Those last four biscuits…

This is the first time that I am attempting an article in a very different way. Let me tell you beforehand the gist of this article – jiske naseeb mein jo likha hai, wo usiko milta hai!!!

There are 2 main characters in this real life incidence.

1) The beggar on the foot-over-bridge of Goregaon station.

2) myself.

I will describe the incidence at various points in time.

The night before this incidence happened:

1) That beggar must have requested God to make her next day better than her present day.

2) I requested God to convince the Mayor of Mumbai to inaugurate my book.

11.45 AM that day:

1) That beggar must have been begging since morning but not got anything from the commuters passing by her.

2) The meeting with the Mayor was fruitful and she told me to go to BMC office at CST and confirm the timing.

1.00 PM that day:

1) That beggar must have stared at her bowl and must have wondered as to why did she get just 2 coins of Re.1 since morning. Where did all the kindness from people’s heart go?

2) After a very tiring morning, I was very hungry and so bought a packet of HIDE-N-SEEK at CST station. I was sitting at the window seat and was being happy at the fact that Mayor of Mumbai was ready to launch my book. I tore open the packet of biscuits and was so hungry that I had decided that I would eat all the biscuits in one go!

1.15 PM that day:

1) That beggar must have lost all the hope of a positive day ahead.

2) Out of 12 biscuits, I ate 8 and wanted to eat something salty. A Groundnutwala came and I took groundnuts worth 5 rupees. I started eating groundnuts and in the next 5 minutes my hunger vanished.

1.20 PM that day:

1) That beggar must have got one Re.1 coin from some good-hearted commuter.

2) There were only 4 HIDE-N-SEEK biscuits left in the packet. I was not willing to eat any further. I didn’t want to throw away the biscuits and so I was waiting for some urchin to come into the bogie and thereby I would have done away with the biscuits in a proper way.

1.40 PM that day:

1) That beggar must have started wondering “does God exist?”

2) The train reached Bandra station. I still had those last 4 biscuits with me. Since I hadn’t found any urchin in the last 20 minutes, I had kept those 4 biscuits in the bag. Just as the train was about to start from Bandra station, one beggar suddenly flashed in front of my eyes. Just as I was about to take out those last 4 biscuits, the train gathered speed and that beggar was nowhere in sight! I missed the chance of getting rid of those 4 biscuits…

1.45 PM that day:

1) That beggar must have lost all the hope of having a good day ahead.

2) The train reached Khar Road station. I was standing at the door and was so frustrated of having those last 4 biscuits with me that I was thinking of throwing those biscuits on the track.

1.46 PM that day:

1) Somehow, God thought “enough was enough” and thought of making that beggar happy!

2) Just as I was about to throw those last 4 biscuits away, I changed my mind and kept that packet again in the bag.

2.05 PM that day:

1) That beggar must have started believing that her day would be as ordinary as any other day!

2) I alighted at Goregaon station. I normally take the 2^nd foot-over-bridge. I changed my mind and took the 1^st foot-over-bridge (the one on which that beggar was sitting).

2.06 PM that day:

1) That beggar must have started hating God and must have thought of going to sleep in the midst of hot afternoon.

2) Just as I was passing by that beggar, I first chose to ignore that beggar. But, suddenly I changed my mind and took out those last 4 HIDE-N-SEEK biscuits and gave them to the beggar.

2.07 PM that day:

1) That beggar became happy!!!!!

2) I became happy because I did a good deed and also I got rid of those last 4 biscuits…!

All in all, from the above real life incidence, I strongly feel that – jiske naseeb mein jo hai, wo use milta hi hai!...

Think about it………..!

the launch of IN THEIR SHOES…

11^th april 2010 was the best day of my life!... This was the day when my first book – in Their Shoes…- got launched at Crossword Powai. The number of “Thank you”s or “Oh..Thanks so much” that I said must have easily crossed a million! :D… I was so much used to saying those words that day that this is how any conversation must have gone:

Someone: What is your name..?

Me: Thank you..!

Someone : where do u live?..

Me: oh..thanks so much!

Someone: which train do you take everyday?..

Me: oh..thanks a ton!...

I mean, that day I felt as if the only words in my vocabulary were “Thank you” and “oh..thanks so much”…! The day started pretty well. I got up at 7.00, prepared my speech by 9.00 and left for Crossword at 9.20...

