To all the lovely children who are waiting for the sequel of my book Secrets of Zynpagua: Return of the Princess(Book 1)…………..
Here comes the cover page of Secrets of Zynpagua: Search of Soulmates(Book 2)
Coverpage designed by Nideep Varghese.
Releasing Shortly!
Why would the Moon take back her soul?
As I prepare to release the sequel of my book Secrets of Zynpagua, fond memory of my First media coverage comes back
http://www.thehindu.com/books/books-authors/ilika-ranjan-the-secrets-of-zynpagua-return-of-the-princess/article6263835.ece
Travel, satire, fantasy, and now theatre — young author Ilika Ranjan is game to try varied genres
At a time when all the budding writers are focusing on romance, Ilika Ranjan has taken a different route, not sticking to a set track. Her new book, “The Secrets of Zynpagua: Return of the Princess”, is aimed at children and young adults.
This fictional creation tells the tale of the cursed land of Zynpagua. The only way to redeem Zynpagua is to bring back its princess, who in turn has powers to influence the universe to send life to the land. “This book is written from the heart and I have worked a lot on my language,” says the author. “The USP of the book lies in its good English and the lyrical angle I’ve given to it. It is a fantasy book that has characters different from the other children’s books — the princess here is not our usual delicate girl. She rides a horse, and the other characters are Spanish-speaking, smart and contemporary.”
The author has also created an animated introductory song for the book along with sketches of each character.
An MBA from Symbiosis Institute of International Business, Pune, Ilika worked in a bank for several years. However, finding herself in opposition to the banking culture, she thus quit her job to become an entrepreneur and author. Her debut book, “Puppet on a Fast Track”, was a satire on the corporate sector.
“The corporate sector exploits its employees in a very camouflaged manner. It has always been said that the consumer is king, but in my entire six-year stint with the bank, I realised that the consumer was anything but a king. The employee is only asked to make presentations and blindly follow what is put on their desk. Not everyone is ready for this kind of work, so I quit and wrote ‘Puppet on a Fast Track’,” she explains, adding, “I have been very polite in my attacks on the corporate sector, I should have been harsher.”
A blogger, an entrepreneur and also a travelogue-writer, Ilika says she wants to write a play next, “something like The Mousetrap by Agatha Christie.” Referring to the world record of the celebrated crime writer’s play, now playing in the U.K. in the 62nd year of an unbroken stint, Ilika says, “I want to beat her record.”
SECRETS OF ZYNPAGUA : SEARCH OF SOULMATES
Prologue
‘Life will ebb out from her soul,
That is my mission my goal,
My head burns and smoulders like coal,
Seek revenge!
My heart cajoles.’
Drudan sat beside the coconut tree which was overlooking the foaming sea. It was an eerie night and the Moon had a strange halo around it. Drudan was angry and weak but an undercurrent of revenge kept his blood boiling and his heart beating. His marvelous creation, the violet light had been destroyed.
Before leaving Zynpagua, Drudan had declared that he knew where Soto was, but in reality, he knew nothing. Using his magical abilities he had sensed that Soto was somewhere near the confluence of Arabian Sea, Bay of Bengal and Indian Ocean and thus he landed in the city of Kanyakumari in India.
Now, sitting on the banks of the Indian Ocean, he murmured ‘Vile Anika, I detest you and will kill you. You impressed the stars and rescued Sussaina. You caused the Sun to rise in Zynpagua and destroy my violet light. Oh! my violet, my wonderful creation, my soul, my heart. I am so dead without you, so dead indeed. ’
He held his head and pulled his hair. ‘Ah! It is painful being without you my violet, so painful. I feel lifeless, lifeless, lifeless…but I promise, this pain will give me strength. I will nurture this pain and create something as fatal as violet. Oh my weeping soul, I promise I will extract that Anika’s soul.’
He looked up and gaped at the Moon. Then he yelled ‘You gave Anika life and now it will be you who will take away her life.’
He continued to look spitefully at the Moon and then turned his gaze towards the sea.
‘The Moonlight has a mystic effect on the sea’ he thought.
It was a full Moon night and the tides were rising high, adulating the Moon.
