In a conversation with Meghdoot Karnik, author of the book DRONACHARYA At The Workplace And Other Short Stories. Meghdoot Karnik answered the interview questions in an interesting manner, hope you like the interview. To read the complete review of the book you can visit Book Review : DRONACHARYA At The Workplace And Other Short Stories - Meghdoot Karnik
Q: Your book, “DRONACHARYA At The Workplace And Other Short Stories”, is a published book. How does it feel to hold it?
A: It is a great feeling, to actually see and hold the book in print, with credits and copyrights in your name. It is like the fructifying of a dream, a project which has seen the light of the day. While commercial success is a matter of luck, with the kind of feedback that I am getting, I am personally satisfied that I have written something good.
Q: Tell us something about your experience of writing the book? How did you think of writing this book?
A: I am a trainer by profession, and have all along been using analogies from movies, sports, mythology etc. to drive home the points in my training sessions. Hence the concept of linking these to corporate was a logical extension of my training sessions. When a friend of mine nudged me to write, I penned down various concepts and then zeroed in on the Mahabharata as a starting point to link it to corporate life
Q: Can you tell us something about your experience of getting the book published? Is it easier these days for Indian Authors to get their books published?
A: Actually I was extremely lucky. I saw a placard in Crossword Bookstores offering publishing services through their publishing arm called The Write Place at the same time when I was penning down the first story. I wrote the first story, sent it to them, and they immediately agreed. So I was now in the enviable situation of having found a publisher before I had even completed 20% of the book. I think the acceptability of Indian authors by readers has increased big time in the last ten years. This makes it much more feasible for a publisher to take up a manuscript by an Indian author. While I don’t know whether it is easy for Indian authors, I definitely think that the publishing horizons have expanded.
Q: Other than being a published author, what else do you do?
A: I am a Corporate Training Professional. Training is my passion, and I am a trainer for life. Even though I am a qualified accountant I have been a trainer for the last 20 years. I conduct finance and leadership sessions for corporates.
Q: When did you decide that you wanted to be a writer, what inspired you to take it up?
A: Twelve months ago, I was bored with corporate life and needed a spark, any spark. A friend nudged me to write and I took it up as a personal challenge.
Q: Other than “DRONACHARYA At The Workplace And Other Short Stories”, have you written anything else? What can we expect from you in the near future?
A: I have been writing blogs based on my personal experiences, again trying to connect them back to corporate life and processes. You can check them out on www.meghdootkarnik.blogspot.in. Amar Chitra Katha has had a huge influence on me since childhood, be it history, mythology, Aesops fables or Panchatantra. While I haven’t decided what to write next, I think Amar Chitra Katha will decide what I write next.
Q: Tell us something about the cover of the book, how did you finalize it?
A: The cover was designed by The Write Place. We wanted a cover which would depict both the Mahabharata and Corporate life in one frame. We decided to have an image of a character- namely Dronacharya – who is part of the lead story and an image depicting corporate life. We finally blended the two to get an attractive cover.
Q: Are the short stories in the book inspired from real life events or are they completely fictional?
A: The short stories are based on my twenty years experience in corporate life. I have seen people following mentors across organizations, having a huge reluctance to shift roles, hence these were natural events to write on. While some stories are completely fictional, some are inspired from real life events.
Q: “DRONACHARYA At The Workplace And Other Short Stories” overall is very different and makes an attempt to connect the regular work life with lessons from the Indian epic Mahabharata, when did you first realize that you can write something like this?
A: I realized that the Mahabharata has always been told as a fable as a story and even adapted as movies, mostly as a whole story, the supposed victory of good over evil. When I wrote the first story, (which is the title story), I realized that incidents could be picked up independently, analyzed and used in corporate learning. When I narrated the concept to a few people they encouraged me. As I delved deep into the Mahabharata and listed down the corporate situations and their link to the Mahabharata, instinct told me that I was on to something special. That inspired me to go ahead and take it to its logical conclusion.
Q: How much time did you take to complete the book, did you ever face a writer’s block? How did you come out of it?