The book launch was to start at 11.30. I reached there by 11.15 and was surprised to see people already waiting for me! :D… I felt so nice!... I met those who were waiting for me and then went inside the store and met the store manager – Tom Jose.

The launch started at 11.50 AM. The chief guest – Joseph sir sat on the first chair. I sat in the middle and Prashant Karhade (the publisher) sat to my left. Algane- the compere introduced us to the audience. After a small introduction of 3 of us, we launched the book. ie unwrapped 3 copies of my book. and then stood posing those 3 copies! Flashes went on capturing the best moment of my life. I had the widest smile ever on my face. That was the best moment of my life. A book at the age of 26! I had a sense of achievement! I had something that I would be proud of myself for the rest of my life! Joseph sir was the first one to give the speech. He talked about me as his student and then about my book and its characters. After sir, Prashant Karhade gave the speech and then it was my turn to say a few words. The first speech of my life! (giving speeches in school and college was nothing in front of this…) It took me a few seconds to control my smile. I started – “good afternoon to u all…..” (u can watch the video of my speech in a day or two…). The moment I was done with my speech, there was a loud round of applause. Wow!... I could see proud faces, smiling faces, happy faces! I can’t tell you how happy I became when I could see that I had made so many people proud of me.

After my speech was over, Dutta aunty and Patwala uncle said a few kind words that came from the bottom of their heart. Later on, began the Book-signing spree! I can’t tell you how happy I was when I started giving autographs to people. This was the template that I followed:

To XYZ,

With

Best

Wishes….

From,

My signature …

after every autograph, a picture used to be clicked. Wow!.... you had to be there to see how happy I was!..

the following are the links for the pics and video:

1) Photos :

http://picasaweb.google.com/dipenambalia/LaunchOfMyBookINTHEIRSHOES#

2) Videos:

My speech at the launch:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R0RywN0TmYE

Jospeh sir’s introduction:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lRugIlpl6AM

The very beginning of the launch:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kL0xyvvE-XQ

All in all, 11^th april 2010 easily became the best day of my life till now. My dream of becoming a writer came true that day.

Social Transformation Through Book…

Normally, we buy a book to unwind ourselves by reading some humorous stuff, or we buy a book to help ourselves by reading some fundas of life by some spiritual guru or someone. Sometimes we read a book to know facts of some event or a personality. In short, every book serves a purpose for which the author and publisher have spent so much time, money and effort on a book. Similarly, I started writing the book – In Their Shoes… - with the intention of ‘opening the eyes’ of my readers to the ordinary people around us. In other words, I want to bring out a social transformation with my book. I know that this statement might seem to be an overstatement. But, that is the truth! Let me explicitly define the purpose that each of my characters or chapters wishes to accomplish:

1) Bindiya – A Drummer’s daughter:

a) Despite all the poverty in life, life can be lived happily if you know what to and how much to expect from life.

b) A 7 yr old girl doesn’t always need a remote-controlled car or a lavish birthday treat at a mall to be happy.

c) Even travelling once in an A/C bus can be a big thing for some people.

d) You can feel proud of your parents even if they are not MDs or CEOs of any big organization.

2) A 24 year old mentally challenged girl:

a) There are very few people on earth who can feel happiness out of the same ‘ordinary’ and ‘mundane’ things happening around us. When was the last time that you took out time to enjoy a sunrise or a sunset?

b) Next time you see a cute puppy running after its mother, observe whether that puppy is just playing with its mother or whether it is running after its mother for the fear of losing her…

c) If God snatches away one sense from us, he makes sure that some other sense strong.

d) Accept the fact that not everyone on earth can calculate “19 X 7” in less than 10 seconds.

e) ‘Being different ‘ is just a relative term.

3) A heart-broken lover boy:

a) If you love or like someone, that doesn’t guarantee you that you would be loved or liked back.

b) If a person doesn’t like you, then you can’t force that person to like you either!

c) One way relationships never work.

d) You should care for those who care for you. Caring for those who don’t care for you is not going to help the either of you.

e) Love is not as simple and straightforward as mathematics! As a normal human being, we always keep searching for the love that evades us. We always keep being restless for things that we don’t have. It is never too late to take stock of what we have in life and be happy with that rather than running after a mirage!

