Evolution of a writer/author

My new avatar as a writer/author post retirement started with the publication of my autobiography in 2009. The appreciation I got for my style of writing  encouraged me to start  writing on a  variety of topics dealing with day to day happenings in life.  I posted them on my blog and also  shared  the articles  among Face Book friends. My first article titled `Ubiquitous Velakkari ( maid servant)` appeared in the April 2011 issue of Eves Touch  followed by  an article in Madras Musings in its June,2011 issue. Both edited by the (late)  S.Muthiah who became   my mentor in my writing career. The defining moment came when my article based on my visit to 106 Divya Desams with Prabha  appeared in the Open Page of the Hindu in their issue dated 26^th June,2011.The hundreds of response I got as mails, sms messages, telephone calls even from readers of Hindu living abroad made me realize that I have arrived as a writer. Since then writing has become an obsession with me.  My dream of becoming a regular columnist became a reality when Mr S.P.Ambrose, IAS (retd) the founder of Adyar Times(AT), the popular Community weekly published in Chennai asked me to write a fortnightly column for AT  titled `Rajan`s Random Reflections`. Thanks to the word restrictions imposed by AT  I perfected the art of limiting  my articles to a maximum of 600 words.   Going through my records for the last nine years  I find that I have 265 published articles  in dozens of publications and 65,000 Page views  on my blog. I don`t know if it is a big number but the record is encouraging.

While my writing on a variety of topics is a continuing habit, I was also active in bringing out more books. The second book after the publication of my autobiography was the book on Rural marketing with which I was associated for more than  35 years of my 45 years in advertising. It was published by  a Chennai based Publisher in 2013. I was very keen that my  books must deal with different genres of writing.  The  books that followed my book on Rural marketing reflects this dream; an autobiography,  experiences in an industry, short   essays,  history of an association and  short stories. My long standing dream of writing a novel has become a reality thanks to the pandemic and the forced stay at home.   Please await  a  formal announcement on this soon!

I am a person who likes to constantly challenge my self with new projects. Challenges bring out the best in me.  The next book project I have in mind is a translation job. I want to translate a popular Tamil novel or short story collections into English. Not decided yet about the choice. Will I be able  to do it as I will be joining the Octogenerians of this world next year. Only God has the answer  to that question as he  controls the time he has allotted for me in this janma!