India's Celebrity CEOs As Aspiring Authors

Book-writing in India was once the preserve of academics and journalists, with an occasional interloper from elsewhere. New titles were few and authors even fewer. Recent years, though, have witnessed a virtual explosion in the number of books published and likewise in authors. Writers are now coming out of the woodwork and from all professions.  

Retired bureaucrats were once reticent, reluctant to reveal confidences, content to stroll into the sunset. A few, therefore, favoured fiction: an early best seller – later converted to a popular movie – flowed from the pen of a serving official. One then wondered whether IFS stood for Indian Fiction-writing Service! 

Of late, not only have retired bureaucrats (both, IFS and IAS – Indian Authors Service?) become prolific writers – many churning out multiple books – but the book-bug has spread to industry captains too. Chief Executive Officers (CEOs), especially retired ones, have taken to the pen as much as to upmarket cars. Autobiographies and reminiscences are flooding the market. 

The “tell all” and gossip-sharing books – by both, bureaucrats and CEOs – are in demand. Curiosity ensures that tales of celebrities rarely fail to sell! Far lower is the demand for books that narrate work experiences distilled into knowledge, though these could be of value to younger professionals and students. Some use their long personal experience to write analytical tomes; a few use it as a base for historical fiction. The variety of subjects, themes, and work backgrounds of the new authors adds greatly to the richness of available material. 

What drives this urge to write? Making a living as an author is yet hardly possible in India, unless one is a Chetan Bhagat or writes mythological tales. In any case, neither retired bureaucrats nor industry CEOs look at writing as a means of livelihood. Does authoring a book cater to the ego, or satisfy some inner urge? Could it be peer emulation or FOMO: when everyone else is writing a book, you don’t want to be the one left out.  

Has it something to do with the rash of Book Festivals that has broken out in the last decade or so? After all, these have become like the Metro: every city worth its salt must now have its own. The Jaipur Lit Fest (JLF) is the unquestioned champion: its ability to attract famous authors approximates Jamnagar’s recent magnetism for business and show-business celebrities. Possibly, JLF has provided the glamour quotient to Indian authors: most – barring a rare Rushdie – long imagined as struggling, intellectual jholawallas. Or do CEOs – celebrities in the business world – now want recognition in a different arena? Yet, unlike JLF, other book fests don’t draw crowds, nor are they televised like the IPL.  

Another recent development is the proliferation of book clubs. Like security guards and Residents Welfare Associations, every Housing Society and every condominium must have one. Similarly, every club must have its annual book fest. Obviously, there seems to be a certain prestige associated with such activities centred around books. This, and the recognition accorded to authors in such fests, may well be contributing to the desire to be one.  

Here, then, is something for non-celebrity authors to note: for many, including top honchos and bureaucrats, being perceived as an “author” and, therefore, an “intellectual” has suddenly gained great value.