The Tales Pensieve

He is the proverbial banker-cum-writer, a breed so up and kicking in the Indian writing scenario today; but thankfully he doesn’t write books that look like bollywood films on pulp! inKonversation with the WordMaverick of February 2013 we meet the man behind the funny yet sensible Jack Patel – P. G. Bhaskar. The Dubai based private banker talks about Indian publishing, how his books are more than banking stories and about his non-revealing wisdom. Read on:

Tell us about the Bhaskar, the man behind the writer. What is he like beyond his stories?
Take my protagonist Jack Patel,  make him a part time observer instead of an active participant, give him a little grey hair, make some allowances for imagination and there you have Bhaskar, the man!

How did writing happen to you?
I’m not exactly sure how, but boy, am I glad it did! I think there must have been an explosion of some kind in my head in 2008. I’ve been writing ever since.

Both your books draw inspiration from your work area. If you had to write on something other than banking what would it be?
Oh, that will start coming out soon, I hope.

Jack Patel’s Dubai Dreams and Corporate Carnival both  had a banking backdrop because there was so much happening in the banking world during that time. But even in those books, there was Bollywood, sport, travel, weddings …most things that an average Indian encounters. It’s just that the key characters happened to be employees of a private bank.

Actually, it doesn’t give me any great pleasure to write about banking. I’d rather write about a whole lot of other fun things!

Do you believe in research-based storytelling?
Well, I’m sure there are writers who do a great job of it and there are probably readers who lap it up too. But it’s not my style. My canvas is fiction. My treatment is light-hearted. Any research I do is at best, cursory.

How did the journey from manuscript to published paperback go? We usually hear about the initial glitches, how was your journey?
I think many of these initial ‘glitches’ occur when there is a gap between a debutant authors’ expectations and the publishers’ delivery. I would think the onus is on the publisher as the one with more experience to manage a beginner’s expectations sensibly and sensitively. Speaking for myself, I’d say my journey has been smooth enough for me to want to continue along this path …

What kind of a reader would you call yourself?
I’m interested in written works, but I’m a fussy reader. The subject needs to grip, the style must appeal. And there has to be a dash of humour, (preferably more) else I will quickly move on to the next book. For this very reason, I have not yet experienced the pleasures of reading some of our all time classics and several award winning books.

What are your favorites – Book/ Author/ Genre?
Since the age of 14, it has been Pelham/Grenville/Wodehouse!

What is next on the literary front?
I’m self-publishing a couple of books this year. There’s a third one, which I’ve completed. I’m talking to a top publisher about it. Hopefully, it will be out in 2014. It’s a long, often painful process as you know! But there are those moments of pure pleasure which make it all seem worthwhile.

Do you fancy full time writing? Your thoughts.
I absolutely love the idea. It’s the remuneration that I don’t fancy.

Indian publishing is changing, what do you think are the positive and negative trends?
I’m not an ‘insider’. My expertise on this is limited to my own little experience. It’s great that so many people across all fields and age-groups  have taken to writing. It does seem that we have temporarily overtaken  the number of readers (and I’m  not talking about just Bhagat and Tripathi here) but I’m  hoping this alarming trend will quickly correct itself. Books are becoming affordable, more varied in content and are getting delivered at home for free! What more can one ask for?

Your words of wisdom for newbie writers.
Ah! My wisdom seems to be a closely guarded secret! Most of the time, it doesn’t reveal itself even to me.

Know the Author: Goodreads |

Jack Patel’s Dubai Dreams: Goodreads| Pensieve Review