4) Phobic:

a) It is not abnormal to have phobias of water, space, speed, height, etc… TRYING to get rid of such phobias is important.

b) If a person doesn’t react instantly to any threat, that doesn’t mean that he is a coward.

5) 8^th std kid – Vineet:

a) For god’s sake, stop comparing your child with some Vijay or Rahul or Ramesh who score 93/100 in a subject!

b) Try to understand that every child tries his/her best to meet and exceed parents’ expectations. Don’t stress your children too much. You never know when the elastic might snap!

c) Every human being on this has a crush on someone. Some say it early, some say it later, some never say! Which category do you belong to?

d) Try to look at the positives in your child than crib about what your child lacks! Capitalizing on your strengths is more important than crying over deficiencies!

6) A Saadhu Baba:

a) When the philosophy of our life doesn’t match the philosophy of the society around us, we may start think of giving up the materialistic pleasures for the peace and love in the woods and for the pursuit of finding the TRUE SELF.

b) if you are a part of the system, then you have to abide by its rules. If you try to go against the mechanics of the system, you will be thrown out or will be forced to leave the system!

c) Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you are gonna get….

7) A struggling writer:

a) Good things take time and efforts to come by.

b) Having self-belief is THE most important thing when you set out to try something new in life!...

c) When you go off the path to do something new, 99 % of the people will tell you that what you are doing is wrong and foolish. Trust the rest 1% and yourself. You will achieve what you aim for. I can vouch for this fact. In fact, 40 % of the content of this chapter is based on my life!!!

8) A broke 77 year old man living in a 140 sqft hut:

a) We are brought up being told – Give respect to get respect…in other words, before you expect to get something, do learn to give something to the world. But, sadly, this is not how the world works.

b) Sometimes you spend a lifetime, but don’t realise what your fault was which forced you to be best friends with sadness, misery and darkness.

c) Sometimes, strangers give more love than your loved ones.

9) Gatekeeper of Ashabai old age home:

a) Parents are another form of God. Respect them. Love them. Not everyone is lucky to be with the ones they love.

b) Values matter a lot. How you bring up your child is more important than whether he stands first in class or excels in sports or elocution.

c) Invest in relations. This is the best type of investment. You never know which relative might turn up as an angel in your life.

d) The sooner you accept the reality, the more time you will have to enjoy the remaining life.

Why one should read my book- In their shoes…

To help you decide whether you should read this book, please go through following 8 questions. If your answer is “NO” to even one of the questions, then you got to read “In Their Shoes…”

1) Have you ever wondered about the life of an urchin living under a flyover in Mumbai?... have you ever thought of how her daily routine must be?..Have you cared to think how, if she ever attends a wedding with her drummer father, perceives the whole lavish wedding?

2) Most of you must have seen the movie ‘Sadma’ starring Sri Devi and Kamal Hassan. But, after the movie was over, have you ever wondered how difficult or different life of a mentally challenged girl is?... have you ever about how different is ‘achievement’ or ‘dreams’ or ‘happiness’ from what it means to others?

3) Every teenager goes through phases of being in love, being in depression because of rejection, etc. have you ever wondered how it feels when you try your best to make someone happy, but that ‘someone’ doesn’t want to be made happy by you. He/she likes someone else and wants to receive her/his SMS, CALL, and EMAIL…etc…! Have you cared to learn about the lessons from such experiences from life???

4) I am sure that you must have met at least one of your friends or acquaintainces or relatives having fear of water or trains or crowded places or something. Do you know how an extreme phobic would behave?

5) A kid from 8^th std carries at least 8-9 books- class work and homework and journals, etc. every day. He fills unnecessary books like lesson diaries and tries his best to be the come first in the rat-race to be the ‘best’ rat amongst all other rats. Even he hates he is compared to other his peers or seniors or juniors! Have you ever tried to think by being in the shoes of an 8^th kid???

6) Sometime or the other you have must have been to a religious place or must have seen the saadhu babas treading the path of difficult path to salvation… have you ever thought of why he must have thought of giving up the pleasures in life and how he inteprets life?...

