What did you want to become in life, growing up?
Age 2-38
Initially, I wanted to be Superman. I had a towel and underwear ready but was heartbroken to learn that I couldn’t fly.
Growing up, I wanted to be a cricketer. When Sachin Tendulkar, who was my age, became famous, I gave up. Professional jealousy and zero talent (both mine).
Later, during my corporate life, I aspired to become a CEO or some other fancy title.
Author? Naah! Not in your wildest dreams!
Yet, here I am, having written 9 books and counting. How on earth did I end up becoming an author?
Blame it on IIMA.
2012: Age 39: IIMA PGPX program
It all started with that short story competition that the media cell had organised with an email innocently titled ‘Helping you do the Write Thing!’
Done with your CVs & have free time at hand?
Or have no classes & nothing planned?
Media Cell gives you a chance to put it to use!
And win attractive prizes worth INR 6000 as well!
Think, think, think…the IIMA professors would say in class. So, I thought, thought and thought. The clincher was the 6K prize, which I could use to reduce my student loan (er, every drop counts).
Long story short, while everyone was busy studying, I was making up stories. With little competition, the media cell reluctantly declared me a winner for my entry, ‘The Sleeping Times @IIMA. I learnt later that I was the joint winner, which meant I would now get only 3K.
Some more time passed and the contest sponsor backed out, the media cell cancelled the prize money, and I had to delay my student loan repayment.
Authors are meant be readers and observers. By the time I had finished my residential program at IIMA, the volume of books I had ended up reading unknowingly made my local kabaddi wala proud, he could now finally afford the 1 BHK house in South Mumbai.
And all those foot notes in the cases studies! How much ever I tried, my professors always seemed to catch those very footnotes which I had missed. And then the professors would use those very footnotes that I had failed to observe to bring ‘enlightenment’ in the class. I began to eat, drink and sleep footnotes. Soon, it was time to show off my newly acquired observation powers. Just as luck would have it, my classmates had moved on and the institute informed me that I had to move out of the institute since the professors had to teach the next incoming batch.
When I returned to corporate after IIMA, I swore revenge. I now contemplated writing short stories and novels, focussing on humor.
Why humor?
On the rare occasion of my being attentive in class, I heard Prof Saral Mukherjee saying something to the effect that strategy is the art of closing doors. So, I closed all other doors and jumped through the humor window.
2017: Age 44: Assis. Vice President
At age 43, sitting in my slave cabin at work and dreaming of becoming a CEO, I asked myself
“What if today was the last day in your life?” Not a happy proposition.
Then I asked myself, “What if today was the last day in your job?” This sounded (and felt) much better.
After zero thought (pre-resignation) and considerable thought (post-resignation), I bade goodbye to my full-time job, corporate career and my CEO dreams to pursue a full-time career in writing.
Stupidity? Yes. Regrets? None.
I didn’t want to live in a world of what ifs.
2019: Age 46: Are You Kiddin’ Me?
Srishti Publishers, one of India’s top publishers, published my book ‘Are You Kiddin’ Me?’, a collection of 13 humorous short stories.
And with tons of footnotes!
My stay at Ahmedabad had directly inspired 3 stories from my first book directly inspired from the Venture Capitalist, Face Off, Hubris, all 3 stories based on true rumours.
The book won the ‘Best Fiction Book’ award at the Konark Litfest 2019 and ranked in the top 10 of the Indian Writing Charts at leading bookstores.
Was becoming an author worth it?
You decide.
A little girl, no more than 8 years and less than 3 feet tall, drags her parents all across the vast and iconic New Delhi Book Fair searching for my stall and books, and then ‘persuades’ her parents to buy ALL my books, at MRP.
5th standard students from Mount Litera Zee School, Nagpur perform an impromptu play from my book ‘King Of the Jungle’.
Then there this is this 6-year-old girl, Mishti, who shares this handwritten testimonial.
Have I arrived? No, I am still in pursuit. Life is unpredictable and I believe in going with the flow. I am on a mission to bring love, life, and laughter to people’s lives using clean, meaningful, wacky, humorous stories with deliciously wicked twists.
So, now I don’t ask any more, how or why.
I simply say, Thank you God.
And thank you, IIMA.
