HYDERABAD: “It was like a baby. I hope my baby goes viral,” laughs Abhishek Hemrajani. A day before his book launch at Lamakaan, the senior product manager-turned-author looks around the premises and says. “I originally thought of having the book launch at a small or independent book store because I am a huge proponent of supporting small businesses. But my friends and family were of the opinion that Lamakaan is an iconic place in so many ways in Hyderabad and that we should consider doing it here.”
Inspired fiction Abhishek’s debut book Black, White and the Grays in Between is an inspired fiction and the idea was with him for eight years now. He waited this long as he felt the subject needed an evolution of his thought process and a little bit of maturity as a writer. The book at its core deals with adoption. “It also deals with the notion that a lot of us at times doubt whether we have the ability to love selflessly or can we be loved selflessly. My book is about relationships that may not be bound by blood but even they have the power to change destinies,” he points out. The book is based in three different cities, the places where Abhishek lived his life - Mumbai, Texas and Hyderabad. “It is also based across three different generations which are dealing with that struggle of figuring out what love really means.”
Abhishek is a former ISB student and currently works with Microsoft. He recalls how he saw a friend deal with the issue many years ago and which helped him create the protagonist Kanak. “I saw him struggle with the blacks and whites and that’s where the name of the book came about. It was my way of helping a friend figure out that at times you need to see the greys; you need to see the colours; it is not always black and white.”
Sensitive subject With adoption as the core plot, he says the onus was to deal with the issue delicately. “Some elements are real and I had to be careful that I dealt with them sensitively. At the end of the day, they may influence what people feel. Adoption again is a very sensitive subject and whenever you write about it, you do feel those emotions strongly. If you write flimsy or don’t feel strongly about the issue, the writing will not come out with the right sincerity.”
He says the process of writing was wonderful and the ‘easy part’ but the struggle was balancing his day job and passion. “I do have an incredibly busy day job and my work involves travelling, being on conference calls. So between all that I have to find a rhythm to write. There are days when you are just not in mood to write.”
Abhishek feels new authors like him face the challenge of trying to let people know that they have done something. “A book is no longer just about writing; it is about Facebook, Twitter and Snapchat and that is the most surprising part.”
The book ends in a sequel and introduces the character that is going to be the protagonist of his next book. “The next book is based in 2043. I am excited about it as it revolves around our core beliefs and values system and will also help in bring in my other two passions - technology and aviation.”
