The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : Thrill in authoring a book

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Nov 25, 2007
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Thrill in authoring a book

Karri Sriram

Karri Sriram , 34, is not over the moon. Pleased, he certainly is. ‘The Spiritual Supermarket’, a high-sounding intellectual monologue on the philosophy of mankind’s history, religion and politics - his first novel, has been doing well, writes V. Geetanath.

Sriram knows he has not authored a thriller yet he is sure that there is scope for “serious reading” out there and “young people with ideas” would be interested in reading his book. Recently released, the book is ready for a reprint. Not bad for a debutant, who has been ambitious to be a writer for the past 25 years. “I have been waiting for the world to accept me for years after hundreds of rejections. Success has been as elusive as a girlfri end. I never realised that it would be tough to find a publisher. I bet even they don’t know when to publish a book by a fresher,” he guffaws.

His confidence on his writing skills was honed by a strong self-belief from childhood that he “could write, although many found it amusing.” In fact, he had attempted a history text book while in school itself. And even won a cricket bat and a cycle in an essay writing competition held by the Indian Railways where his father, Arvind Kumar worked. His folks never came between him and his books but his mother, Lakshmi, always had money for him to buy a book.An eloquent public speaker, Sriram has been involved with the Young Orators Club, quizzing and organised a record breaking round-the-clock debate. A voracious reader, he read every author from the high brow to pulp, fiction, non-fiction, Shakespeare, R.L. Stevenson, P.G. Wodehouse, Tolstoy, George Orwell, Vikram Seth, etc. Idolisation is, however, reserved for Ayn Rand . He quit university and took to journalism where he “learnt the discipline of writing”. Jobs in IT followed before plunging headlong into what he really wished to do. Sriram ( sriram_karri@rediffmail.com) is keying on his laptop for his second book taking a break either for a coffee or network with publishers and yes, agents.

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