7) Whenever we read a book, we may like it or hate it. If we like it, then we say “wow…kya likha hai!!” But, when the book is bad, we curse him/her for writing a useless book. But, have you ever thought how difficult it is to write a book? Have you ever wondered what pain, time and effort goes into making a book? Have you ever thought how difficult it is for an electrical engineer to write a book? (considering the fact that, by societal standards, Engineers are not allowed to be creative!)

8) Till this day we have seen many movies shot at some old age home or the other. The life of an old person is very different at home where he/she is neglected by his/her own children from the life at the old-age home where he/she has the freedom to live the life that he/she wants! Have you wondered how they feel, what they do the whole day and how they keep themselves alive to see the next day?

(I could have put a few more questions, but I knew that my purpose would be solved by the above eight questions!)

A Sample Book Proposal

Dear all, this is a sample book-proposal that might help you if you are a fresher author….







The Name of Book…




By: Author’s name


XYZ Publications








Table of Contents




1) Preface

2) List of Chapters

3) Why one should care to read?

4) Synopsis

5) Why XYZ Publications should publish this book?

6) How can we market the book?

7) 3 stories : a) 1st chapter

b) 2nd chapter

c) 3rd Chapter


8) Acknowledgements

9) My Resume




Preface


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The list of Chapters


1. 1st chapter

2. 2nd chapter

3. 3rd chapter

4. 4th chapter

5. 5th chapter

6. 6th chapter

7. 7th chapter

8. 8th chapter

9. 9th chapter

10. 10th chapter

11. 11th chapter

12. 12th chapter





Why should one care to read?

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Synopsis



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About the author



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“Q and A” for my book – In Their Shoes…

1. Hello Dipen, tell us something about 'IN THEIR SHOES...'.

Hi. “In Their Shoes” is an English phrase, which means, ‘from other’s angle’. This book is about how the world looks by being in the shoes of different people such as – a 24 year old mentally challenged girl, an uneducated corrupt politician, a saadhu baba, etc…I have take such 17 different and ordinary characters and have tried to visualize how the world looks like from their angle…

2. How did you think of the concept of this book?

Last February, I attended a wedding of a cousin of mine. In that wedding was a drummer who was playing drums. Along with the drummer was his daughter in a red colored frock. She kept on observing my sister who dressed as beautifully as a fairy; She kept on looking at the stage where the pheraas were going on, She kept looking at the decoration all around, the guests dressed in their best, etc… All this while, I was wondering as what she must be thinking about this whole wedding and that is how I came up with the first character of my book…I then made a list of 25 characters for the book and started visualizing the world from their angle.

3. And in what span did you complete the writing process?

It took me 1 month to make the book proposal and then 3 months to complete the whole book.

4. You must be kidding! You just took 3 months to complete the whole book?

Hahahahahaha..yes… seriously. See, the thing is that people normally believe that writers take at least a year or so to complete a book. I guess it is a myth that a writer HAS to take at least a year to imagine, draft and complete the manuscript. “In Their Shoes…” has 17 different characters. So, all I had to do was to get ‘into the character’ of one character and fully complete that character and then move onto the next character. Being simultaneously in the shoes of 2 or more characters is mentally very draining.

5. But, how was it that you used to write a whole story? I mean, what was the thought process and all behind every story?

That’s a good question. Before starting with any character, I used to spend a lot of time imagining that character. Once that was done, I used to take an imaginary interview of that character. I used to ask questions like “what was the most happiest or depressing moment of your life?” or “what are your dreams?” etc. Then I used to ‘get into that character’ and then try to visualize the world around! That helped me try to understand the psychology of that character very easily.

6. Can you give us any example of that?

Oh sure! Hmm… let me take the example of a character called as “8^th std kid – Vineet”. This is kind of a character that I would like to be if God gives me a chance to rewind my life. The way he behaves in front of Rhea-his crush, the love-letter that he writes, the way he enjoys his life in school, the way he plays pranks on his friends and teachers….all that is what I would like to do if I get a chance to rewind my life!... Ok, so before I started writing “Vineet”, I took an imaginary interview of that naughty character. Along with the naughtiness of that character, I also realized that there are many other serious issues that should be raised – like for example – the Comparison syndrome, the usless lesson diaries that we complete, etc… I have tried my best to touch upon those issues too… I hope the readers understand those points properly…

7. You have highlighted some social problems creatively, with a touch of humor. Did this serious writing, anytime, take a toll on you?

