Writing a biography
There are two ways to write a biography. One is the traditional way where you start with the subject’s childhood and then take the reader through the life journey. Such accounts are usually mechanically written and tend to be academic in nature. The other way is to use a fiction-narrative approach.
Here, the biographer presents the story of the subject just as though they were the hero of a novel. Such books resemble fiction novels. The biography written in such a way would feature a protagonist and the story of their life presented through dialogs and narration from different viewpoints. The book would also have inciting incidents, rising action, with a climax and a resolution.
The subject(s) of this book
The struggles of the protagonist would be presented in such a book just as it is done in fiction novels. One such biography I completed reading is that of N R Narayan Murthy and Sudha Murthy. The two of them, of course, need no introduction. They are always in the news for some reason or the other.
Known for their simple lifestyle, workaholic life, and achievements – the Murthys are icons who many people look up to. Their authorised biography would definitely be a book that people would love to read. Well-known author Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni took up the onerous responsibility of writing their story.
“An uncommon love: the early life of Sudha & Narayan Murthy” is the book I am talking about. Released recently by Juggernaut, the book presents the early story of the Murthy couple. It starts with their first meeting and ends in 1996 when Infosys was at its peak, and when Sudha decided to get into philanthropy.
A second part would come out for sure, since so many things happened in the lives of the Murthys post 1996. While I, as a reader, look forward to that book, it is time for me to share my views of this book.
Indica Book Club sent me a review copy of the book. I had promised Abhinav Aggarwal that I would submit a review and also an article on the lessons that authors can learn from this book. So, here is my review with my thoughts on how a good biography should be written.
How is the biography written?
Writing a biography is a tough job. You need to know the life story of the person. In this case, there are two persons. Being busy persons, getting their time is not easy. So, kudos to Divakaruni for managing to get all the information and putting it together in this delightful book.
As mentioned at the beginning of this article, Divakaruni has chosen the story-narrative approach, presenting the Murthys as protagonists to narrate their life story. She starts off with a highly interesting anecdote of how the Murthys met. The story starts in Paris in 1974 where Sudha meets the studious Murthy in a friend’s apartment.
Their common interest in books brings them together. Divakaruni has done a splendid job of introducing the protagonists at the beginning of the book. The author has a unique style of writing that I have seen in her famous ‘Palace of Illusions’. This book is written differently. The author’s usual writing style is almost poetic, but she does not use that style here. The style is completely different and it resembles Sudha Murthy’s writing.
The writing is simple and straightforward. There are no gimmicks in the language or style, and the presentation is clear. Now that the protagonists have been introduced, it is time to know more about them. While most biographers would start with the introduction, Divakaruni does it differently.
She makes the couple talk about their life stories. NRN and Sudha talk about their early lives. Through this conversation, we get to know their early life story. It is an interesting way of presenting the backstory, and the author’s style makes it engrossing.
Their struggles, moments of joy, accomplishments are brought out very well. We can clearly get a picture of the personalities of the two characters. We are then taken to their early days at work. The famous incident of Sudha writing to JRD Tata questioning TELCO’s no-woman policy and subsequent events have been well-presented.
Murthy’s confusion over his career path, different options, and hardships he faced have been depicted well. Readers will identify themselves with the protagonists and start feeling for them. We get to see the real Narayan Murthy and Sudha Murthy. The book allows us to know their inner thoughts, their values, and relationship with family and friends.
The book does a fine job of presenting their struggles as they balance work and family life. These are common problems that most families face. Readers will identify with the problems and the narrative will tug at your heartstrings.
Just as the hero of a novel goes through a series of crises one after the other, so does Murthy face one problem after the other. We are introduced to a major inciting incident, after which Murthy decides to start his own company. The struggles he faced will help readers connect to him. The public image of NRN is of a tough, surly introvert, who is only bothered about the work.
Sudha has the image of a gregarious person with a soft heart who loves life. Whatever may have been your personal views of the characters, you will start feeling for them as you read this book. Just as you root for a protagonist in the novel, so will you start rooting for the Murthys. In particular, his problems with the Indian bureaucracy will resonate well with readers.
The narrative is open, and nothing is left out. Murthy’s encounter with corrupt and petulant officials have been presented without hiding their identities. The author has done a fine job with the narrative that flows smoothly, and there is nothing jarring.
The Conclusion
Finally, after all the struggles, Infosys makes it big, and the Murthys are rich. Difficult to believe, but during their initial days they had a hand to mouth existence. Even after gaining wealth, they do not splurge money and the book focuses on how they inculcated values in their children.
The book ends with Sudha’s daughter rebuking her not giving back to society, even though she has wealth. Sudha then remembers JRD’s words asking her to give back. She then decides to start the Infosys foundation and that’s where the book ends.
The closing chapter is presented very innovatively. The protagonists are lying in bed, reviewing all that has happened in their lives. They then think about the future and what they wish to achieve. It is an interesting technique to lay the foundation for the second book. It is also a very satisfying way to end a well-written biography.
There are hardly any negatives in the book. Yes, there are some issues you can find if you read closely. For instance, it says Murthy went to Bombay in 1968/69 with his friends to see Sharmila Tagore and Zeenat Aman, But Zeenat Aman did her first film in 1970 and became popular only after 1971.
The Murthys enter their new home in Pune and remember the Jagjit-Chitra Singh song ‘Ye Tera Ghar Ye Mera Ghar’. The problem is they shifted to Pune in 1981 when Infosys started in Pune. But ‘Ye Tera Ghar’ is from the film Saath Saath released in 1982.
While there are a couple of such anomalies, the general reader is unlikely to spot them. For the average reader, the book is a neat presentation of the life story of one of India’s most famous couples. It is the inspirational story of struggle against adversities to achieve success. The book’s focus on how the Murthys never compromise on their core values makes it an appealing read.
Learnings for authors
I would like to conclude with the learnings this has book has on offer for authors. Authors who want to write a biography can take the following learnings from this book:
- The hero’s journey approach used by the author makes the biography interesting.
- The smooth and fast moving narrative makes for a racy read.
- At every stage, the inner thoughts and the personality of the protagonists have been brought out. This is very helpful in getting a clear picture of them.
- Most of the book focuses on their struggles. It shows them fighting against odds, trying to achieve their goals. One struggle ends and another starts. This approach makes the book interesting and also helps readers empathise the protagonists.
- A complete 360 degree overview of the Murthys lives and personalities is brought out. Every single detail about their lives and their nature is presented, making the book complete.
- When the reader closes a book, they must feel satisfied with the ending or the book in general. The author has ensured both these points. The ending is satisfying and brings the narrative to a neat conclusion. The story of the Murthys is inspiring, and every reader will definitely something in the book to take back.
- There is no preaching or moralising. It is a straightforward narration of the story of a simple and hardworking couple who achieved great success through sheer effort. They did not change even after achieving success. This is the story of the Murthys in a nutshell and the book brings this out perfectly.
- If we want to write a biography, the book offers a wonderful template:
- Start with an interesting incident to introduce the subject.Let them narrate their backstory in their own words.
- Bring out the personality of the subject clearly.
- Use the story approach to make the book interesting to read.
- Simple language with a straightforward narrative that makes all type of readers enjoy the book.
- Bring out the values of the subject highlighting how they did not change through the life struggle.
- Use an innovative technique to conclude, so everything is neatly tied together.
- No lengthy descriptions, long monologues, or technical stuff – every page should make for an engrossing read.