The Boys Hostel in the neighbouring block reminded me of the army barracks built to keep everyone alert and on their toes. “If you do not feel comfortable and relaxed you will learn to be a fighter. Luxury will dull your desire to excel.” That was what my father said every time I desired but was denied something that was even remotely classified as a luxury. MIJ operated on the same philosophy.
Q. What inspired the storyline of your book ‘Mediocre But Arrogant’?
A. Mediocre But Arrogant is story about love and life in a Business School. It is a story about college life, about good times with friends, about falling in love and about growing up. The protagonist Abbey is an unambitious and directionless person who lands up in the highly competitive and fictitious Management Institute of Jamshedpur. The story is about how the two years there change him and his relationships. The story is not autobiographical. The characters are fictional. But they are real and will prompt every reader to say, “I knew someone EXACTLY like this character.”
"... I think Abbey should find someone whom he really really loves ... neither of the three ladies have the real thing in them ... Priya does love him unconditionally but love should be reciprocated... it shouldn't be a compromise...abt Ayesha , well she was never serious about it , she is out of question...and Keya , well her character isnt too well described. she is one of those mysterious chracters , i feel so...but u r the author so i guess u will figure it out :-)"
But I want to share with you the part I loved best...it was the ending...Haathi's personalised letter to his students. It was so touching, I cried. I'm doing my MBA, and for the past few months, I've been feeling lost and that I've lost my way, and I don't know why I'm doing what I'm doing anymore. And Haathi's letter meant so much to me becuse that did away with some of the restlssness I've been feeling...
Read your book.And i think its grt. i could myself relate a lot with the book because of two reasons.Firstly because i am an ex hindu college hence memories of delhi uni, and north campus came back flooding. and secondly becoz i teach in a B school in kolkata so the potrayal is next to original.
What next Abhijit? Syndicated columns, movies, Abbey dolls.... Sequels definitely, I reckon. Speculating in possible titles... Well, the protogonist is likely to graduate and step into the corporate world. So Married But Available, Mean Beast Always, Mayhem Bedlam And .... You are welcome to suggest. I'll get him to send you a free copy if he likes your title.
The magical world in the book that draws you into it is almost like the aura that exists in RK Narayan's Malgudi and its characters. I liked Malgudi and its characters, but I adore Jampot, MIJ and Abbey's world that revolves around it. What are you waiting for? Haven't you got a copy yet? Go get it, before it gets sold out !!
Just finished reading ur "MBA"...comparisons with "In Which Annie Gives It Those Ones" is inevitable and the gut response is u are good. Campus lores are mostly delightful and ur writing is v smooth -- --- thanx for a good read!!
I enjoyed M.....B....A immensely. Having started it I could not stop reading it and thankfully it was a great companion on a long international flight.