Oh yes!... It’s mentally very tiring to be in some other character and visualize the world around that character. Initially, I was going to write on 25 characters. But, after writing 17 characters, I felt really drained out! I mean, it is very difficult to keep hopping from one shoe to the other and try to FEEL or SEE the world around. There were a few characters that were very easy to write and a few very very difficult to write. For example, I thought of writing a character called as “Saadhu baba”. One day, after coming from office, I sat down to write 6 pages of this character. I kept typing from 11.30 PM to 3.30 AM! I was so much into the character that I could literally see a hut, a dense forest, a stream of clear water flowing beside a hut, the froth getting generated in that stream flowed! I am sure that if I hadn’t stopped writing that character at that point, then I would have gone mad!!! :-D.. One needs to know when to give up on a character! I have tried my best to compare Froth in a stream to the way we live life. The last 3 pages of this character are on different interpretations of life. I hope you like those different perspectives on life…

8. Coming to you, how and when did you take up writing?

I had been blogging since april 2007. But I wasn’t serious about it till last year. The book-writing bug bit me in the start of 2009. In March 2009, I started writing a book (which I might think of publishing if you all accept me as a writer and if my publisher thinks that it is a good book) based on the life of an imaginary Gujarati character. After writing some 100 pages, I circulated it amongst my friends. The response that I got from them was just amazing! I mean, I couldn’t believe that my book would be liked by my friends so much! In a hurry, I made a book proposal and sent it to the top publishers in India. In a week’s time, my work was rejected! I tried to analyze the reason of my first failure. I still believe that the reason of my book getting rejected was that I hadn’t made a good book-proposal. But, one of my friends from office told me that he felt that a serious book would work and that I was good at writing serious stuff. I thought chalo serious book likh ke dekhte hain… Then I spent a week brainstorming over topics. I came up with 5 topics and finalized on “In Their Shoes…”! Since childhood, I have been fascinated by trying to visualize what others keep thinking. Whenever I travel, I look at people around and try to visualize as to what they must be thinking. Do you remember the essay questions in school exams? Out of 4 topics for essay questions, there used to be at least one topic on Autobiography of XYZ (xyz could be anything – Rs. 5 note, a donkey, a horse, a pen, etc.) I always used to attempt Autobiography questions. I somehow had a knack of thinking from others’ angles. After finalizing the topic – In Their Shoes…, I started thinking about the characters on which I would write the book.

9. Do you want to convert your passion into profession? What/Who was the motivation/inspiration behind you taking up the task of book writing?

Sure! I do want to take up writing as a profession. See, in today’s time, I sincerely believe that a person should have a passion or a hobby which he can convert into his main profession by the age of 40 or 45. So, pursue a job out of your qualification and work till the age of 40 or 45. Simultaneously, start nurturing your passion slowly and steadily so that when you are bored of your 9 to 5 job, you can bank upon your passion to sail you through the rest of your life. I am lucky that I tried to take my passion to the next level so early and if my dear readers accept me as a writer, then I would surely like to churn out more books!

10. Lastly, do you want to give any message to your readers?

There is one very simple message that I want to give to my readers. See, if you open a dictionary and try to find the meaning of ‘ordinary‘, you will find it defined as people or things that are normal and not special or different in any way. Simplicity appeals to me a lot. And I feel that ordinary people are simple people. But, the problem with this world is that for you to get noticed by the world, you have to be something great or different. Simplicity simply goes unnoticed. That is why I chose to write on such simple and ordinary characters that we see every day but don‘t ‗observe‘! I want the world to take notice of such simple characters too! Even those ordinary characters have a story to tell; even they have a life that you would be intrigued by; even they have a wish, a few moments of sadness, happiness, many unfulfilled dreams...

The next time you see an ‘ordinary‘ person around you, take a few moments out of your precious time to ‗observe‘ him/her. In short, try to be in their shoes, and be happy that God has at least been more kind to you than majority of the people around you!

If you all accept me as a good writer, then I would like to come up with few more books that have ‗’ordinary‘ characters as the protagonists. I want my book(s) to be

By the ordinary,

For the ordinary

and Of the ordinary!

