IPS officer of the 2016 batch, Agam Jain, is not only a diligent police officer but also a prolific writer. Since his college days, the officer has been wielding magic through his pen, weaving words together to create beautiful prose and compositions. He launched his second book recently, named, Kabhi Gaaon, Kabhi College, and it is already garnering many praises from book lovers.
In an exclusive conversation with Indian Masterminds, Mr. Jain talked about his love for writing and shared details about his new book.
KABHI GAAON KABHI COLLEGE
Kabhi Gaaon Kabhi College is a fictional novel revolving around the lives of four friends in college. A fairly new college has been established right outside the border of their village. The infrastructure of the newly established college is that of a well-to-do modern college, packed with proper classrooms, English-speaking students, and a metropolitan ambiance.
The friends live together in a rented place in the village in a grounded manner but as soon as they enter the gates of the college every day, they transform their personalities to suit the lifestyle of the place.
“किसी के दुखी होने पर दुखी दिखना बहुत जरूरी है नहीं तो वह भी आपके दुखी होने पर दुखी नहीं दिखेगा।”
Mr. Jain told Indian Masterminds that the novel is written in a satirical manner depicting how two extremely different Indian streams function parallelly in a social setting. It shows the clear difference between the lives of college-going students and the ones who live in villages. The four students are living dual lives, in a way. One that they portray in their college, and the other which they actually live. Further, the novel depicts how some people in the college are extremely grounded while some are highly pretentious; some feel at home there while some feel out of place.
“Not everyone here wishes to become an IAS/IPS officer. Some wish to become sarpanch of their villages while others just wish to finish their graduation and get married. Everyone is facing their own battles and has their own wishes and needs. What happens to these wishes? You will know once you read the book,” he said.
किसी चीज के नाम का अगर अंग्रेजीकरण कर दो तो वह महंगी हो जाती है। गुरु जी को याद करने पर गुरु दक्षिणा याद आती है और उन्हीं को टीचर कहने लग जाओ तो ट्यूशन की फीस। छुट्टी को याद करने पर गांव याद आता है और वेकेशन को याद करने पर गोवा। बंदूक बोलने पर दुनाली याद आती है गन बोलने पर राइफल।
LANGUAGE SWITCH
The book had been in the pipeline for 4-5 years but due to a lack of time, he wasn’t able to properly write it. However, the Covid lockdown period proved to be a boon for him as it gave him ample time to think of all the characters, background setting, and the overall image of the book.
Currently posted as the Assistant Deputy Commissioner to the Governor of Madhya Pradesh, Mr. Jain wasn’t very comfortable with Hindi writing initially. He mostly wrote in the English language.
“Things changed for the good when I began my officer training in LBSNAA, Mussoorie, where I participated in a competition and had to write in Hindi. My article was appreciated by everyone and it went well. That’s where I gained the confidence to write in Hindi, as well,” Mr. Jain said.
The officer’s first book, Decoding UPSC, also gained immense appreciation. The book is a guide, complete with strategies and experience-based answers for aspirants attempting UPSC CSE.
