Jagmohan Banver's Interview:
1)
Tell us a little about yourself?
I come from an
Army family where travel and postings in different cities was rather common. While
it meant that one was uprooted from one’s surrounding every now and then, it
taught me to make friends wherever we went. And it taught a very important
lesson, early on in life. Everything in life is transient! Friends change, your
environment changes. Schools and the place you call home also change. What
remains is the experiences you gain every day; and the person you become
because of those experiences.
I have learnt
to appreciate the beauty of nature by staying in places like Shillong and
Dehradun. And I am grateful for the experience gleaned from staying in fast
moving places like Mumbai and Delhi. Everywhere you go, people are the same.
Their inherent drivers do not change. They will love you if you love them and
they will ignore you if you do not show interest in them.
I wrote my
first piece when I was 12 years old. It was a poem that got published in a
magazine called Target in the early 80’s. And then I wrote for a few more
publications around that time. Writing always made me feel alive. My first book
(get Happy now) was published in 2004 but I had written it in 1991 when I had
just turned twenty.
The early part
of my career was spent as a banker and I was fortunate to grow exponentially
fast in that sector. However, after working for several years at national level
roles, I realized that banking was not what I saw myself doing for the rest of
my life. I wanted to spend my years writing and engaging with people through
seminars and speaking events. And that is what I do today. As an Executive
coach, I work with CXO’s and board members to help make a difference to their
lives; and as a professional speaker I get the opportunity to touch hundreds of
thousands of lives in some context or the other. And I hope, my writing opens
up a new world full of exciting vistas for my readers.
2)
How did the idea to write about Indian mythology
came up?
I firmly believe that mythology tells us a lot about
our culture and our past. In most cases what is termed as mythology in India in
any case is not myth. It is part of our history; our heritage. Just because we
might have forgotten part of it and allowed dust to settle on it, it does not
turn facts into myth.
Therefore when I saw that for several years now,
Indian history and heritage was being written off as mythology, I was a bit
taken aback. I knew we in India have the benefit of mythology (or history) that
is perhaps more exciting and invigorating that anything else, anywhere in the
world. Unfortunately, children today do not spend too much time reading about
Indian mythology or history. They are keener to read about Greek or Roman Gods
and Goddesses. While there is no harm in reading books based on other cultures,
there is equally nothing that should keep us back from reading about own
heritage.
The interest in other culture’s mythos as against our
own is primarily due to the fact that Indian mythology is mostly narrated in a
very conventional manner and even the language and style of writing is not very
aligned to what young audiences today want to read. Therefore when I decided to
write a book around Indian mythology, I wanted to change this with my own
little contribution to this domain. The Curse of Brahma (Vol 1 in the Krishna
Trilogy) has hence been written in a way whereby people are able to identify with
aspects of our culture and young audiences are also motivated to read it
because the language is contemporary.
3)
Also tell us about your book 'The Curse of
Brahma' and journey uptil publishing.
I spent most of my life in UP and it’s rather
difficult to stay there and not have heard of Krishna at a very early age.
Moreover, with the name that I have (Jag-Mohan), it was natural for everyone
during childhood to jestingly comment that I was behaving like Krishna and that
I was his namesake.
So, I just happened to get very close to the subject
of Krishna from a very early age. As I grew older and read more about Krishna,
I realized there was far more to him than we made it out to be. I resolved to
research this.
Therefore when I took a sabbatical from my banking
career in 2004, I started reading whatever material I could find on Krishna,
including Vedic texts that date back thousands of years.
And I realized that the story of Krishna as we know it
could well be a myth....that the actual story might in fact have been so
terrifying that history was compelled to hide the truth. After all, when we are
talking of time dating back thousands of years, who can be certain where fact
ends, and fiction begins.
I had a two-fold objective in writing the Krishna
trilogy. One, to tell my version of the truth! And secondly, to narrate it in a
way that can appeal to the young of our country. A lot of us have lost interest
in our culture because the way our old stories are narrated has not changed
over time. Our children are happy reading about Greek mythology and Roman
characters because those stories are written and narrated in a contemporary
manner. All books in the Krishna trilogy have been written in a manner that it
excites our readers and encourages them to take pride in our culture. Also,
earlier it was the natural responsibility of grandparents to imbue the young
with a sense of their culture. With families getting increasingly fragmented,
tales told to children earlier by older members now require another medium to do
so. The change in family structures has compelled writers like me to re-tell
our ancient stories, blending research with imagination.
I finished writing the book (the first volume in the
Krishna trilogy) in Nov 2014 and it was sent to three publishers. Thanks to
Krishna, I got a positive response from all the publishing houses; I finally
chose to go with Rupa Publications as I felt more than anyone else they would
do justice to the book and the subject.
4)
Who is your favourite author? And what are some
of your favourite books?
