Author Interview : PC Balasubramanian, author of ‘Ready.. Steady.. Exit' (Part 1)

PC Balasubramanian

Read up, the first part of the Interview with PC Balasubramanian, the author of 'Ready.. Steady.. Exit'.

 

In this one, he tells us how it was that ‘Ready.. Steady.. Exit’ first happened, how Gautam, the main character came about, how he came about with the core idea of the book, before developing it and what the challenging parts of the book were. 

 

There is  more to come in the second part of this Interview, Folks…

 

You can Read my Review here, and Buy the Book right here.

 

 

How did ‘Ready.. Steady.. Exit’ happen? Could you describe the journey? 

It was just a desire to tell a story and though I have written two books earlier, including ‘Rajini’s Punchtantra’ and ‘Grand Brand Rajini’, ‘Ready.. Steady.. Exit’ is my first fiction. 

One of the objectives was to narrate a story around CAs usually, one doesn’t get to read many books, where the protagonist is a CA. I also wanted to tell a story that has a lot of humour and also a story that everyone could relate to, especially young entrepreneurs.

How did the main character, Gautam come about? How much of you, was in there?

It is pure fiction. Except, for a couple of facts that Gautam in this story is from Pondicherry and he also clears his CA course after a few attempts, there is nothing of me in him. Gautam is a tall, dusky handsome guy as you may notice.

What according to you is different about your book?

I think it is difficult to narrate a serious story in a humorous way and that’s the difference here.

Also, as one reads this story, one would also realise that there are some important lessons and learnings for young entrepreneurs, especially at start-up firms.

Which particular character did you feel most close to? Why?

I love all the characters here and if I have to pick one, it would be Anand, as he is such a support for Gautam and in fact, he is the one who in a way, is instrumental in unravelling the suspense at the end.

How did you come up with the core idea and develop it?

I had the plot in mind and I wanted to put it across, that the value systems in business are very subjective and relative. And, everyone has a right to one’s opinion as regards, the means to making money.

Once I had the plot in my mind, I wanted to develop it in a manner that many would find interesting to read. They could relate to it and at the same time, pick up a few important lessons.

I also wanted to add some suspense in the story and I think I fairly achieved it as many seemed to love it.

What was the most challenging part about writing ‘Ready.. Steady.. Exit’?

The most challenging part is telling a serious corporate story in a very humorous way and also, in way any kind of reader could understand.

More challenges actually emerge only after you finish writing !!!

How did the today’s corporate environment affect your writing?

So much can be written from the current corporate environment. The more and more people you see, the more experiences you go through…there are several stories to be created and so, many lessons to be crafted.

Clearly, one could write fiction as well as non-fiction with what we experience every day.

The only thing is with so much to do at work, it is increasingly becoming difficult to spend time in writing.

Could you tell the readers about your experiences and how it was related to what you wrote?

I think I have already explained it in a different way. One comes across several characters in our day to day life and each one is a specimen.

This helps in characterisation, when you write fiction. And some of one’s own experiences could be crafted into a story with some creativity. Stories are around all of us, just pick them up.

Author Interview : Jaydeep Khot, author of ‘50 Miles : A Reverse Journey' (Part 2)

Read up, the second part of the Interview with Jaydeep Khot, author of '50 Miles : A Reverse Journey'. 

In this section, he talks of the most fulfilling parts in the book, the character he felt most close to, his next book, and also his favourite authors, and then a little more, Folks...

What are the most fulfilling parts in your book?

The entire book is the most fulfilling experience of my life. I never thought, I could ever finish the book completely, because I am good at short stories and essays. Well, there is always a first time.

Though, If I am told to choose, I would go for the part where there is the teaching scene. As it is a personal experience, it is very close

Jaydeep Khot

to my heart.

Which particular character did you feel most close to? Why?

Haria.

This is because he is very confused in life. I have a lot of friends and family members, who have been like this.

On a personal note, I was the same way, when I was a teenager in school.

But this does not mean Haria is my reflection. He isn’t. He is completely different from me. We are poles apart.

The confusion he has in his life, brings me closer to him on a sympathetic front.

Do you have another book planned? If so, what is it about?

Yes, It is Envisage - Looking into the future. It a about a girl, Kasak who has power to see the future and therefore, she prevents crime with the help of these powers.

Kasak was also a character in ‘50 Miles - A Reverse Journey’.

But they both are unrelated. Or are they? Who knows?

Add caption

Which book are you currently reading?

I am reading ‘Business as Usual’ by Deepak Chawla. It is a collection of short stories published by The Write Place.

I completed reading the first short story and I am totally awestruck by the author’s command over the language and creating a thinking process, which is very rare in Indian authors.

Who are your favourite authors and why?

JK Rowling and Chetan Bhagat.

J.K. Rowling because she knows how to touch children’s hearts and that is something I would love to have one day.

Chetan Bhagat, because of his simplicity of English language. He knows how to communicate even to the sectors of the society, which don’t have good command over the language.

What else do you do on a daily basis?