The Making of the book - In Their Shoes...

The book-writing bug bit me in the start of 2009. I am not trying to blow my own trumpet, but I am more famous amongst my friends for my humour than anything else. So, in March 2009, I started writing a book (which I might think of publishing if you all accept me as a writer and if my publisher thinks that it is a good book) based on the life of an imaginary Gujarati character. After writing some 100 pages, I circulated it amongst my friends. The response that I got from them was just amazing! I mean, I couldn’t believe that my book would be liked by my friends so much! In a hurry, I made a book proposal and sent it to the top publishers in India. In a week’s time, my work was rejected! I tried to analyze the reason of my first failure. I still believe that the reason of my book getting rejected was that I hadn’t made a good book-proposal. But, one of my friends from office told me that he felt that a serious book would work and that I was good at writing serious stuff. I thought chalo serious book likh ke dekhte hain… Then I spent a week brainstorming over topics. I came up with 5 topics and finalized on “In Their Shoes…”! Since childhood, I have been fascinated by trying to visualize what others keep thinking. Whenever I travel, I look at people around and try to visualize as to what they must be thinking. Do you remember the essay questions in school exams? Out of 4 topics for essay questions, there used to be at least one topic on Autobiography of XYZ (xyz could be anything – Rs. 5 note, a donkey, a horse, a pen, etc.) I always used to attempt Autobiography questions. I somehow had a knack of thinking from others’ angles. After finalizing the topic – In Their Shoes…, I started thinking about the characters on which I would write the book. This is how I came up with the characters…:

1) Bindiya – A Drummer’s daughter: Last February, I attended a wedding of a cousin of mine. In that wedding was a drummer who was playing drums on the arrival of the groom’s family. Along with the drummer was his daughter in a red coloured frock. She kept on observing my sister who dressed as beautifully as a fairy; She kept on looking at the stage where the Feraas were going on, She kept looking at the decoration all around, the guests dressed in their best, etc… All this while, I was observing her. Then I thought, why not try to visualize what she must be thinking about the whole wedding and that is how I came up with the first character of my book…

2) A 24 year old mentally challenged girl: This character was more like a creative challenge for me. There was no basis of selecting this character.

3) A heart-broken lover boy: A few months ago, one of my very good friends got dumped by his girlfriend. He was in a state of depression for at least a month or so. Then, I thought- why not have ‘a heart-broken lover boy’ as a character in my book! Then I thought of a story for the character! This is how I came up with the character – a heart-broken lover boy!

4) Phobic: A phobic is a person who has a lot of phobias. This is a character that we don’t normally see in everyday life. A phobic is an abstract character. For this book, I wanted to have a few characters which are ordinary but not normally seen or observed! I am afraid of dogs, high speed, height, etc… so I thought, lemme extend this list of phobias and insert a few incidences around the character and then try to show why and how the character is not able to get rid of phobias!

5) 8^th std kid – Vineet : Last Diwali, Minal - one of my friends- wanted me to write an essay on DIWALI. That essay was supposed to be written by her 5 year-old daughter. Minal said to me “Dipen, Shruti ko school mein bola hai ki ‘Diwali’ pe 10 lines ka essay likho. Tu likh ke de.” My initial reaction was – would I be able to think from a 5 year-old school kid’s angle? But then I tried that and I think I did a good job in writing the essay on ‘Diwali’ by being in the shoes of a 5 yr-old school kid. That is when I thought – hey, why not have a naughty school kid as one of characters for my book! So, I started writing on an 8^th std. kid-Vineet! To tell you the truth, 8^th std kid – Vineet is a kind of a character that I would like to be if God gives me a chance to visit my childhood again! The way he behaves in front of Rhea-his crush, the love-letter that he writes, the way he enjoys his life in school, the way he plays pranks on his friends and teachers….all that is what I would like to do if I get a chance to rewind my life!...