I think Rohinton Mistry is an amazing writer. Most of
his work falls in the “slice of life” kind of style. Favorite books would
include Family Matters from Rohinton Mistry; Great Expectations from Charles
Dickens; The mayor of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy; Crime and Punishment by
Fyodor Dostoevsky
5)
Any favourite mythology character?
Krishna of
course J Where
else would you find someone with so many varying facets of character?
6)
What advice would you give to aspiring writer's?
If you have
decided you want to be a writer, simply put your head down and write. Don’t pay
heed to what people say to put you down, but do take feedback. Total absence of
feedback is as bad as paying too much attention to it.
If you are
writing nonfiction, select a subject that you have expertise in. If it is a
piece of fiction, it ought to be something you are really passionate about.
Don’t emulate the writing style of other authors Develop your own brand of
writing and your own expression. There’s a greater chance of being recognized
that way. And finally, don’t wait for the perfect moment to start writing. The
perfect moment seldom happens. Make time to write. Use the weekend or the
flight time or any other time you can make use of. But start writing!
I have a book
with Hachette India releasing in December this year. It’s titled Pichai – The future of Google and as the
name suggests, it is the first book internationally on Google’s new CEO and the
company he inherits from Larry Page.
Another book
with Hachette releases in April next year. It is called Click and it is India’s first definitive book on the ecommerce
sector.
And of course, Volume 2 in the Krishna Trilogy (The Rise of
the Yadavas) too releases by March-April next year.
So there is
a lot of action planned in the coming
year!
Book Blurb:
The man who
became a Brahmarishi...
The curse that banished him to the hell of hells...
And the revenge that threatens to destroy the three worlds...
When Lord Brahma, the God of Creation, banishes his star pupil from Swarglok in a fit of rage, he does not foresee that his decision will alter the fate of the three worlds. Mortally wounded, and anguished at Brahma's unfair punishment, his pupil struggles to survive in TamastamahPrabha, the hell of hells. In time, he becomes the Dark Lord, the most feared figure in PataalLok, who swears to destroy Brahma.
The power of the Dark Lord soon begins to make its presence felt in the mortal world. Vasudev, the brave prince of Bateshwar, becomes the hunter of Asura assassins; his closest friend, Kansa, almost dies while trying to save his sister from a group of deadly monsters; and the most valiant kings in Mrityulok turn over to the dark side, driven by forces beyond their control.
Only one person threatens the Dark Lord's well-laid plans - Devki, the beautiful princess of Madhuvan, who is destined to give birth to the warrior Krishna.
Will the Dark Lord allow Krishna - the person who has been prophesied to destroy him - to be born?
The curse that banished him to the hell of hells...
And the revenge that threatens to destroy the three worlds...
When Lord Brahma, the God of Creation, banishes his star pupil from Swarglok in a fit of rage, he does not foresee that his decision will alter the fate of the three worlds. Mortally wounded, and anguished at Brahma's unfair punishment, his pupil struggles to survive in TamastamahPrabha, the hell of hells. In time, he becomes the Dark Lord, the most feared figure in PataalLok, who swears to destroy Brahma.
The power of the Dark Lord soon begins to make its presence felt in the mortal world. Vasudev, the brave prince of Bateshwar, becomes the hunter of Asura assassins; his closest friend, Kansa, almost dies while trying to save his sister from a group of deadly monsters; and the most valiant kings in Mrityulok turn over to the dark side, driven by forces beyond their control.
Only one person threatens the Dark Lord's well-laid plans - Devki, the beautiful princess of Madhuvan, who is destined to give birth to the warrior Krishna.
Will the Dark Lord allow Krishna - the person who has been prophesied to destroy him - to be born?
About Author:
|
Executive Coach & Leadership Mentor to
CEOs
Jagmohan is rated
amongst the Top 20 Executive coaches in
the world. He is referred to as the
“Mentor’s Mentor” in corporate circles and has mentored Industry leaders,
celebrity entrepreneurs, media people and CEO’s at leading organizations. In
the International speakers circuit, he is rated among the most powerful
speakers in Asia and one of the most popular Asian speakers across the globe by
the Worldwide Speaker’s Bureau.
His latest paper on “leaders as super motivators” has been
finding takers in various corporate houses globally and has also been
introduced in top B-schools as part of management lessons for executive MBA’s.
Educationist & Public service
Jagmohan is the winner
of the Indian Achiever’s Award for
Excellence in Education in 2009. He
was awarded the Rajiv Gandhi Shiromani
Award for outstanding individual achievements and distinguished services to
the nation. Subsequently, he was also the recipient of the Rajiv Gandhi Excellence Award. He is also the recipient of the Shiksha Bharati Award.
Internationally best-selling author
Jagmohan’s first book
(self help genre) titled "Get Happy
Now" was on the best selling lists of most countries and on the Top
ten list of leading bookstores in India. His second book, titled "Think your way to Millions" which
is on the subject of Behavioral Finance was nominated for the best non-fiction
award by Hutch-Crossword in India
Author's Link:
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