<p>Retired IAS officer Madabhushi Madan Gopal’s second book ‘Rainbow Years: Conflict to Contentment’ will release today.</p>.<p>Unlike his first book, ‘Kangchenjunga Dairy’, which was an account of a trek in the Himalayas (published by Pilgrims Publishing), his latest is a historical fiction. The idea of the new book came to him in 2018 but he was able to put it together only during the pandemic.</p>.<p>The story starts in the ‘60s, which was a period of turmoil across the world. “There were revolutions and assassinations, the hippie movement (was raging), and the mood was rebellious. Everything was bubbling with new energy. I wanted people to know what happened then and how youth get attracted to certain ideologies,” Gopal elaborates.</p>.<p>The book is divided into three parts — Spring Thunder covers the ‘60s, Dark Clouds is set amid India’s Emergency, and Misty Horizon unfolds from 1984, seven years after the Emergency ended.</p>.<p>The characters were built on incidents cited by five of Gopal’s friends. “I would speak to them on a daily basis and jot down everything. I wrote sentences at first. Later I wrote about 10-15 pages every day. Some moments were painful and emotional for them to recollect,” he says.</p>.<p>He has alluded to Bengaluru in the book multiple times without naming it though. “I wanted to keep the context universal. Readers will be able to understand what I am referring to. The Marxist-Leninist Party’s network depended a lot on Bengaluru. Incidents from Mangaluru and Raichur also find a mention,” he says.</p>.<p>He says this book was tougher to write than his debut title. “To write historical fiction, one has to immerse in that period. You cannot write a lie as there will always be someone to counter it. Since I am not a historian, I decided to stick to the genre of fiction. It allows flexibility and space,” he says.</p>.<p>Lastly, what’s the story behind the title? “Rainbow is an optical illusion yet everyone loves it. It is enchanting and scintillating. Moments of youth are also like the colours of a rainbow,” Gopal explains. With the book, he wants to address “the youth who is caught in the illusion of a rainbow”. Commenting on the current times, he says, “Unrest is natural and can lead to creativity many a time. But my book says that if unrest is endless and disoriented, it will take one nowhere.”</p>.<p>Gopal is currently the chairman of the executive committee of Karnataka Ecotourism Development Board, and chairman of the NEP implementation task force in Karnataka.</p>.<p>The book is available on Amazon, Flipkart, and garudabooks.com. It is priced at Rs 399.</p>
<p>Retired IAS officer Madabhushi Madan Gopal’s second book ‘Rainbow Years: Conflict to Contentment’ will release today.</p>.<p>Unlike his first book, ‘Kangchenjunga Dairy’, which was an account of a trek in the Himalayas (published by Pilgrims Publishing), his latest is a historical fiction. The idea of the new book came to him in 2018 but he was able to put it together only during the pandemic.</p>.<p>The story starts in the ‘60s, which was a period of turmoil across the world. “There were revolutions and assassinations, the hippie movement (was raging), and the mood was rebellious. Everything was bubbling with new energy. I wanted people to know what happened then and how youth get attracted to certain ideologies,” Gopal elaborates.</p>.<p>The book is divided into three parts — Spring Thunder covers the ‘60s, Dark Clouds is set amid India’s Emergency, and Misty Horizon unfolds from 1984, seven years after the Emergency ended.</p>.<p>The characters were built on incidents cited by five of Gopal’s friends. “I would speak to them on a daily basis and jot down everything. I wrote sentences at first. Later I wrote about 10-15 pages every day. Some moments were painful and emotional for them to recollect,” he says.</p>.<p>He has alluded to Bengaluru in the book multiple times without naming it though. “I wanted to keep the context universal. Readers will be able to understand what I am referring to. The Marxist-Leninist Party’s network depended a lot on Bengaluru. Incidents from Mangaluru and Raichur also find a mention,” he says.</p>.<p>He says this book was tougher to write than his debut title. “To write historical fiction, one has to immerse in that period. You cannot write a lie as there will always be someone to counter it. Since I am not a historian, I decided to stick to the genre of fiction. It allows flexibility and space,” he says.</p>.<p>Lastly, what’s the story behind the title? “Rainbow is an optical illusion yet everyone loves it. It is enchanting and scintillating. Moments of youth are also like the colours of a rainbow,” Gopal explains. With the book, he wants to address “the youth who is caught in the illusion of a rainbow”. Commenting on the current times, he says, “Unrest is natural and can lead to creativity many a time. But my book says that if unrest is endless and disoriented, it will take one nowhere.”</p>.<p>Gopal is currently the chairman of the executive committee of Karnataka Ecotourism Development Board, and chairman of the NEP implementation task force in Karnataka.</p>.<p>The book is available on Amazon, Flipkart, and garudabooks.com. It is priced at Rs 399.</p>