6) A Saadhu Baba: Recently I had written a blog called as “life is…”. This blog was kind of philosophical. The content in that blog was kind of what a Saadhu Baba would say in one of his sermons! So, I thought – why not have a Saadhu Baba as a character in the book! I found this topic the toughest to write on. One day, after coming from office, I sat down to write 6 pages of this character. I kept typing from 11.30 PM to 3.30 AM! I was so much into the character that I could literally see a hut, a dense forest, a stream of clear water flowing beside a hut, the froth getting generated in that stream flowed! I am sure that if I hadn’t stopped writing that character at that point, then I would have gone mad!!! :-D.. I have tried my best to compare Froth in a stream to the way we live life. The last 3 pages of this character are on different interpretations of life. I hope you like those different perspectives on life…

7) A struggling writer: Around 30 % of this character has reflection of my life in it. I have struggled a lot to see my book shape up in the way it has now. I had a strong self-belief that I would succeed in what I tried to venture. I mean, an electrical engineer writing a book was not very easy for all my near and dear ones to digest! Writing blogs was OK, but they had never thought that I could write a book. I am sure that every person who wants some motivation or push to achieve his/her goals should read this chapter.

8) A broke 77 year old man living in a 140 sqft hut: I clearly remember the date – 17 December 1998. There was a short-story competition in my junior college – Birla College. I was in 11^th std then. I had written a story called as “Help Us”. I had tried to show the life of old parents who love their son but then in their old age, they are thrown out of the house and life of their eklautaa son. So the character – a broke 77 yr old man living in a 140 sqft hut- is a better version of the story written 11.5 years ago!!!

9) Gatekeeper of Ashabai old age home: After writing a chapter on 77 yr old man, I thought – lemme try to visualize how life in an old age home would be! This story teaches you many things related to relations, life, etc…

10) A regular commuter of a local train in Mumbai: My routine consists of:

1) waking up at 8.00 AM and getting ready for office.

2) leaving home at 9.20 to catch the 9.55 local from platform 1 A.

3) struggling for a rikshaw to reach Kalyan station at 9.35 or 9.40

4) going to Dadar and then catching a Malad fast local, getting down at Goregaon and reaching office at 12.10 PM!

The life of an ordinary Mumbaikar is the same as what has been mentioned above. Just prepone the hours by 2 or 3 or 4 or 5..! In one day, 69 lakh Mumbaikars use railways as their means of transport (which is like saying that one-third of the population of Australia uses Mumbai railways as their means of transport). I am just one of them. So, the character - a regular commuter of a local train in Mumbai- is what will give you a glimpse of the life of an average Mumbaikar!

11) A tantrik: Have you ever travelled in local trains in Mumbai or been to a public toilet in Mumbai? If yes, then I am sure you must have seen Advertisements of tantriks! These tantriks claim to solve your problems in just 7 hours! And that too with guarantee card! If you haven’t been to Mumbai, then make sure that you visit Mumbai just to see those Ads! The numbers of Ads that they give in trains made me feel that there must be demand of such tantriks, which in short means that there are people who are gullible enough to believe such thugs! So, I thought of having a TANTRIK as one of the characters of my book!

12) An uneducated corrupt politician: I have the same feeling towards uneducated corrupt politicians as does any educated Indian. Educated people keep on cursing the uneducated corrupt politicians and keep blaming the system for its inefficiency! So, I thought – lemme try to think from AN UNEDUCATED CORRUPT POLITICIAN’s angle and then see how cunning can such a character be! I have tried my best to show the cunning side of an uneducated corrupt politician. I just hope my purpose of writing this character gets fulfilled! (I am sure that you must have understood my purpose of writing this character!)

13) A contemporary news reporter: A few months ago, there was some channel which showed that Aliens adore Himesh Reshamiyaa’s music! Aliens are fond of cows and so they pick up the cows at night!..hahahahhah… I mean, what is this!!!! So, I wondered what makes them come up with such news and that is how I came up with this character – A contemporary news reporter!

14) A visually challenged person: The other day when I was travelling in train, one visually challenged old man was selling key-chains. I couldn’t take my eyes off him. I kept thinking as to how he must be spending his whole day without vision and money. I mean, even after getting a good salary, I do crib sometimes! But this old man had nothing except a liability of selling the assigned number of key-chains! That is when I thought of having “A Visually challenged person” as one of the characters of my book.

15) An engineering student: I am an electrical engineer. So, this topic was but obvious! According to me, it was the simplest of all topics to write on!

16) A frustrated software developer: I work in a software company. So, even this topic was easy to write on. The tips which I have offered in the chapter have been tried N number of times!