https://www.iitbombay.org/initiatives/book-corner/2014/author-of-the-month-may-2014
Tell us what motivated you to write this book?
What was the most surprising thing you learned while you were writing the book?
What kind of feedback did you get from your readers?
Do you have any advice for other writers?
Do you have specific message to your readers?
Where can readers learn more about your book and purchase them?
What books have influenced your life most?
The Takeover - English fiction
A Global Management Consulting Company decides to buy an Indian Software Company. This saga unfolds through the eyes of the Indian employees. They are about to experience a roller-coaster ride of emotions, anxiety, and agony. They go through the painful phase of transition. Their entire value system is about to be replaced by an alien system.
Careers end, jobs are lost, dreams are shattered, and panic spreads.
Tell us a little bit about yourself.
I was born in Nasik and brought up in Mumbai. After doing my schooling from King George English School, I spent one year in Ramnarayan Ruia College, before joining IIT. After completing B. Tech. in 1978, I worked in a SG Iron foundry in Nasik for a year. With a feeling that further education was essential, I came back to IIT in 1979 and enrolled myself for the M. Tech. IE&OR program.
Through the campus placement, I joined Tata Burroughs Limited in 1981. The company changed its name to Tata Unisys Limited and later to Tata Infotech Limited. It was finally merged with TCS. I spent 13 years in this company doing various international assignments in software development, project management, consulting and training.
In 1994, I joined Citicorp Information Technology Industries Limited as the Head of Process and Quality Management Group. The company was renamed as i-flex solutions limited and later as Oracle Financial Services Software Limited after Oracle bought it over in 2005. I worked with this company for 17 years. There I handled various consulting and training assignments in addition to my main responsibilities. In the latter half of my association with this company, I was heading HR and Training function globally, for the company with about 14,000 employees.
My three decades of IT career allowed me to work in the USA, Europe and Japan. I could also visit exotic locations like Beirut, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur and Pretoria on business. I took VRS by the end of 2011 to focus on other areas of interest that I could not pursue because of my job. Today I do consulting in Process and Productivity Improvement and Strategic HR. I enjoy teaching and writing and keep myself busy with these activities, apart from some community service. I am the President of Rotary Club of Bombay Powai for 2013-14.
Tell us what motivated you to write this book?
I always had a desire to write. I was a regular contributor to “Tantra”, the Marathi periodical of IIT Mumbai. It was impossible devote sufficient time to writing with the high-intensity job. During that period, I restricted myself to writing occasional short articles in Marathi and English. In the 1980’s, I even made an abortive attempt to write a novel, but could not go beyond 30 pages. In the 1990’s and 2000’s, I wrote a few papers / articles for various Conferences and Business Magazines. Finally after leaving the job, I could get some time and flexibility to think and construct a plot. I had seen the corporate world as an insider. I had seen many mergers and acquisitions starting with Burrougs merging with Sperry in the mid 80’s. Later, I was involved in working out the implementation details of various acquisitions. I realized that there was always a bigger story of human emotions behind every M&A, than just the legal and financial nitty-gritty. In the last 7-8 years, the Indian media has given some space to discuss many high-profile mergers. I thought it was a good idea to bring out the stories of people, their emotions, anxieties and struggle for survival.
Did you face challenges while you were writing your book?
It was my first attempt to write a novel. I had to write and re-write it several times. All the features of MS-Word were a great help. I wonder how they did it in the good old days without the PCs. Many things were clear in my mind and many things were obvious to me. But that was not going to be the case with the readers who were not the IT industry insiders. Even among the IT people, not many would have had the exposure to the senior management decision making process. My attempt was to make it simple and clear enough to as many readers as possible. The other challenge was to keep my opinions and prejudice away while telling the story. The saga unfolds mainly through the eyes of four employees. I did not want the readers to associate me directly with any one of them.
Where did you get your inspiration or idea for your book?
The inspiration came from my own experiences, my reading and the stories I heard from friends and colleagues from the industry.
What was the most surprising thing you learned while you were writing the book?
Though I had written a few small things in the past, I did not know that writing a novel could be such a pleasure. The entire process was very educating, engaging and satisfying. When I completed writing the book, I was not sure who would publish it and when it would hit the market. But the experience itself was so enriching that at least at that time, nothing else mattered.
What kind of feedback did you get from your readers?
Some readers told me that the book had the potential to make a good screenplay and asked whether / when that was coming. A young reader expressed happiness that he could get a first hand view of how the senior management operated. Another reader, an industry veteran said, ‘(the book) certainly is a compelling reading. You have a great story telling style, and with graphic details to sound authentic and real.’ Yet another senior executive said, ‘You have provided a ring side view of the events unfolding with a lot of details. I find the book compelling. It keeps me engaged and wanting to know what happens next. It will probably make a good movie.’
What was the hardest part of writing the book?
My experience is that publishing the book and reaching a large number of readers is the hardest part. Writing was not so difficult probably because the content was ready in mind.
To what extent you think you carry an impact of being an IITian?
IIT gave the foundation. My entire career was built upon that foundation. Lately, the IIT brand has become much bigger than what it was in the 1970’s. It helps in dealing with other people in business.
Do you have any advice for other writers?
Don’t wait! Start writing!!
Do you have specific message to your readers?
The book itself is the message. So please read it.
Where can readers learn more about your book and purchase them?
The book is available on Amazon (Kindle as well as paper), Flipkart (e-book as well as paper), eBay and many other on-line book stores. You can get a preview on Google Books.
What books have influenced your life most?
‘Kajalmaya’ and ‘Pingalavel’ (both Marathi short stories) by G.A. Kulkarni, ‘Vishakha’ (Marathi poems) by Kusumagraj, ‘The Fountainhead’ by Ayn Rand, ‘Crime and Punishment’ by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, ‘The God Delusion’ by Richard Dawkins, ‘The Foundation’ Series by Isaac Asimov, ‘Lord of the Flies’ by William Golding. My other favourite authors include Arthur Clarke, Stephen Hawking, Scott Adams, Vikram Seth and Gauri Deshpande.
