Ask the Author: Jagmohan S. Bhanver
Answered Questions (15)
Jagmohan S. Bhanver
The writing is done, Sumit. It's in edit now. So perhaps a few months. Thanks for your patience :)
Jagmohan S. Bhanver
The writing is done, Arpit. It's in edit now. So perhaps a few months. Thanks for your patience :)
Jagmohan S. Bhanver
Well, I am in the midst of reading "The Mauryan" by Komal Bhanver. It has recently been released by Hachette and is an awesome book.
The other one is a book series - "Wars of the Roses" by Conn Iggulden.
The other one is a book series - "Wars of the Roses" by Conn Iggulden.
Jagmohan S. Bhanver
Yes Sumit, it has been rather long. I got caught up with two non fiction titles (Pichai: the future of Google) and (Click - the amazing story of India's ecommerce boom and where it is headed).
Rise of the Yadavas will certainly be out this year. Will make an announcement a little before the launch. Thanks for your question.
Rise of the Yadavas will certainly be out this year. Will make an announcement a little before the launch. Thanks for your question.
Jagmohan S. Bhanver
Pankaj, Rise of the Yadavas should release later this year. Will make an announcement on my page a little before the launch. Thanks for your question.
Jagmohan S. Bhanver
Hi Surender, it should release later this year. Will make an announcement on my page a little before the launch. Thanks for your question.
Jagmohan S. Bhanver
Mayank, thanks for your feedback. That's a great idea, and i would love to do that once I am done with my next two volumes on the Krishna trilogy.
Meanwhile, you may want to check out my latest release, Click! - the amazing story of India's ecommerce boom and where it is headed. Let me know how you find it :)
Meanwhile, you may want to check out my latest release, Click! - the amazing story of India's ecommerce boom and where it is headed. Let me know how you find it :)
Jagmohan S. Bhanver
Sanket, apologies for the late reply. The second part (Rise of the Yadavas) will release later this year. I will make an announcement just before the launch. Thanks for your question.
Jagmohan S. Bhanver
Surender, my personal opinion (and I might be wrong) is that spirituality has less to do with knowledge. Its more a state of 'being'. Sometimes the quest for knowledge may actually prevent us from being in a state of 'being'. Therefore, if youw ant to write on spirituality and you want it to impact people, my suggestion is to write from your heart (feeling), instead of the mind (knowledge). The heart instinctively knows what the mind may not yet be aware of.
That being said, here are a few good books you could read. Alchemist (Paulo Coelho), The Art of Happiness (Howard Cutler), The power of now (Eckhart Tolle), The road less travelled (M Scott Peck) and Sidhartha (Herman Hesse). You may also want to go through Get Happy Now (my debut book, published in 2004 in the same genre).
Best of luck for your book.
That being said, here are a few good books you could read. Alchemist (Paulo Coelho), The Art of Happiness (Howard Cutler), The power of now (Eckhart Tolle), The road less travelled (M Scott Peck) and Sidhartha (Herman Hesse). You may also want to go through Get Happy Now (my debut book, published in 2004 in the same genre).
Best of luck for your book.
Jagmohan S. Bhanver
For starters, you can write anywhere. All you need is paper and pen (or a laptop if you are the contemporary kind of writer).
You are never bored because you always have a story to think about or pen down.
It's easy to make conversation since every chat is unwitting material for some story or scene that you may not even have thought of till now, but might use later on.
You can put the kids to sleep even if you don't have a story book at home.
If you are a good story teller, you can get out of tricky situations (joking)
Generally, I think being a writer allows you to do your thing irrespective of where you are. It's a great feeling.
You are never bored because you always have a story to think about or pen down.
It's easy to make conversation since every chat is unwitting material for some story or scene that you may not even have thought of till now, but might use later on.
You can put the kids to sleep even if you don't have a story book at home.
If you are a good story teller, you can get out of tricky situations (joking)
Generally, I think being a writer allows you to do your thing irrespective of where you are. It's a great feeling.
Jagmohan S. Bhanver
Writing is personal. One shouldn’t give or take advice on it.
If however, you would want me to share a few things I have picked up along the way, I could do that.
If you are writing nonfiction, select a subject where you are the expert. If it is fiction that you want to focus on, write about what you are 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!
If however, you would want me to share a few things I have picked up along the way, I could do that.
If you are writing nonfiction, select a subject where you are the expert. If it is fiction that you want to focus on, write about what you are 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!
Jagmohan S. Bhanver
There are a multitude of stories hidden away in the recesses of my mind. And when an idea gets hold of me, it is like being driven by an ague. You can’t sleep, you can’t think of anything else. You have to write. And writing provides succour and peace.
It's been that way with me even when I was a school going lad. In those days the story telling used to get me into trouble. These days it is safer.
The experience of seeing your characters come to life on paper is the biggest high. Creating a story where none existed before, is another.
It's been that way with me even when I was a school going lad. In those days the story telling used to get me into trouble. These days it is safer.
