Though Zensar CEO Sandeep Kishore has been writing poems since childhood, he never thought they would ever get published.
“I have been in the industry for over 30 years, but I have been working at breakneck speed. Poetry completes me, it is part of who I am. I have always been an immersive person, I believe in giving my best to everything I take up. Both my books of poetry have been published with a single purpose; to raise funds for skill development and vocational training, a cause that is dear to me,” says Sandeep, whose second book of poetry Old Seeds of a New Tree was recently published by Rupa.
“The proceeds of the book goes towards supporting the cause. It is now known that by 2025, in among over 250 million youth in India, only five per cent are going to be trained when they enter the workforce. Compare this to figures from other countries such as Japan, South Korea, USA and UK where over 95 per cent of the workforce are trained by the time they start working. They do not learn on the job.”
Sandeep believes that it is his responsibility to raise awareness on this trend, and has also co-founded an NGO that that seeks to creating opportunities to enable people and drive positive impact.
At the same time, the idea behind writing a book is also to inspire people to bring their unique talents into the mainstream.
“This book has been written in the last 12 months and it contextualises some of the most intense poems I have written about multiple facets of life. It is a contemporary book written in simple language and it is gratifying to see how much it connects to people.”
The book has already has a following of over 1,00,000 people through its Facebook page.
“A lot of people ask me how I find the words and I tell them that if they immerse themselves into the situation, then the words will find them. They simply have to work in a structured, disciplined process to get it right. I also believe that if you have the passion, time will find you.”
The book itself, he says, is about the various shades of life — love, affection, aspiration, success, failure, growing up.
“I have picked up several contemporary themes and connected life with some of these themes. The book is called Old Seeds of a New Tree because if you think about the basic ethos of who we are and what we aspire to be as humans, as people and as leaders has not changed in the last few hundred years,” he explains.
“We all want to be loved, be successful and grow up. We feel pain, we feel the environment around us and that has remained consistent over the years. What has changed is the environment today and so the title is contrarian.”
The style of his writing, however, remains consistent with his first book. It retains a simple, conversational style and is bilingual (written in Hindi and in English).
“I would like everyone who reads the book to connect with it. That’s the beauty of poetry. Hindi is my mother tongue but I didn’t want it to be limiting factor in connecting with people from around the world. The English translation is not literal, I have rewritten the poems in English.”
Poetry, he says, has also complemented his career as a business leader
“It has helped people see me in full perspective. They now know that there is a far more abstract layer, a different side of me that is more than a business leader. It allows me to connect better with them.” Old Seeds of New Tree is available in all major bookstores and online retail platforms.
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