A storyteller’s tale : An interview with the in-campus author Ankit Jaiswal

Ankit Jaiswal

February 21, 2017

In the relentless pursuit of profession, it often happens that we fail to honour the commitment to those childhood dreams that we painted in the canvas of the mind. Not everyone has the motivation to look into the path less traveled when they already have a familiar, safe road ahead of them. Ankit Jaiswal, the author of ‘The Fragile Heart’ is not one of them. From a teenager with a dream to a man who is now set to release his second book, he has shown grit and determination to follow through. A student of IIM Udaipur, set to graduate in 2017, Ankit will soon embark on his corporate professional life, and he will leave no stones unturned to balance the same with his passion of writing. Here’s a candid interview with our in-campus author just before the release of his new book ‘Hope v/s Hype’

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Tell us what inspired the beginning? When and how did you start to write?

It was November of 2012 when I began to pen down my first novel. I feel that more than an inspiration, it was an aspiration to get published. I always wanted to showcase my poetries which I had been writing since my school days. But with the passage of time, I realized how non-commercial it is to get published as a poet. Moreover, I could have never believed I can write a novel. I was way too impatient to do so. But it somehow happened with some self-belief and encouragement from my friends and parents. I tried to put in words a story, injecting the snippets of poetry I had written over the years.

Tell us about the idea for your first book. How do you as a writer paint a story? Is it imagination or has a base in reality.

The time I wrote my first novel, I was going through a lean phase in my life. I find such period ideal for upcoming authors. They leverage the phase and narrate their melodramatic love saga. However, I tried to package my opinions and feelings in a fictitious plot. The first novel, therefore, you can say was a derivative of my experiences.

The second book is soon to hit markets, and we wish you the best. Tell us some of the hurdles a new author has to be prepared to face.

‘Hope v/s Hype’ is very special to me. I challenged myself for close to two years while conceptualizing and scripting the novel. I switched jobs, changed cities, kept preparing for CAT and what not. I promise to myself the day I start writing a book that no matter what I’m going to complete it. Until now it has worked, and I hope it continues to be so. I feel the challenges would be similar to any young upcoming authors. You need to live multiple lives in a moment and if that what excites you, and you have got a story to tell then you’re on!

You completed Engg, and now MBA has almost come to the close. You have two books under your belt. How difficult is to balance education and profession with writing.

I completed the first draft of ‘Hope vs. Hype’ before I came for MBA. So I cannot say how it would be to balance a full-fledged MBA and write a novel. However, balancing while on the job is entirely possible. In the end, it’s the passion to write which matters.

Tell us a little more about your new book.

I conceptualized ‘Hope v/s Hype’ during the middle of 2013. If you can recollect, those were the times when a lot of disruption was happening in the political landscape of the country. There was a wave of change prevailing. Suddenly the youth of the country was ignited to participate in the democracy; there was some urgency in their participation. But there was reluctance; an internal conflict one had to face. I felt I had a story to narrate using this conflict as a plot. Through Harish and Abhimanyu, the two lead characters, I’ve portrayed the conflict between ideology and ambitions. The plot starts when one of the political epicentres of Uttar Pradesh witnesses a rise of a political revolution. Harish drives to be the agent of change while Abhimanyu promises to be the perfect catalyst for the change. The fate of the revolution depends upon the firm blend of Harish’s ideology and Abhimanyu’s ambition. I leave it to the readers to decide whether they have been able to live up to the hope of establishing an alternative for a new brand of politics or fizzled out as hype.

What are your plans post Hope vs. Hype. Planning to stick to novels or shifting to other forms of writing.

I love to write and have thoroughly enjoyed scripting the two novels so far. So I would continue to write books if I have enough conviction in a story I want to tell. Also, I want to keep exploring and evolve as a writer. I must say two years of MBA has even helped me grow as a writer.

Tell us about your time as an integral part of the literary club Potpourri at IIMU. What has been the good, and places you feel more can be done. Maybe there is a writer amid our aspiring candidates who is listening hard.

Potpourri was one of the reasons I chose IIMU over other colleges. I wanted to be a part of an institution where I just don’t get the MBA gyaan but also a platform to boost my creativity. And I’m proud that I made the best decision of my life. I’ve had a fantastic time in IIMU and being an integral part of the Literary Club was like a dream come true. Yes there is enough to be done, we’re still very young as a club, but we’re proud of whatever we’ve achieved till now (Not to forget, our unique management literature fest, Udaipur LeapDay LitFest, which is coming up on 25th and 26th of February).