HYDERABAD: Every month, the Prime Minister of the world’s largest democracy takes time out to talk to his fellow citizens by the means of a radio programme titled Mann Ki Baat.
With the intention of cultivating Mann Ki Baat’s energy into a mass nation building movement, authors Jeroninio Almeida and Rajendran Panickar have compiled transcripts of the first 12 sessions in English. Along with the Prime Minister’s empowering speeches, authors have augmented the text with erudite and experiences of their own. First of its kind, Mann Ki Baat : From the Heart of the Mind is for those who share the dream of ‘Ek Bharat, Shresht Bharat’, say the writers. Rajendran Panickar tells us more about it.
The germ of the idea: The idea to float a book on Prime Minister Narendra’s Modi’s Mann Ki Baat came into my mind a couple of months after it was first aired, that’s in January 2015. Initially, the thought was to briefly write about all the episodes of Mann Ki Baat with our interpretations and views.
After discussions with family members and friends we evolved it to contain inspirational stories to initiate the reader into action - progressive action in ‘nation building’.
The common thread: My co-writer Jerry and myself have common thoughts on many issues. Jerry is more of a social, political and economic crusader, bestselling author of Karma Kurry and an inspirational orator, management thinker and leadership guru; whereas I have industry experience coupled with a long stint in education sector bringing me in contact with many people especially youth.
And talking of the right path, if the message of the PM could be communicated to the people at large and especially the youth, then definitely our nation would march on to progress by leaps and bounds. Jerry and I complement the PM’s Mann Ki Baat with our anecdotes, fables, true stories and thought leadership in our writings which are under the theme “From the Heart of the Mind”
Going about: Rumour Publishing approached the PMO and obtained the consent and blessings of the PM and the publisher and I then roped in Jerry and commissioned him specially to work with me to bring this book to life.
The R & D: As an author, I did go through the speeches a few times to enable me to convey my views to the reader through relevant anecdotes and stories. Each chapter commences with a wonderful quote by the PM, followed by episode, which is followed by ‘Reflections’ which conveys the gist of the episode and connects the episode with the stories and anecdotes that follow.
About a similar book: Yes, I am aware about Rajeev Gupta’s book Mann Ki Baat. But our book is different as it is a motivational and inspirational exercise driving the reader to do what he/she can do towards ‘nation building’.
The idea is to inspire citizen action for social justice and nation building. The inspiring stories and anecdotes connect the message of Mann Ki Baat to the reader.
The flavour of the book: Jerry and I know each other well and as stated earlier we have common thoughts on many issues especially when it comes to thoughts on what we can do for the country.
The book is totally apolitical and non-partisan. The thoughts of the PM are purely directed towards nation building and our work is a small effort in taking his vision forward. In the book Jerry and I complement and counter the PM’s thoughts with our insights and ideas for citizen action.
Personal thoughts: The PM. He speaks from his heart. And consequently, we titled it From the Heart of the Mind. Mann Ki Baat is thoughts emanating from the heart of the mind of the PM and us as responsible citizens directed to the heart of the mind of the people of our beloved country. We have done our best to convey the message as effectively as possible in our book.
(The paperback is available on Amazon for Rs 317)