Madhukant Acharya: I changed my lifestyle and priorities to focus on writing
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Madhukant Acharya was educated in some of the best schools and colleges in India and was adjudged the best student in his class.
Soon after he joined the corporate world, working with eminent multinational companies and rose from a management trainee to the company's board position in a short span of twenty years and was awarded 'Marketing Man of the Year' from the President of India. He has widely travelled in India and abroad and continues to be an avid reader. The author leads an active social life with friends and family and is a popular member of premier clubs.
His interests involve being a fitness enthusiast and doing social and charitable work in rural areas. Many of his friends call him 'people happy'.
Settled in Mumbai for nearly forty years with wife Kalpana, his children pursue careers in the US and Mumbai being doctors, engineers, and MBAs.
The idea of writing a novel motivated him some years ago after professional retirement when he rescheduled his priorities and lifestyle to devote the required time to create his debut novel Friends and five seasons in two volumes - Rupen's Early Years and Publishing hero Rupen.
EXCLUSIVE AUTHOR INTERVIEW
Q. Characterise yourself in one word.
Structured
Q. Please describe what the story/book is in one sentence.
Three men and two women forge a lifelong friendship that makes them a winning group consisting of a brilliant newsman, sharp legal eagle, able administrator, educationist, and agrarian manager. Together they achieve the seemingly impossible.
Q. Briefly what led up to the book? What were you writing (and getting published if applicable) before breaking out with the book?
Without a doubt, I would say my keen observation of exceptional newsmen, legal luminaries, forthright administrators, educationists and homemakers who are integral to the plot of my imagined story.
My book ’Friends and Five Seasons’ deals with one of the most exciting periods of India’s evolution from 1920 to 1970.
I was writing essays and articles from time to time but decided to write a novel one evening when I was relaxing in my study having returned from a holiday.
Thereafter it became a passion to write and publish ‘Friends and Five Season’ in two volumes.
Q. What has been your biggest achievement?
My biggest achievement has been my success against all odds in my chosen fields spanning a lifetime that is performing well beyond the call of duty.
Q. Looking back, what did you do right that helped you break-in?
I changed my lifestyle and priorities to focus on writing which was fulfilling to the core requiring an effort but never stressful. A dream realized.
Q. Did you have a platform in place? On this topic what are you doing to build a platform and gain readership?
I had no platform but explored possibilities to first find a publisher. Amazon gave me a lead to find one. I tried to make my book visible through various ways like a successful book launch, digital advertising on Amazon, Facebook and personal contacts.
Q. Favourite book.
Inferno by Dan Brown
Q. Something personal about you people may be surprised to know.
I am intrepid and organized in most things I do. People tend to see me primarily as fun-loving, independent and optimistic.
Q. Future of Salismania through your eyes.
The future of Saismania.com is bright because it offers a need-based platform for first-time authors like me to reach out to readers and achieve some success.
WHAT TO READ: Friends and Five Seasons: Rupen's early years ( Vol 1 )
ABOUT THE BOOK
Rupen, Dinkar, and Ajit passed out from an English medium school in 1921 and recalled their outstanding teachers Charles Benedict, Colonel Irwin Manley, Julie Thomas, Gyan Shastri, Suman Sahay, and others.
Standing on the threshold of adulthood, they joined college and did what they always wanted to do - they revolted against the British flag and dumped it into the Ganges as a non-violent act of defiance.
As a result, they were pitted against Principal Andrews who was determined to teach them a lesson that would make an example out of the three; but they were ably defended by Professor Saran who believed in using his brains to secure a pardon for his students.
In such a tense atmosphere, Radha comes into Rupen's life and so does Julie, who defends Ajit. Meanwhile, Dinkar fearlessly faces the authorities.
Sensing the popular mood in the country, the three friends undertake a journey of discovery of India and start writing articles supported by a former newspaper editor.
Despite huge odds, they cruise into their careers. Rupen joins a small newspaper group rejecting a lucrative offer from a leading paper.
Ajit takes up the practice of law. Dinkar joins the King's service. In this situation, they make a pact that not too far into the future their careers will merge in the city of their school days and that they will share a common destiny. But how this would happen, none of them knew...
PUBLISHER: Notion Press
PAGES: 352
GENRE: Contemporary Fiction
WHAT TO READ: Friends and Five Seasons: Publishing Hero Rupen (Vol 2)
ABOUT THE BOOK
Rupen, Dinkar and Ajit redeemed their pledge to work in the provincial city of their school days.
By sheer force of Rupen’s formidable reputation as an outstanding Editor of the World Chronicle and Vishwadesh newspapers in Calcutta he came to the notice of the Emperor who picked him to revive his own defunct newspaper.
Rupen accepted and acted quickly by asking Dinkar to leave the King’s service and join him. Ajit left Calcutta to start his law firm in Patna and became the Chief Counsel of Dolphin newspapers run by Rupen.
Steadfastly they sprinted towards their goals where duty above all else ruled their lives.
In 1959 Rupen interviewed JFK, President of the United States in the Oval Office at the White House which was globally reported in the media.
Ajit meanwhile successfully fought the cases for Dolphin Papers in the High Court and Supreme Court and became a legal eagle par excellence. Dinkar cleared the hurdles as an ace administrator to push the newspapers ascent to the top. The three friends were a force to reckon with.
Just then the Prime Minister wanted Rupen to mentor his young daughter being groomed to lead the party and the government.
Julie Thomas and Radha Thakur were the new age modern women of an emancipated India cutting through the iron wall of a patriarchial society while still retaining strong family bonds.
One was a distinguished educationist and entrepreneur and the other a successful agrarian manager and homemaker. Both chartered out on independent careers which other women had not done before.
They had all lived through the four seasons together and then the fifth season arrived. That changed everything forever.
PUBLISHER: Notion Press
PAGES: 400
GENRE: Contemporary Fiction