That circus called politics
27 Jun 2014 9:24 PM GMT
Mannivanan K, an engineer and an MBA quit his typical sales manager job to pursue his passion for writing. Now he has come up with his brand new book, The Great Indian Democracy which he claims is semi-autobiographical. He has also started off his new food venture called the Moodle Stop, read on to know more about him...
Tell us about yourself, how did you start off?
I am a normal Engineer-turned-MBA from a middle class Tamilian family who was destined to  complete 60 years of job in a well respected company. That's how the script of my life should have been, until I decided to spice it up a little bit by starting to write this novel and starting my own venture in Chennai.
The Great Indian Democracy is your debut book. Tell us something more about it ?
The idea as I started out writing was to provide a take on the various happenings in our country through the eyes of discerning and intelligent young guy. The way he looks at our politicians, our newspapers, our reporting and in general, what politics means to him. I did not plan on writing a satire at the first but when I wrote the first few pages, that is when I realized there was a huge scope for a satire built around ‘The Great Indian Democracy’. The book is from the viewpoint of a quirky lead character who looks at the happenings in our country for the very first time.
Â
Is this book inspired from your own life?
It is heavily inspired from my life and many of my friends. Various sub-stories in the book are my personal experiences, so in a sense Vikram's mental voice is similar to what runs through my mind.
In our country, how easy (or difficult) is it for new writers to make their mark?
From a personal journey of publishing this book, I think the biggest problem for writers is them believing in themselves and go on to complete a book. I have seen a lot of my friends start off and the interest wanes away after a couple of weeks. Yes, the industry is not very easy on new kid-on-the block, but I don't think any industry is. However, with self-publishing gaining prominence and Amazon providing an option for ebooks, anyone can publish.
What are your other interests that engage you apart from writing?
 I run my own start-up venture in the food industry which I am trying to establish as a big brand. So, I spend most of my time running around the city and hogging on some street food. There's not much I do apart from that.
What/Who inspires you?
I started writing at a very young age. Most of them were crime thrillers which I wanted to write, majorly inspired from the Goosebumps series I was addicted to. But, the real love for the language and flowery English came through because of Nirmal Shekar and Jug Suraiya. I was so much enamoured by their language that left a lasting want in me to somehow write like them.
Tell us about yourself, how did you start off?
I am a normal Engineer-turned-MBA from a middle class Tamilian family who was destined to  complete 60 years of job in a well respected company. That's how the script of my life should have been, until I decided to spice it up a little bit by starting to write this novel and starting my own venture in Chennai.
The Great Indian Democracy is your debut book. Tell us something more about it ?
The idea as I started out writing was to provide a take on the various happenings in our country through the eyes of discerning and intelligent young guy. The way he looks at our politicians, our newspapers, our reporting and in general, what politics means to him. I did not plan on writing a satire at the first but when I wrote the first few pages, that is when I realized there was a huge scope for a satire built around ‘The Great Indian Democracy’. The book is from the viewpoint of a quirky lead character who looks at the happenings in our country for the very first time.
Â
Is this book inspired from your own life?
It is heavily inspired from my life and many of my friends. Various sub-stories in the book are my personal experiences, so in a sense Vikram's mental voice is similar to what runs through my mind.
In our country, how easy (or difficult) is it for new writers to make their mark?
From a personal journey of publishing this book, I think the biggest problem for writers is them believing in themselves and go on to complete a book. I have seen a lot of my friends start off and the interest wanes away after a couple of weeks. Yes, the industry is not very easy on new kid-on-the block, but I don't think any industry is. However, with self-publishing gaining prominence and Amazon providing an option for ebooks, anyone can publish.
What are your other interests that engage you apart from writing?
 I run my own start-up venture in the food industry which I am trying to establish as a big brand. So, I spend most of my time running around the city and hogging on some street food. There's not much I do apart from that.
What/Who inspires you?
I started writing at a very young age. Most of them were crime thrillers which I wanted to write, majorly inspired from the Goosebumps series I was addicted to. But, the real love for the language and flowery English came through because of Nirmal Shekar and Jug Suraiya. I was so much enamoured by their language that left a lasting want in me to somehow write like them.
Next Story