The experience of seeing your characters come to life on paper is the biggest high. Creating a story where none existed before, is another.
Jagmohan S. Bhanver
I guess I will talk about how I decided to write the Krishna Trilogy since that might be more interesting for most people here rather than my non fiction stuff.
I started the research as soon as I got out of HSBC – my last job in the banking sector. This was in 2004. Part of the research focused on meeting and talking with people who are associated with the Hare Krishna movement. Another aspect of the research took me to places I had never thought I would travel to. This included historical places where Krishna or other characters that are part of Krishna’s story have stayed sometime in the past, thousands of years ago. This was followed by painstakingly researching old documents and papers (including ancient texts) that could tell me something new about Krishna that hopefully majority of the world would be unaware of.
The most critical aspect of the research however related to finding more about Krishna himself. Most of the information available on Krishna related to his role in the Mahabharata. But the latter talks more about the Kauravas and the Pandavas and in the Great War’s narration, Krishna has never been the player to occupy maximum space, even though he is a central character there. My objective therefore was to try and tell the story of Krishna from Krishna’s point of view; not with him as ‘one of the several other’ characters in some other story. Therefore, each book in the Krishna trilogy brings out aspects that to the majority of people would be fresh and new information. The first volume (The Curse of Brahma) for instance narrates the events that led up to Krishna’s birth. And this is not the story that we have grown up listening to, but an entirely different set of events. The second volume (The Rise of the Yadavas) covers the period of Krishna’s life that has seldom been talked about – his initiation into the art of war and the role played by both his teachers – Muni Sandipani and Angirasa – in shaping Krishna’s destiny. Sandipani’s life itself is a story in itself and will enchant readers of mythological fiction. The third and final volume (The Drums of Kurukshetra) tells the story of the Great War – Mahabharata – in an entirely different manner and I hope it will leave the readers with a very different perspective on the mortal warrior that came to be known as the God of Gods – Krishna!
I started the research as soon as I got out of HSBC – my last job in the banking sector. This was in 2004. Part of the research focused on meeting and talking with people who are associated with the Hare Krishna movement. Another aspect of the research took me to places I had never thought I would travel to. This included historical places where Krishna or other characters that are part of Krishna’s story have stayed sometime in the past, thousands of years ago. This was followed by painstakingly researching old documents and papers (including ancient texts) that could tell me something new about Krishna that hopefully majority of the world would be unaware of.
The most critical aspect of the research however related to finding more about Krishna himself. Most of the information available on Krishna related to his role in the Mahabharata. But the latter talks more about the Kauravas and the Pandavas and in the Great War’s narration, Krishna has never been the player to occupy maximum space, even though he is a central character there. My objective therefore was to try and tell the story of Krishna from Krishna’s point of view; not with him as ‘one of the several other’ characters in some other story. Therefore, each book in the Krishna trilogy brings out aspects that to the majority of people would be fresh and new information. The first volume (The Curse of Brahma) for instance narrates the events that led up to Krishna’s birth. And this is not the story that we have grown up listening to, but an entirely different set of events. The second volume (The Rise of the Yadavas) covers the period of Krishna’s life that has seldom been talked about – his initiation into the art of war and the role played by both his teachers – Muni Sandipani and Angirasa – in shaping Krishna’s destiny. Sandipani’s life itself is a story in itself and will enchant readers of mythological fiction. The third and final volume (The Drums of Kurukshetra) tells the story of the Great War – Mahabharata – in an entirely different manner and I hope it will leave the readers with a very different perspective on the mortal warrior that came to be known as the God of Gods – Krishna!
Jagmohan S. Bhanver
I know this is a much touted and discussed topic when it comes to writers, and I wish I could claim I have experienced it. The truth however is that I have never really been subject to the condition referred to as “writer’s block”.
On the contrary, the challenge always has been to try and pen down the plethora of stories that keep bouncing around in my head. In my case, the bigger challenge is ‘time’. To take time out from my other responsibilities and dedicate it all to full time writing – that is the bigger battle.
I think it is safe to say that there are enough stories in my head to fill the pages of a hundred books. And every day is a step forward in the direction of being able to create enough time to make this a reality.
On the contrary, the challenge always has been to try and pen down the plethora of stories that keep bouncing around in my head. In my case, the bigger challenge is ‘time’. To take time out from my other responsibilities and dedicate it all to full time writing – that is the bigger battle.
I think it is safe to say that there are enough stories in my head to fill the pages of a hundred books. And every day is a step forward in the direction of being able to create enough time to make this a reality.
Jagmohan S. Bhanver
I have recently had a new book released through Hachette India. 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 India releases in July this year. That is also in the non fiction domain.
And of course, Volume 2 in the Krishna Trilogy (The Rise of the Yadavas) ought to release later this year.
Another book with Hachette India releases in July this year. That is also in the non fiction domain.
And of course, Volume 2 in the Krishna Trilogy (The Rise of the Yadavas) ought to release later this year.
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