scientific publications. As a result, the book did not get beyond the first draft then. It remained buried in my files for years. It was in summer of 1991, I suddenly found time on my hands, free from professional work so I pulled it out and got it printed from a small printer in the city of Jaipur as a hardcover under imprint QUESST Publications. It is a small work and better described as a novella rather than a novel. The idea then was not to make any profit from it but share thoughts expressed through medium of fiction with those interested and those who matter. The book had thoughts on how to improve lives of some of the most backward parts of our world not just through technology but also spiritual wisdom.

I shared that novella with some world leaders by sending a copy by courier, Bill Clinton, Boris Yeltstin when they were Presidents of the leading countries of our world and when they had visited Vancouver when I was there at the time, as also the then Prime Minister of India, Shri Chandra Shekhar, for it is these leaders that had the power to bring about change. I did not hear anything from President Boris Yelstin but was delighted to receive a Thank You card from Bill Clinton sent from the White House.  As regards PM Chandra Shekhar, the Lord provided opportunities of several meetings and communications with him and exchange of ideas.

In the years since, I polished the story and republished different editions of it a few times. All that was easy to do since I had retained the copyright all through. Not giving it to a business publisher meant that I would not make a profit from it but that was not the idea of publishing this work in the first place.

Around two years ago, when I returned to have another look at the book I myself had evolved much in the interim. Therefore the changes were substantial and it was not appropriate to republish a fresh edition with the same name. It was given a new one - 2084 Babaji – while mentioning the original work from which it developed inside the cover. This book also contains an appendix of spiritual insights. The word Babaji was used in the title because it was inspired by Babaji of Haidakhan, about whom I have written much in another blog, as also because the central character of the story is also a Babaji, albeit a fictional one.

Babaji of Haidakhan has also inspired my later novel, Nude Besides the Lake.  I have also combined the two earlier works of fiction, as also my experiences with Babaji of Haidakhan in a combined work called, The Babaji Affair.

That friend is the summary of my fiction writing. There is yet another partially written work of fiction called the ‘Butterfly Boy’ that does not have a Babaji in it. It is a lovely story with deep knowledge of life but sadly that too remains buried in files as a first draft. If the Lord wills, someday I might get around to completing and publishing that as well.

'2084 Babaji' can be found at Amazon and other online retailers, for example,
https://www.amazon.com/2084-Babaji-Ashok-Malhotra/dp/1544761104


UPDATE:  My life experiences are so different from many that when I write about them in a blog some think that I make them up. Therefore as an after thought, I just snapped pics of two old communications and have added to this post. The top one is a communication from President Clinton and the one below from Prime Minister Chandra Shekhar. The are pics of old photo copies. The originals are further away but these should suffice for the purpose at hand.



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