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By:

Shiv Sethi

7 June 2026 at 6:58:56 pm

‘Fiction permits us to imagine another consciousness’

With two books in his name, award-winning author Tushar Chatterji has steadily carved a space for himself in contemporary and literary fiction while managing his corporate responsibilities. His debut book, “Behind Those Eyes", narrated through canine perspectives, is an exploration of love, loyalty, resilience, and loss. Tushar’s second, “Becoming Her", turns its gaze towards six women navigating identity, relationships, expectations, and the complicated yet deeply personal act of becoming. ...

‘Fiction permits us to imagine another consciousness’

With two books in his name, award-winning author Tushar Chatterji has steadily carved a space for himself in contemporary and literary fiction while managing his corporate responsibilities. His debut book, “Behind Those Eyes", narrated through canine perspectives, is an exploration of love, loyalty, resilience, and loss. Tushar’s second, “Becoming Her", turns its gaze towards six women navigating identity, relationships, expectations, and the complicated yet deeply personal act of becoming. Different as the books appear, the author shares with Shiv Sethi that they originate from the same instinct: to notice lives we frequently look at without truly seeing. Excerpts… Two books in one year is significant. When you look back, what does 2026 represent to you? A beginning. Publishing Behind Those Eyes was deeply personal because it was the first time something that had existed privately between me and my pages suddenly belonged to readers. Then came Becoming Her, which required me to inhabit voices and experiences very different from my own. The literary recognition, reviews, and interviews have been incredibly encouraging, but 2026 has also taught me that an author’s journey really begins after publication. You discover readers, criticism, the publishing ecosystem, literary communities, and yourself. Both books explore very different worlds. What connects Behind Those Eyes and Becoming Her for you? Empathy. Behind Those Eyes began with a simple thought: what if dogs could tell us what they see, remember, and feel about the humans whose lives they inhabit? But as I wrote it, the book became less about animals alone and more about love, loyalty, abandonment, and resilience. Becoming Her approaches empathy differently. It enters the lives of six women and explores their experiences, compromises, and emotions that can exist behind seemingly ordinary lives. I wanted to write about women as individuals first, not merely in relation to the roles society assigns them. Both books, therefore, ask readers to pause before assuming they understand someone else’s story. Writing women’s interior lives as a male author can invite scrutiny. Did that concern you? Absolutely, and I think that awareness was necessary. I never wanted Becoming Her to suggest that I could define a woman’s experience. My responsibility was to listen, observe, research, and create six individuals rather than six representatives of womanhood. They needed flaws and contradictions. I wanted readers to encounter people, not messages disguised as characters. Writing outside your own lived experience demands humility. Fiction gives us permission to imagine another consciousness, but that permission comes with responsibility. You also have a demanding corporate career. Where does writing fit into that life? Writing happens around life rather than outside it. It happens at night, on weekends, during travel, and sometimes simply through observations stored away until they become useful years later. My professional life is deadline-driven. Fiction allows me to enter ambiguity. Characters rarely behave according to plans, and human emotions certainly do not. Perhaps balancing these worlds has also made me disciplined. I cannot always wait for inspiration. Sometimes you sit down, write badly, return the next day, and make it better. How has life changed since becoming a published author? I have realised that publishing a book is not the end of a journey; in many ways, it is the beginning of another. Once a book enters the world, an author must learn about the realities of creating visibility. Seeing my books travel to readers, appear at book festivals, and receive reviews and features has been surreal at times. It has also taught me patience. Literature has a long life. Not every meaningful moment happens during the first few weeks after publication. Has publishing changed the way you approach writing? Significantly. I am less interested in knowing “what happens next” and more interested in asking “why this matters.” I want settings to feel lived in, characters to carry contradictions, and emotional consequences to remain after the immediate conflict has ended. If my earlier writing taught me how to tell stories, this phase is teaching me how to inhabit them. What do you hope readers carry away from your writing? A feeling. Readers may forget names, locations, and individual plot points over time, but they remember how a book made them feel. If Behind Those Eyes makes someone look at an animal with greater tenderness or Becoming If she makes someone reconsider the invisible battles, choices, or aspirations of a woman they know, or perhaps their own, then the stories have travelled beyond their pages. That, to me, is the most meaningful journey a book can make.

Indian Shipbuilding A Must Win Marathon

Shipbuilding

With a coastline of 7500 KM, it is hard to imagine, that for the first 20 years (1947-1967) India had no ‘shipping ministry’. In 1967 a Shipping ministry “coupled” with ROAD transport was established. Since then, this ministry has been on a name changing ride, not once, not twice but six times. In 2009 the “ROAD Transport and Highways” was de-coupled and ‘Shipping’ ministry was formed. Turning point came in 2015 with a clear maritime vision for 2030 and 2047. Ministry was re-christened, aptly to Ministry of “Ports, Shipping and Waterways” in 2020.


