From bookkeeping to book writing, it’s all good

Dubai-based Jitendra Gianchandani, managing director of Jitendra Consulting Group, is celebrating the success of his first book, The 3 U-Turns of My Life.

Dubai — Turning the disappointment of a financial downturn into new opportunities, Dubai-based Jitendra Gianchandani, managing director of Jitendra Consulting Group, is celebrating the success of his first book, The 3 U-Turns of My Life.

“After the financial crisis of 2008 business around the world in general and particularly in Dubai was unstable. I had plenty of spare time, hence instead of wasting time by sitting idle, finally in 2012 I choose to divert into writing,” Gianchandani told Khaleej Times in an interview.

Gianchandani enrolled himself in a writing course and took the task head-on, devoting most of his time to refine the storyline. Right from finding a publisher to having the book made available in Dubai — the journey to being an author has been fulfilling, he says.

“I never thought of becoming an author, although I was an avid reader of comics as a child. It was a sheer coincidence that in 2012 I read Chetan Bhagat’s The 3 Mistakes of My Life and began my journey as a writer. My advice for aspiring writers is to read, write, research and have a coffee.”

His first book follows the journey of two friends in what Gianchandani calls a story on “love-race-destiny”.

“My first book has a lot more than the romantic genre. And as the catch line is love-race-destiny, it’s as much a story of the historic competition — CA versus MBA. Or an introvert guy versus an extrovert guy. And who will eventually win life’s race. It is inspired from quite a few real-life events, such as the Gujarat earthquake in 2001; the financial crisis of 2008; the recent corruption scams that have taken place in India, including the Lavasa hill city scam of Maharashtra and the 2G spectrum; and media’s habit of sensationalising issues and creating nicknames.”

Gianchandani has drawn inspiration from his own life and infused the story with interesting snippets of reality.

He adds: “My career has been a roller-coaster ride. I was a school dropout, struggled as an insurance agent and ultimately my good numbers in accounts and some good friends in college inspired me to join CA and that’s how I became a chartered accountant. But two characters, one, the protagonist Manav Modi, somewhat is inspired from my personal life experiences. And Manav’s friend and his lucky mascot Krishna Gandhi’s character is inspired from my son Krishna. He is a child with special need and my lucky mascot. Since his birth my life has been filled with positivity,”

Finding a publisher for the first time is never an easy task and Gianchandani had his fair share of hard times — reviewing the drafts time and again.

“I had thought once the book is published, my job will be over and I will become Dan Brown. But believe me writing a book is a marathon task. It took three long years for me to write my first book. I have had to rewrite the whole thing in bits and pieces at least 20 times.”

— muaz@khaleejtimes.com