A: The first manuscript of the book was written in five months. The biggest challenge was in seamlessly taking the characters to discuss the relevant incident in the Mahabharata and relate it to the corporate situation. I had to indulge in a lot of lateral thinking to create such situations. I got special satisfaction from writing the conversation in Arjuna’s mistake.
Q: Tell us something about the research that you have put in to write the book?
A: I have grown up on the Mahabharata and fascinated by various aspects of the same. Time and again, I have picked up books which give a different perspective to the Mahabharata. When I took to writing the book, I kept the Mahabharata as a reference, just to ensure that I got the facts right.
Q: Do you read as much as you write? Which are your favorite books and authors?
A: I have been a voracious reader since childhood. If I pick up a book and like it, it is very difficult for me to put it down. My favorite authors are Dr. Eliyahu Goldratt (Goal, It’s not Luck); Ravi Subramaniam (If God was a Banker, Bankerupt and all his books); Mukul Deva (Lashkar, Salim Must Die and the entire series). While I read a variety of topics, I prefer fiction, as it grips the reader.
Q: You prefer reading e-books or the traditional paper/hard back book?
A: I prefer the physical book to an e-book. I don’t get the feel in a e-book format, maybe I am slightly old fashioned!
Q: Two things that you like and dislike about “Indian Mythology”?
A: “Indian Mythology” has too many plots and sub plots which if explored can make for very fascinating reading. It has a lot of messages which we can use in our day to day lives. What I dislike is that it is written only from the point of view of the victor and is preachy. I would recommend people to draw their own lessons and inferences from mythology as compared to the uni-dimensional writing which says, that the winner is always right.
Q: Any message you would want to share with our readers?
A: I would say, go back to our mythological texts and read them as a fascinating story and draw your own inferences from the same. See if you can apply them to real life situations. And most importantly “Live Life King Size”
Q: How can our readers connect with you?
A: The readers can write to me directly at dronacharya@meghdootkarnik.com. They can also visit my webpage www.meghdootkarnik.com; and my facebook page Dronacharya or connect with me on LinkedIn. My twitter handle is @meghdootk.
-- Interview with author Meghdoot Karnik --
Q: Your book, “DRONACHARYA At The Workplace And Other Short Stories”, is a published book. How does it feel to hold it?
A: It is a great feeling, to actually see and hold the book in print, with credits and copyrights in your name. It is like the fructifying of a dream, a project which has seen the light of the day. While commercial success is a matter of luck, with the kind of feedback that I am getting, I am personally satisfied that I have written something good.
Q: Tell us something about your experience of writing the book? How did you think of writing this book?
A: I am a trainer by profession, and have all along been using analogies from movies, sports, mythology etc. to drive home the points in my training sessions. Hence the concept of linking these to corporate was a logical extension of my training sessions. When a friend of mine nudged me to write, I penned down various concepts and then zeroed in on the Mahabharata as a starting point to link it to corporate life
Q: Can you tell us something about your experience of getting the book published? Is it easier these days for Indian Authors to get their books published?
A: Actually I was extremely lucky. I saw a placard in Crossword Bookstores offering publishing services through their publishing arm called The Write Place at the same time when I was penning down the first story. I wrote the first story, sent it to them, and they immediately agreed. So I was now in the enviable situation of having found a publisher before I had even completed 20% of the book. I think the acceptability of Indian authors by readers has increased big time in the last ten years. This makes it much more feasible for a publisher to take up a manuscript by an Indian author. While I don’t know whether it is easy for Indian authors, I definitely think that the publishing horizons have expanded.
Q: Other than being a published author, what else do you do?
A: I am a Corporate Training Professional. Training is my passion, and I am a trainer for life. Even though I am a qualified accountant I have been a trainer for the last 20 years. I conduct finance and leadership sessions for corporates.
Q: When did you decide that you wanted to be a writer, what inspired you to take it up?
A: Twelve months ago, I was bored with corporate life and needed a spark, any spark. A friend nudged me to write and I took it up as a personal challenge.
Q: Other than “DRONACHARYA At The Workplace And Other Short Stories”, have you written anything else? What can we expect from you in the near future?
