Queer rights movements worldwide have paved the way for greater societal acceptance of love in all its forms for today’s generation. Although, true liberation remains a distant reality for many. Santanu Bhattacharya highlights this evolution through the stories of three different generations in his book, Deviants (Tranquebar - Westland Books). Spanning from 1970s to the present day, we witness lives of three gay men who do not conform to society’s heterosexual norms. As homosexuality becomes more accepted over time, the novel explores the struggles of previous generations who paved the way for the current one to live in a much freer world—though this freedom comes with its own set of challenges. Using voice notes and diary entries, the book employs both first- and third-person perspectives to tell the narratives of love, heartbreak and assaults.
We speak with the author on the structure, inspirations and everything that went behind the novel.
How did you come up with the structure of the novel, a story of three generations, using voice notes and retrospection as a method to tell a story of queerness?
I think the three generations are so different because so much has changed in the last 50 years in general, be it how we speak, because our language has changed so much. A span of time does bring with it a lot of changes, especially with the onset of technology. I wanted to reflect that in how each person’s story is told. What channels do they have access to? What kind of language are they using? What are they comfortable calling themselves? In what language are they speaking?
Vivaan, for example, who is the Gen Z character, is primarily speaking in English because of his surroundings. Whereas Sukumar, who is the oldest guy, is very North Calcutta-based. He is primarily speaking in Bangla. He’s hardly using any English. I wanted all of those nuances to be reflected in how their stories are being told.
Mambro, on the other hand, when he was going through those very formative experiences, he didn’t quite know what to do with them, how to process them, how to talk about them. So, his story is told in retrospect in a diary/memoir format. And then Vivaan has the language, tools and support, which makes his storytelling a lot more current and immediate through a first-person narrative of voice notes.
The name Deviants suggests a difference from what is known to be the norm but do you think there is a hope for the 'deviants' to own a place in mainstream in the near future? What inspired you to name it Deviants?
I played around with names a lot. Deviants because I felt whichever generation we’re talking about, ultimately, I think what the novel does is shows that no matter how much legal cover we have for gay people, no matter how much social acceptance we build into the fabric of society, these people are always going to be on the outside. They’re always going to be doing things that are slightly different from the mainstream. They’re always going to feel a bit left out from the mainstream. That’s why Deviants fits so well because they are the deviants in the society.
I think the fight against ingrained institutions is a very long fight. And we’re seeing that with women’s rights as well. A country like the US gave up on abortion rights for women! So, it’s a constant fight and some battles will be won, but a lot of other battles will be lost because what we’re fighting is so entrenched and historical. It’s all about power. Straight men don’t want to give up their power, and that’s why everyone on the margins is going to have to keep fighting. I’m not very hopeful of things radically changing that much in our lifetimes, but I think change is incremental and that is already happening. So, there is hope in that.
How do you think your writing has evolved from your first novel?
I have always come to the page to tell a story. I’m not somebody who writes all the time. There are writers who write 500 words every day because they think they are writers and that’s their practice. I’m not that kind of writer. I come to the page only when I have a story to tell. I’m always led by what I want to say, how I want to say it, and who my main characters are.
In that sense, every story is an opportunity to start afresh. I saw that from my first novel to my second. When I started this one, I was as nervous as I was with my first. In fact, I was even more nervous because now I had the experience of having published a book. I had butterflies in my stomach. I was staring at a blank page.
What has changed, though, is there’s a certain level of confidence in wanting to tell stories and in wanting to experiment. This whole first, second, third person, three different voices and things like that—I probably wouldn’t have done it if this were my first novel. I would have probably chosen a much more conventional way to tell the story. I think that confidence to be able to just try is the biggest learning for me from my first book.
There are so many similarities in the way that love and heartbreak manifest in these three stories with instances of assault as well. Was it a conscious choice?
Yes, because I think the opening piece of the novel, for me, is that wherever you’re placed on the timeline, whichever generation you belong to, the share of trials and tribulations of gays feels the same. It could look different in various generations, but a broken heart would feel the same in 2025 as it would in the 1850s. A broken heart is a broken heart. Bullying is bullying. Family dynamics are family dynamics. These are universal. They traverse the boundaries of time and geography.
It was also a way for me to connect their stories—and what each character goes through, to give the reader a singular experience.
Do you often think about the reader's experience while writing or of things that you hope people would take away from book?
Having published a book, I can say that every reader takes something different away from the book. One Small Voice spans over 30 years, and Deviants spans over 50 years.There’s so much happening—so many characters, a family, love, physical attraction, the legal system, the politics of the day. A good novel should set out that very expansive canvas, and then the reader will start choosing the things they really relate to or want to learn more about. That’s my hope for Deviants as well. Overall, people have a good reading experience and will know more about the homosexual experience over the years in India.
Words Paridhi Badgotri
Photography Behrin Ismailov
Date 18.02.2025