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A most interesting and unusual pursuit…a
fascinating and entertaining look at life in India'
- Amazon Top Reviewer' |
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Please direct
your PR/media/author-interview/related requests to the very competent
team below:
Ms. Cynanda Noronha
Executive, Pink & White Consulting (PR), Mumbai, India
Email
cynandan@pinkandwhiteconsulting.com
Tel: +91.22.26512756 /58/ 59
Fax Extn : 23
Website:
http://www.pinkandwhiteconsulting.com
If you are chasing a deadline and/or don't feel like talking to
yet another self-absorbed author, please feel free to use the FAQ's,
author photographs, and book cover below.
FAQ's | Photographs
| Cover Page
FAQ's
| Q. |
Tell us something about Keep Off The Grass? |
| A. |
If
I were asked to summarize in a few words, I would probably
describe Keep off the Grass as a new-age hippie
story.
The protagonist is a young American investment banker on
Wall Street whose life is all set to follow a defined, predictable
trajectory-a Harvard MBA, marriage, kids, luxurious European
vacations, the works; instead he gets sucked into an India
of drugs, prisons, surreal encounters, and crazy (but believable)
characters. His unlikely Indian experiences-a consuming
drug addiction, meditating in the Himalayas, meeting an
Aghoree on the Ghaats of Benares, spending
time in a prison cell etc.-are particularly interesting
(at-least in my biased opinion) given the contrast with
his protected and staid life before.
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| Q. |
What should readers expect from
your book? |
| A. |
I think Ruskin Bond , who got the first copy
for review, summarized it best in his review, "A racy
and entertaining romp through an ever-changing yet timeless
India…Wild, Witty and Wicked - but not in the least sentimental."
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| Q. |
Your debut novel...! How nervous are you? |
| A. |
Quite nervous. I always thought I had a pretty
thick skin, but I suddenly find myself becoming quite sensitive
about reviews/feedback about the novel. I guess it's because
writing can be a pretty lonely process sometimes, and for
the most part, you don't know whether you are writing the
next best-seller or something which people don't even want
to balance their cup of coffee on.
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| Q. |
What inspires you to write? |
| A. |
Hey, aren't all IIT or IIM graduates writing
now? It's the cult of the overpaid, under-worked manager :
Seriously though, some of my hobbies/interests like backpacking,
hiking and philosophy inspire a lot of my writing.
Right now, for example, I am rocking it out with a 6-month
vacation between jobs (I just left Procter & Gamble; and
will be joining the Boston Consulting Group in September.)
I am using the time to back-pack across South America; Europe,
Bhutan, Mongolia etc. These travels should be more than enough
inspiration for my next novel; and hopefully it will be much
bigger effort with characters from multiple countries and
continents.
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| Q. |
How does it feel to hear readers call Keep off the
Grass "one of the eagerly anticipated books of the year"? |
| A. |
Excited and intimidated. Excited because hopefully
this means that many folks will read my book (any-day a better
situation to be in than having just your mother read it!);
intimidated because it could end up becoming the 'Tashan'
of this year's books-lots of pre-release hype; high on style;
low on substance; result- box-office turkey. So well, fingers
crossed.
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| Q. |
Lots of elements in the book's synopsis sound familiar.
How different is your book? |
| A. |
At the risk of sounding like a Bollywood music
director ("I don't copy R.D Burman; I am just inspired
by him!"); let me say that I have been inspired by a
lot of writers, but the end product is reasonably original.
I guess my book is a khichdi of so many different genres-
a second-generation immigrant's search for his roots; campus
caper; the counter-culture of drugs in India; a bizarre hippie
journey through spiritual India in Dharamsala, Benares, and
Rajasthan- that it's turned out to be quite a unique blend.
Besides, I probably wouldn't waste a year or so of my life
writing/editing the book if I didn't have something new to
say.
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| Q. |
Your profile says that you grew up in various Central/Army
schools across India - Delhi, Lucknow, Assam, Jabalpur, Shimla,
Ranchi…. Tell us about those experiences. Has it shaped you
in anyway to being the person that you are today? |
| A. |
Yes, very much so. On the positive, an Army
background/my Dad's frequent transfers across the country
have made me quite adaptable to change. That's always a plus
in life and work. On the negative, I have been cursed with
a restless, nomadic spirit. Even after I started working,
I re-located five times in the past five years-India, Philippines,
Singapore and then a couple of times in the U.S. This wanderlust
isn't too good for stability or for establishing yourself
in one place.
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| Q. |
You spent more than a month or so in Dharamsala
in a Buddhist monastery. How enriching was the experience?
How did it help you write the book? |
| A. |
The experience finds a unique albeit fictionalized
place in the book so do read Keep off the Grass to
find out how it impacted my writing. Personally, it was a
rich yet unfulfilling experience; kind of like dipping your
toe in the ocean for just a second versus fully immersing
yourself in it. What I do recall most about those days though
is the sense of absolute contentment caused by the simple
yet rigorously spiritual lifestyle in the place- meditating
for 10-12 hours a day; listening to discourses; eating simple,
vegetarian food etc. Unfortunately, I was probably too materialistic
to continue beyond a point and dove back into the rat-race
again.
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| Q. |
Does your book have any message for readers? |
| A. |
I set out to write an entertaining book so
I wouldn't claim that there is any great political or social
message in the book. However if there is one dominant theme
in my book, it is about the importance of taking risks. I
think life usually forces one into a very predictable, comfortable
box; and you need to constantly push yourself to enter undefined
(but ultimately satisfying) territory. So escape, take a few
months off, travel, do crazy stuff, hike some mountains, join
a monastery for a while, act in a reality show, whatever-and
my guess is that (like the protagonist in my book) you'll
eventually realize that everything will be just alright. |
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