I am a final year CA student. I attend classes for six hours a day. Study for an hour every day. Read as much as I can. Go to the and practise running for the SCMM 2016 21.1 kms, which I am hopeful I will be running.

Help my sister in her 9^th grade history and civics. Watch TV shows and tweet about them.

Book Review : 'Dussehra : Festivals Of India' by Diamond Comics and 'Tales of Durga' by ACK Comics

Considering this is the Dussehra season, and I had gone to the Easy Library for a storytelling session. I decided to do three books there. The first one, 'Dussehra : Festivals of India' was about Ramayana (in brief), the Mahabharata (the Agyatvas period) and finally, a favourite of mine, Amar Chitra Katha’s ‘Tales of Durga’.

So, let us begin. Diamond Comics version, 'Dussehra : Festivals of India' had a go at this festival, which is celebrated with a lot of excitement across India. Ramayana, which started off with the mention of the Ramlila festival, and how actors do the roles of Lord Rama and Lakshmana. The comic is pretty colourful, with the effigies of Ravana, Kumbhakaran and Meghnad, his son. It talks of the ultimate win of good over evil, which would translate to Rama over Ravana. 

Then it moves on to speaking of the history of Dussehra. It talks briefly of how Rama came to be in the forest and then of Soorpanakha’s rejected proposal. How Ravan is brought into the picture ending with the great war of Lanka. How Vijayadasami came into place, before finally ending with Diwali.

Then, a brief story of how Mahabharata’s heroes also ended up, fighting a war with the Kauravas, in King Virat’s kingdom. And, how they almost got caught in the final year, or so the Kauravas thought…

Finally, there was an ACK story of ‘Tales of Durga’. It basically spoke of how the asura, Mahishasura prayed to Lord Brahma. After years of prayer, Brahma appears. Mahishasura asks for immortality, but he is rejected and offered another boon. He then, asks for defeat by a woman, as he thinks that all women would be powerless and meek. 

So, after this episode, Mahishasura goes on a rampage. He defeats and kills a lot of Rishis and kings and good people of the earth. He also lays his eyes on heaven and Indra and the Devas are not spared his ire. Soon, the devas make their way to the three lords, Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. They vent out all their problems and the three lords,  who then with all their power create Goddess Durga.

Durga’s first task is to destroy Mahishasura, and she is given all the weapons and a lion to ride. She makes her way to the asura’s kingdom and he, who thought would never be killed, immediately sees the threat. The asuras attack, with Mahishasura in the lead.

How Durga manages to defeat Mahishasura, who appears in various forms and how the Devas take back heaven and the people of the earth return to a safe life in the entire crux of this story.

The ACK version is a good one. One can see the rage in the eyes of the gods, and also Durga’s anger. This comic book definitely has my vote for the ultimate children’s comic. It shows all it wanted to show, and its illustrations are exceptional. 

Both comics do speak of much more, but these were the ones related to Dussehra and that is why they have a mention here. So, do pick up these comics and show your kids a little more of India's mythology...

Author Interview : Jaydeep Khot, author of ‘50 Miles : A Reverse Journey' (Part 1)

Jaydeep Khot

Read up, the first part of this interview, which is almost as short as the book. :) And therefore I will not take up any more time. 

This contains how the book happened, how much of the story was a personal experience and how much imagination, and the most challenging bits of writing this book, Folks...

How did ‘50 Miles : A Reverse Journey’ happen?  And what were your resources?

One fine day, I was sitting in college and the idea struck me.

The idea of writing something in reverse.

My college had completed 50 years, so 50, came into existence and I am a marathon runner so, miles came to existence. Hence, 50 Miles.

There were no resources for the content as it was a combination of imagination and personal experiences.

Could you describe the journey from ‘Age 50’ to ‘Age 0’?

I tried my best.

I am working on a detailed version of 50 Miles as a result of many requests from the readers asking for a more elaborate version.

How much of the story was a personal experience? The education, to the love and marriage, children and finally the various businesses…

The Carter Road teaching scene is a personal experience. Everything else is just pure imagination.

Love, marriage and children, which I have written about is my personal idea of an ideal confusion.

The businesses are my ideal fantasy.

What according to you is different about your book?

The reverse journey. It was been narrated in a reverse, sequence which we do not find in the market.

I researched for a year to check whether such an idea already existed in the market. Luckily, it didn’t.

Another thing different is that my book is precise and does not include unnecessary content and research.

How would you relate the lives of characters to the lives today? Any similarites?

I believe every human being goes through these life experiences sometime or the other in their lifetime.

If you take out the life accounts of people, it would need a detailed research and analysis to find out the similarities. The efforts will not go in vain.

This could even lead to an interesting real life based novel.

What was the most challenging part about writing ‘50 Miles : A Reverse Journey’?

The reverse journey. It was the most challenging part because I had to do a lot of brainstroming and make a separate pile of notes to be on the right track. I had to write it in reverse. There were a lot of times, when I had to edit my content because it was written in a going forward manner rather than going reverse.

I have spent a lot of sleepless nights for this book. I even had to take a lot of medicines because I used to end up with severe headache after the process of writing.