Drudan fixed his gaze where the water of Arabian Sea, the Bay of Bengal and the Indian Ocean united, three shades of water mixing uniformly to lose their identity.
He thought ‘Leo’s soul split and gave life to Anika; if I unite the souls, they can lose their identity. Then it will be farewell time for both. The Moon gave you life Anika; I promise I will use the Moonlight to take life away from you.’
Though Drudan failed to locate Soto here, this discovery had made his hopes rise high. He had been observing the movement of the tides in the moonlight for several days. The full Moon definitely had a magical effect on the waters of the confluence of the Bay of Bengal, the Arabian Sea and the Indian Ocean. This point seemed to him a power generating point, capable of uniting anything. Drudan had been pondering if he could collect a sample of this water and test it scientifically.
He had tried reaching that point on his bee once but as he approached closer, his magic stopped working and his bee changed to crimson handkerchief and was swallowed by the sea. Had he not been an adept swimmer, he too would have been drowned in the sea. But this experience made Drudan even more convinced about the inexplicable effect of the Moonlight at the point where the two seas and the ocean met.
Drudan promised himself ‘Let the Sun rise and the stars protect that wretched land. I will dissolve their Princess’s soul’. Laughing aloud he yelled ‘Yes, I will dissolve Anika’s soul’.
He then stood up and walked towards a fisherman who was tying nets on the boat.
‘Friend, I need your help’ said Drudan to the Fisherman.
The fisherman looked at Drudan intently but did not answer and continued tying the nets.
Drudan repeated ‘Friend I need your help’
The fisherman ignored Drudan once again.
His insouciance made Drudan livid and he yelled ‘ You insect. How dare you turn your back on me’.
Pointing his finger towards the Fisherman, he roared ‘ Blaze!’
The fisherman instantly caught fire and was reduced to ashes. People around were so petrified by the site that they began to run. Drudan blew air and trapped everyone with a magical spell.
‘ Please don’t kill us. We will do whatever you command’ pleaded one of the fishermen.
Drudan laughed and said ‘ That’s like a good man. I am your commander from today. I will rule you. Give me a house to stay and food to eat.’ The fisherman said ‘ Sir, we are poor people. We don’t have a house to give you. We live in huts. But there is an old palace vacant at the shore of the sea ’.
Drudan narrowed his eyes to locate the palace at a distance. It was a massive heritage building in ruins. Drudan pointed his fingers towards the citadel and said ‘New I want you to be!’.
The Palace instantly became new and glittering.
The fishermen were awestruck. Drudan realized that and decided to take advantage of their fear. He yelled ‘ All of you will live with me in the palace or I will kill you’
One of them braced courage and asked Drudan ‘ Sir, what do you want from us? We are underprivileged people who catch fish and sell them to earn a living.’
Drudan pointed at the point where Moonlight was falling on the confluence of the Arabian Sea, Bay of Bengal and the Indian Ocean. He said ‘ Get me water from there and free yourself’
The fisherman gasped ‘ No Sir , It is impossible. The sea is cavernous, we will die. You know magic then why can you not get water yourself’
‘You fool, if magic worked there I wouldn’t have bothered to talk to you’ said Drudan absolutely exasperated.
He raised his hand and pointing it towards the fishermen, said ‘ Trap them in a net’.
A huge fishing net appeared which covered the fishermen. Soon they were taken in the captivity of the net.
Drudan rubbed his palms vigorously and blew air towards the net. It began to rise. Drudan calmly instructed the net ‘Head towards the heritage palace while these insects are trapped in’.
The fishermen began to yell ‘ Help Help!’
Drudan began to laugh aloud and said ‘ Let us leave for the palace my dear useless people’
Then he tapped on his forehead and said ‘ I need a vehicle to travel. What should I create? Something as slimy as me. What?’
Then he laughed aloud ‘ Yes, It should be a flying snake’
He picked a pebble from the bank and blowing air on it, he said ‘ Oh sea snake, let us escape!’
A yellow coloured snake with big black spots appeared in front of Drudan. It was so long and thick, that even Drudan gasped in surprise. In no time the snake curled itself around Drudan. He began to yell ‘No, No, you are choking me!”
It was pouring outside but the rain did little to assuage Anika’s upset mood.
Four years back when I decided to quit my six years banking career