India, Oct. 17 -- How did The Midnight Timetable come about?

There are bits and pieces from all over the place. The title of it came from a small bus station near where I live. I live in a port town in South Korea, so because of foreigners the sign was also written in English. And instead of saying 'Night Bus', the sign read 'Midnight Timetable'. I thought it was so intriguing and romantic, in a way. So, I took a picture and made a mental note that I'd use it as a title someday.

During COVID, everything was closed, and the whole atmosphere felt ghostly. The buses still ran, just very few. The emptiness felt eerie. And my university was also the same - classes were online, but us teachers still had to go in occasionally for meetings. The...