Weekend Exclusive | Karan Khanna the author of "I For India' unplugged and unleashed!

A 25 year old degree holder in Business Management from Monash University in Melbourne decides to do MBA as thousands of other aspirants. But unlike those thousands during the application process itself he realizes his passion for writing and decides to stand for it. Actually daring to cancel his MBA plans, he takes up writing a book as the biggest fascination of his life following his love towards the art of story-telling. Not only that but he also proves his point with a successful book release at the famous Oxford book stores.

It sounds as good as an inspirational plot from a film. But Adgully brings you an exclusive interaction with this person who has lived such an out of the box, so called "filmy' life, Karan Khanna, the writer of the book "I For India'.

Sharing with us what exactly led him towards the realization of his passion Karan said, "I think it was my passion to do something fulfilling and substantial in life that led to realizing my passion for writing. I strongly felt the need to go that extra mile in life for my own satisfaction more than anything else. We all come into this world, go to school and college, make a career, get into the rat race, do jobs earn money and go back home, so ear less while some make more, but is that enough? Is that all we are born to do?"

"That is when I felt the need to do something good that will change the world I live in, I wanted to do something to make the world a better place, and where better to begin than my own country. So my dream to see India as a better place led me to come up with and write this story, which led me to realize my true passion for writing", he continued.

When asked about his feelings towards the successful outcome in the shape of "I For India' he told us, "I cannot even describe in words how it feels to have a dream come true in life. Just like the feeling I got, when I first saw my book stacked up at the entrance of a big bookstore. Very few people are lucky enough to see their dreams come true in reality. But this is just the beginning of my dream, and as my character in I FOR INDIA says, we have a long way to go, and this is only the start. In the same way this is the root of my dream's tree that has been planted, but now I must grow these roots into a steam and then branches which eventually will lead to the fruits and grow into a big and beautiful tree. That shall take a long time, but all good things take time, don't they?"

Talking about the pros and cons of being a starter in field of literature Karan said, "The pros and cons are a question of how you look at it. There are pros and cons in every field in the world. As for young writers, yes, it is very hard to get published, writing is not the hard part, true test is getting a good publisher to agree to print your material. So I can only advise that only if you truly believe in yourself and your work (like I did) then go ahead and write, as in reality, the publishing industry's modus operandi is very unhelpful and unwelcoming for new and budding writers. It is better we know the truth before dreaming of grand success, so that we are better equipped to face it."

Further talking about fiction as a genre he confessed, "I love fiction! The whole thrill of telling a story that actually is not true but can get people to connect with it at every other stage is just awesome. I have been writing short stories, poems and essays since I was a child and I simple love story telling. I wish to write and make movies someday. It is a great way to entertain and express your creativity and feelings to your audience."

Sharing his expectations from the book Karan said, "I have great expectations from I FOR INDIA, not because I wrote it with a strong passion, but because I believe that through this novel I can stir the youth to wake up and make that change that we want to see in the system of our country. I am a total sucker for growth and development, but I can't do it alone, I can only do it when people are with me, so the youth must read this book to understand my message so that we can work together for a better tomorrow for ourselves."

Discussing his plans to take the book forward on the shelf he said, "To begin with, the official launch of I FOR INDIA went off well at Oxford bookstore in Mumbai. Then there are various avenues such as book reviews and interviews, readings and discussions, blogging and interacting with people to promote the book. You shall see it flow as time goes by."

When asked if there is any particular writer influence on his writings he said, "None really. Believe it or not, I am not much of a reader, but it works for me in the sense that I have no preconceived notions as when I write, it comes straight from the heart. That's how i do it, and as long as it works for me, it shall keep working."

At the same time he also agreed, "But if you ask about writing style I shall say I come close to Chetan Bhagat, because the idea is the same, to appeal to the masses and strike a chord with them. Just like him, I write in simple language so that reading should not be a headache for the readers and they should enjoy the read without any hiccups, while at the same time expanding your reader base."

He believes, "Every genre and author has a niche of his own. I feel that young readers want a nice easy read. They shouldn't have to sit with a dictionary to consult every time they are reading a novel. But at the same time the material should be worth reading and more than entertain it should move you. I write on topics that I feel strongly about but I do not want to bore the audience, which is why I deliberately put in a lot of masala in my story, and I love it, and I believe the audience loves it too, because no one wants a boring tutorial read."

Karan is writing another book about another topic that he feels very strongly about. He said, "Another aspect which involves making the world a better place and making us better human beings. I look forward to launching my second book next year, but for now all my energy is focused on getting I FOR INDIA and its strong social message out there to all young Indians, we know we can do it!"

He left us on an optimistic note saying, "All I would like to say is that if you are a young Indian, read I FOR INDIA not just for the sake of entertainment, but to grab the moral behind it and implement it. If you wish to live in a better country then your answer lies here, the rest is up to you!"