Abhilash Fraizer is an acclaimed Indian writer and poet known for his lyrical prose and philosophical depth. With a background in literature and a career spanning poetry, fiction, and journalism, Fraizer has garnered national and international recognition for his work. He is the recipient of the 2024 Catholic Media Association Book Award (from North America) for his poetry collection Father, and his writings often explore themes of spirituality, environmental consciousness, and artistic integrity. The Ballad of the Universe, his most recent novel, showcases his ability to blend poetic narrative with powerful social commentary, establishing him as a distinctive voice in contemporary Indian literature.
The Literature Times: The Ballad of the Universe explores a unique concept of “Cosmic Music.” What inspired you to develop this idea, and how did it take shape during your writing process?
Abhilash Fraizer: The seminal idea ‘cosmic music’ which I have used as the central force of my novel ‘The Ballad of The Universe’ dates back to 1993 when I was a 17-year-old university student. During those days I used to observe, almost imaginatively, that there are sounds in the universe, in nature, that escape our sensory capabilities. ‘The Ballad of the Universe’ has two preliminary versions, both in Malayalam language which were twice awarded over the years with further insights gathered, I have developed into the ‘cosmic music’ that you see in the novel ‘The Ballad of the Universe’. Beyond a form of mere music, ‘cosmic music’ is an invitation to rediscover our belongingness in the universe, the essential fraternity and unity of all creation (being)-an ultimate call to harmony which unites the entire universe beyond the apparent differences and diversities.
The Literature Times: Bharath is a deeply spiritual character bound by silence. Was he inspired by any real-life figures or personal experiences?
Abhilash Fraizer: I cannot single out any prototypes for molding the character of Bharath at the same time, although Bharath is a creation of my imagination with some traits of various persons I have come across, have subconsciously influenced me while I sketched him. Even though I am not a musician, my own emotional and creative sphere have been sprinkled upon him, especially the intense way in which Bharath perceives the beauty of nature. I have introspected my own soul to explore and discover the struggles and conflicts of a man involved in creation. Moreover, my earlier life as a monk, has helped me to depict the ‘profound experience of silence’ more authentically.
The Literature Times: Your prose is notably poetic and atmospheric. As both a poet and novelist, how do you balance lyrical expression with narrative clarity?
Abhilash Fraizer: I take it as a compliment. Those who know me well have often defined me as a poet – not because I am a great poet, but because of the poetic style I maintain in my writings, whether I write in English or my mother tongue, Malayalam. I love reading poems and have a special penchant for lyrical prose. I think my style is a natural result of these. From a young age, I used to feel the expressions of nature very intensely. My heart used to experience euphoria when it rained and my mood changed along with changing climates and seasons. I used to get engulfed in an inexplicable elation at the sight of mountains, seas, rivers and the immensity of the sky. I have used these capabilities (or sensibilities) to generate an atmosphere when I write poems and fiction. ‘The Ballad of the Universe’ is a typical example. When I narrate a particular place, I imagine I am there with the characters of my novel, feeling with them, and experiencing the nature around. Naturally, the readers will feel the same.
The Literature Times: The novel touches on themes of environmental justice and indigenous rights. How important is activism in your storytelling?
Abhilash Fraizer: Man is not merely a social being. He is also a cosmic being. Through an invisible umbilical cord, man is connected to the universe and the entire beings existing in it. Hence, whenever a cosmic rhythm is broken anywhere in the world or in the universe as a whole, an ‘aware man’ has the responsibility to raise his voice. We cannot wash our hands saying that an injustice done to a tribal village in Africa has nothing to do with our lives. We cannot sit silent when the ‘lungs of the world’ like the Amazon forest is set ablaze. A rupture in the symphony of the universe disturbs the entire creation and the entire humanity. When an artist realizes this cosmic rhythm, this invisible umbilical cord, that connects him/her to the whole universe, it becomes mandatory for him/her to raise his/her voice against injustices and all acts against love. An artist, or a creative person, by the very fact of being an integral part of the cosmic symphony, is bound to stand for environmental justice and indigenous rights. The forests and the indigenous people are the pristine form of the cosmos preserved in our constantly polluted world. Their preservation is mandatory for the preservation of cosmic symphony intact.
The Literature Times: The relationship between Bharath and Niranjana is filled with tension between love and duty. What were you trying to convey through their dynamic?
Abhilash Fraizer: Bharath and Niranjana’s relationship is not the commonplace love-relationship. Bharath is not ‘everyman’. I have imagined him as an uncanny artist, torn between his passion, duty and love. For him love for Niranjana is not everything. He has other preoccupations and constraints unlike Niranjana whose love for Bharath is genuine and complete. Bharath represents those artists who are carried away from the embrace of their loved ones by the whirlwind of their passion and destiny. It happens in certain love relationships – especially if one of the partners is a creative genius, obsessed with a higher destiny. Moreover, pursuing a higher destiny and a massive passion always demands a sacrifice. Naturally, personal love is one of the victims, a major one, unfortunately.
The Literature Times: Kerala’s landscapes are vividly portrayed in the book. How does your own connection to these places influence your writing?
Abhilash Fraizer: The locales I have used as the setting of my novel are partially real and partially imaginary. The depiction of the moonlit shores of Kanyakumari is based on my real experience. When I narrated those portions, I relieved my old memories when I visited the place once. But I have enhanced my own memory with emotional and imaginative flavour to resonate with Bharath’s psyche and the context. Whereas, the ‘forest and hamlet’ in Idukki are created with the help of imagination. I have used my previous visits to some other similar places to imaginatively join them together to create a locate that suits my ideal setting. I think it is a process of creative molding. You recall various locales from your memory, put them together in an intensely imaginative moment, and recreate a new locale, blending all of them together according to your whims.
The Literature Times: The story ends on an open, almost mystical note. Do you believe in leaving interpretation up to the reader, or did you have a specific message in mind?
Abhilash Fraizer: I believe that great literature has to be open-ended – open to a myriad interpretations. The author writes his version; but the reader adds to it his/her version too. ‘The Ballad’ is such a novel. I have a version in my mind. I am clear about what I am writing, but the reader has the freedom and the right to take it forward. He can re-read it from his perspective. During the book launch ceremony of the novel held in May 2025, I remember several speakers reading and interpreting my novel differently. I was overjoyed by this, because I intended this multidimensional reading. ‘The Ballad of the Universe’ is a layered novel… Read it and experience it in your own unique way.
The Literature Times: What do you hope readers take away from The Ballad of the Universe—emotionally, intellectually, or spiritually?
Abhilash Fraizer: In a world that is plagued by avarice, animosity and selfishness, ‘The Ballad of the Universe’ calls for a profound meditation – to reflect upon and rediscover our roots in this common universe. It is a call to remember whatever our contemporary culture has forgotten in its wild pursuit of development at the expense of our environment, our fellow beings and our primordial roots in the universe. The entire universe, down from the time immemorial, is interconnected in a web of existence. When we turn self-centred and selfish, we destroy the rhythm of the universe, we shun ‘universal love’ and ‘fraternity’ that bind us together as ‘cosmic-mates’. What Bharath fulfils by performing the cosmic music at the climax of the novel is reviving our forgotten memories as an integral part of the universe – our interconnection from the beginning of the universe. Once we listen to this cosmic music and take it to our hearts, we realize our oneness with the cosmos and our cosmic belongingness, thereby opening a new gateway of ‘universal love’ beyond all discriminations and animosities. Cosmic music is ultimately a spiritual healing – a healing with a cosmos-embracing vision and a love that knows no boundaries… A love that is as profound and immense as the universe itself!