Why is Shipbuilding important for a country?

a. A Shipyard becomes an opportunity hub and like a queen bee requires the support of an industrial colony to manufacture machinery and equipment.

b. National Shipyards support fleet renewal needs of the Navy.

c. Contributes to national GDP, increases inflow of FOREX.


Korea shipbuilding is 8% of GDP. Japan’s automobile industry is 2.9% of GDP. India’s shipbuilding a meagre 0.000578% of GDP. In context, India’s pharmaceutical industry, ranked third largest in the world is 1.72% of India’s GDP.


International Shipbuilding Market

The market is estimated to reach around USD 200 billion by 2029, growing at a CAGR of 4.84%. While India is at bottom with 0.07% of world share, behind Philippines 1.5% and Vietnam 1%, however on the positive side, India has done well in taking care of its defence needs, with 37 of 39 Naval ships being built in India yards. Rear Admiral S Shrikhande researching on maritime as a Fellow at Wollongong University, Australia, says “Shipbuilding in India needs both, serious incentivisation and dogged determination and not harping on being a big ship breaking country. That Garden Reach shipyard has a $54 million order for merchant ships from a German owner, is a good sign.”


Were Shipyards of 20th century in Flight mode?

Prominent shipyards in India were built in the colonial period. Mazagon Dock 1774, Garden reach 1884, Hindustan shipyard 1941 to cater to British navy and merchant fleet needs. Cochin shipyard 1972, Adani Katupalli 2013, Reliance Naval and Engineering, Rajula Gujarat 1997 and others have limited capacity, hence a lot more work to do. Capt. Subhangshu Dutt (Singapore) a mariner and now a shipowner, says “GOI should hold hands in any collaboration till the marriage with the foreign entity is reasonably stable. He also suggests that “new shipbuilding sites should be given to existing successful shipyards since they have decades of experience and talent. Consortium of 3 or more parties may also be good idea”.


Shipbuilding GOLD

As per SPLASH report the demand for LCO2 carriers could reach 2,500 ships by 2050. As per other estimates, 40% of global fleet of ships could have wind propulsion by 2050. A surge in such vessels is due to an unparallel waves of decarbonization in the shipping industry. Demand for ships with ‘carbon neutral’ badges, such as Dual fuel, Wind assisted, Nuclear fuel ships, Hydrogen powered ships, Liquified CO2 (LCO2) carrier, is outstripping supply. A must in the ‘bucket list’ of every Shipyard. Pinning down a standard ROI in shipbuilding is not easy, but experts suggest it could range from 4% to 15% for the high demand ‘carbon neutral’ ships. While an LNG new build vessel could cost US$ 250 million upwards.


International collaboration

On China’s shipbuilding success story, Manoj Pandalanghat (Singapore) a mariner and ship owner believes that “China has around 50 active Shipyards. Each have a few large dry docks. In each dock two or more large vessels are built simultaneously. Thus, a single yard is able to roll out 2/3 vessels/month, 36 vessels/year and 50 shipyards roll out 1800 vessels/year”.


China could be a jaldi-5, but India needs a sturdy Mount Fiji. Besides technology, Japanese bring the most important hand baggage of soft-skills and culture, essential for success from keel laying to delivery. Maruti’s is a standing example.


Food for thought for New Delhi

a. Expertise: Hire Naval Architects and shipbuilding experts with current international experience.

b. Government assistance: Land, Financial support, subsidies and timebound clearances.

c. Monitoring: PMO should monitor the first 5 to 10 years till Shipbuilding takes-off on this long-haul flight to destination 2047.


India’s Shipbuilding is expected to grow to $237 billion by year 2047. On a back of the envelope calculations this works out to about 4% of India’s 2047 projected GDP of $ 5 trillion. While cars are driven on roads, however the Ministry of roads and transport has little to do with “Automobile manufacturing”. On a similar note, ‘Shipbuilding’ as an industry has little to do with Ports, Shipping and Waterways, thus it may be worthwhile to consider a separate ‘Ship-building’ wing in the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways headed by a dynamic cabinet rank minister. Since 2047 targets are stiff and an uphill task, so in all probabilities, the officials in Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways are likely to push beneath the carpet, delays and failures of Shipbuilding with sweet success stories of “Ports, Shipping and Waterways” and if this does happen then India will not only miss the Shipbuilding bus of 21st century but a lot more from a national security and strategic perspective.


(The author is a Shipping and Marine consultant. Member Singapore Shipping Association and empaneled with IMO as a specialist consultant. Views personal.)

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