A: I have been writing blogs based on my personal experiences, again trying to connect them back to corporate life and processes. You can check them out on www.meghdootkarnik.blogspot.in. Amar Chitra Katha has had a huge influence on me since childhood, be it history, mythology, Aesops fables or Panchatantra. While I haven’t decided what to write next, I think Amar Chitra Katha will decide what I write next.
Q: Tell us something about the cover of the book, how did you finalize it?
A: The cover was designed by The Write Place. We wanted a cover which would depict both the Mahabharata and Corporate life in one frame. We decided to have an image of a character- namely Dronacharya – who is part of the lead story and an image depicting corporate life. We finally blended the two to get an attractive cover.
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| Interview with author Meghdoot Karnik |
A: The short stories are based on my twenty years experience in corporate life. I have seen people following mentors across organizations, having a huge reluctance to shift roles, hence these were natural events to write on. While some stories are completely fictional, some are inspired from real life events.
Q: “DRONACHARYA At The Workplace And Other Short Stories” overall is very different and makes an attempt to connect the regular work life with lessons from the Indian epic Mahabharata, when did you first realize that you can write something like this?
A: I realized that the Mahabharata has always been told as a fable as a story and even adapted as movies, mostly as a whole story, the supposed victory of good over evil. When I wrote the first story, (which is the title story), I realized that incidents could be picked up independently, analyzed and used in corporate learning. When I narrated the concept to a few people they encouraged me. As I delved deep into the Mahabharata and listed down the corporate situations and their link to the Mahabharata, instinct told me that I was on to something special. That inspired me to go ahead and take it to its logical conclusion.
Q: How much time did you take to complete the book, did you ever face a writer’s block? How did you come out of it?
A: The first manuscript of the book was written in five months. The biggest challenge was in seamlessly taking the characters to discuss the relevant incident in the Mahabharata and relate it to the corporate situation. I had to indulge in a lot of lateral thinking to create such situations. I got special satisfaction from writing the conversation in Arjuna’s mistake.
Q: Tell us something about the research that you have put in to write the book?
A: I have grown up on the Mahabharata and fascinated by various aspects of the same. Time and again, I have picked up books which give a different perspective to the Mahabharata. When I took to writing the book, I kept the Mahabharata as a reference, just to ensure that I got the facts right.
Q: Do you read as much as you write? Which are your favorite books and authors?
A: I have been a voracious reader since childhood. If I pick up a book and like it, it is very difficult for me to put it down. My favorite authors are Dr. Eliyahu Goldratt (Goal, It’s not Luck); Ravi Subramaniam (If God was a Banker, Bankerupt and all his books); Mukul Deva (Lashkar, Salim Must Die and the entire series). While I read a variety of topics, I prefer fiction, as it grips the reader.
Q: You prefer reading e-books or the traditional paper/hard back book?
A: I prefer the physical book to an e-book. I don’t get the feel in a e-book format, maybe I am slightly old fashioned!
Q: Two things that you like and dislike about “Indian Mythology”?
A: “Indian Mythology” has too many plots and sub plots which if explored can make for very fascinating reading. It has a lot of messages which we can use in our day to day lives. What I dislike is that it is written only from the point of view of the victor and is preachy. I would recommend people to draw their own lessons and inferences from mythology as compared to the uni-dimensional writing which says, that the winner is always right.
Q: Any message you would want to share with our readers?
A: I would say, go back to our mythological texts and read them as a fascinating story and draw your own inferences from the same. See if you can apply them to real life situations. And most importantly “Live Life King Size”
Q: How can our readers connect with you?
A: The readers can write to me directly at dronacharya@meghdootkarnik.com. They can also visit my webpage www.meghdootkarnik.com; and my facebook page Dronacharya or connect with me on LinkedIn. My twitter handle is @meghdootk.
-- End of Interview with author Meghdoot Karnik --
You can order a copy of the book from Amazon.
A very interesting interview, will soon read his book..
ReplyDeleteThank you, glad to hear that!
DeleteA comprehensive interview covering all aspects of the book & author-Kudos Kaushal!
ReplyDeleteThank you for your kind words, Rajeev!
Delete