The AuthorBooks and their readers have their own special place here. Burdwan is a lovely Indian town where I was born. It's in the state of West Bengal. It was the district town back then. Located at least two hours from Calcutta, the largest cosmopolitan city in the eastern region of India and the capital of the East India Company, this township is notable for being the home of the Royal Family of the Burdwan King. However, the King's Castle and the surrounding area were more widely recognized for the University that was located there. This temple was known as the Sarbya Mangala Kali Bari. My grandparents were devotees of Sri Mamani Ma, the local religious Godmother, and I recall several trips to the temple with them to hear her speak. Those experiences have stayed with me. Rapid urbanization and urban migration have entirely obliterated the old-world charm of a tiny community, with celluloid having been superseded for entertainment options like watching roadside theatre. The township has deteriorated into a generic suburban wasteland where everyone is trying to emulate the success of dotcom India.When I was five years old, my parents uprooted our family from the township to the city so that I could attend school there. After that, she dove headfirst into the melting pot, where people from all across eastern India interact and struggle for daily survival, where she would spend most of her formative years. My father's official apartment was in a quiet neighborhood, and that's where I first found myself. In comparison to other kids my age in Kolkata, a city where many first-generation residents are trying to make ends meet in the face of fierce competition, my life has not been particularly spectacular, either. Since my family cannot afford to send me to an English-speaking school, I have no choice but to study in a Bengali (Local Language) medium school.My social life at school picked up speed once I made some great friends, but I always made time in the afternoons and on weekends to hang out in the library, where the librarian welcomed me and encouraged me to explore areas of the world that had previously been off-limits. My exposure to those works piqued my interest in reading and widened my scope of the possible.What happened next was as follows... After settling down with Debashree and starting a family (including Debasmita and Debarko), I entered the workforce as an engineer for a multinational conglomerate. But my passion for poetry helped me stand out in my engineering school, where I was asked to write love letters for several of my Bengali classmates. I attended a boys' school where the pupils had little capacity to speak English, so I was frightened of talking to my female classmates during the first few months of my freshman year of college.My first work was with a British firm that sent me to Cambridge and Oxford for manufacturing training before sending me to Oberkochen, Germany. Three months in each place over three years. Experiencing a new fantasy world firsthand while traveling the world has been more fun than reading about it in a book. I was awakened from my slumber by the revelation that the entire world is like a free public library I used to frequent as a child. After traveling and learning about various cultures and seeing how Europeans adopted their practices and mythologies, I was able to appreciate the depth of Indian tradition. As I looked for opportunities abroad, I was approached by a company that was interested in posting me in the United States to oversee the promotion of their offerings and the expansion of their clientele. That was the year 2000, the start of an eight-year trip around the world for me.I finally came to terms with the fact that running too much is draining, that it is not a reliable predictor of stability, that a family requires stability, that children need education, that they should grow up in our culture, and that all of these things are more important than running. Fortunately, I was able to secure employment with the Indian government, where I remained for ten years, during which time I worked in a fascinating area. I've done a lot of different things professionally, but I've found my niche in mentoring and educating the next generation of thinkers.I've worked a few different jobs throughout the years, and I know I'm not alone in having done so. These volumes are the product of my mind's wanderings, which persist even if I've traded my days as a hunter (Salesman) for those of a gardener (Professor of Marketing) in the interest of stability. As a result of reading all these books, I feel compelled to record my own life stories with the hope of making the world a better place for good people. I value the feedback of all kinds, even constructive criticism. Enjoy the read, and thank you for keeping me inspired to produce more content.Read more about this authorRead less about this author