Author Divya Prakash Dubey credits Lucknow roots for the success of Musafir Cafe

Author Divya Prakash Dubey is enjoying the strong response to the OTT adaptation of his book Musafir Cafe. During a visit to his hometown, he spoke about how his life and experiences in Lucknow shaped his writing. He says the roof of his house served as the base for his stories during times of restlessness. He completed his schooling and his first job in the city. He felt emotional when someone showed him a large hoarding of Musafir Cafe visible from his home rooftop.

Creative Roots

Dubey explains that his books are set in different cities, but their emotional core remains in Lucknow. The support and reassurance from local people gave him the confidence that things would work out. His protagonist Chander shares the same restlessness that Dubey felt while sitting on a platform berth at the Charbagh railway station for hours watching people. He used those observations to build dialogues and subplots. He also recalls a life-changing moment at a railway platform when a fan of Osho sold him a book and told him every line was worth two hundred fifty rupees.

Changing Fortunes

Returning to the city brings back strong memories of spending hours browsing books at Universal Booksellers while doing engineering coaching in Hazratganj. He recently signed over five hundred copies at a book festival and signed books for readers at the same bookstore. He calls the success of the Musafir Cafe series a miracle for a Hindi author. Non-readers are now buying his books, picking up his new work Almost Pyaar, and exploring his older titles. Book sales have increased manifold, the book is now available in English, and his identity as an author has grown.

Context

Authors often draw heavily on their early life experiences and hometown memories to build authentic characters and emotional plots in their books. Adaptations of popular books into OTT series can significantly boost overall readership and sales for writers across different languages.