Arindam Dasgupta is an educator, nature lover, trekker and an avid traveller. As an educator, his objective was the basic development and holistic growth of all his students. Education, according to him, must expand beyond the realms of classroom teaching. Identifying issues faced by most of the students and attending them from scientific and spiritual point of view is what makes Mr. Dasgupta a true mentor.
He is coming up with his first book called ‘MY DEAR STUDENTS…’ dedicated to the youth.
We had a short conversation with him about his first book just before its release.
First of all, congratulations for your first book. How did you come up with the idea of this book?
I have been in the teaching profession for more than 15 years now. I came across thousands of students throughout West Bengal and still counting. Over the years I got the chance to listen to their problems and realized that they have a common pattern. Most interestingly, I found out that the problem actually existed between the ears, in their minds, which they somehow were not being able to process. That’s when the idea of this book sprung to my mind. Hopefully, this will enable me to spread the ideas and practices far and wide.
What would be the primary objective of this book?
To provide students, and as a matter of fact other working professionals also, with many tactics by which they can ace their lives. All these theories and practices are scientifically proven, or else I would not have even mentioned them here. Years of research has gone into this book followed by distillation of ideas and facts. The second part of the book, which deals with the spiritual aspect, was more challenging to come up with but I always believe that every human is a spiritual being starting from their day of conception; you just need to connect to that afresh. Coming to the primary objective of this book, I think if this book can even change the life of one individual for the better, I have my objective satisfied.
Writing a book for the students is not easy, what are the things you needed to keep in mind while penning this book?
A lot of things. In fact, it’s damn hard to write a full-fledged book for the students which is not some kind of a text book. Firstly, I had to keep the book slim and trim. Students have their own burden of syllabus and other stuffs, so I had to chisel out all those extra fats from my book as much as possible and make it a compact read. Secondly, I could not afford to use bombastic, flowery words and languages keeping in mind that students from different vernacular backgrounds will be reading this book. My editing team had strict instructions to keep the language as simple as possible so that it would be a very easy read for everyone. You don’t want a fifteen year old student to google some words while reading, thereby, interrupting the flow of reading. Lastly, all the tactics and ideas discussed in this book are very simple yet profound. Nothing did I mention here which is unachievable.
Was it challenging to accommodate every idea into a short book?
Very challenging. You can think of it like this. I had the option to create a magnum opus movie of 3 hours, instead, I chose to make a commercial ad of 15 seconds. And it’s more challenging to convince people of your ideas within a span of few seconds. I had gone for that in my first attempt. Hopefully, if I get the subject, motivation and time, I will come up with a 200 page- book in the future. As I said, all the ideas and tactics discussed in his book had scientific basis. I deliberately skipped all those experiments and case studies from my book for the ease of reading but only talked about the practices and results. It’s like follow this-achieve that.
You have targeted a niche group for your first book. Will that affect your sales?
Who thinks about sales in his/her first book? It’s not even released yet. It’s like already thinking about the career of your child who is not even born. You want your child to become healthy first, then to be a good human. Whether he/she is going to be a millionaire is not something you even take into account.
First, let the book release and get an acceptance. It’s your first child. Even if it does not sales at all, still I will hold it dear to my heart forever.
Talking of niche group, yes, I owe my first book to my students. I always wanted it to be like that. But, this book will be immensely helpful for parents, teachers and other professionals as well.
Are you nervous just before the release?
Nervous, no. Anxious, yes. I have done what I set out to do. I am very happy with the product. If it gets criticized, that would be immensely helpful for me. I can learn and grow. As they say ‘To err is human’. That’s how life goes and grows. Without healthy criticism you can never grow. It’s great to make mistakes. That makes you more real. At the end of the day, if it serves even one student in spite of the shortcomings, I am game.
How you want students/readers to use your book?
To use it like an energy drink. Use the book like a manual and read it as many times as possible. It’s a quick read but you need to make it a companion of yours. Practice the tactics given in the first part of the book and amalgamate it with the spiritual ideas from the second part. I am sure that it’s going to change your life. To be a better version of yourself you first need to change your thoughts. This book will help you do exactly that. It will motivate you and increase your productivity so that you can come up on top.
Finally, last few words you want to tell your readers?
I have done just that. Written a book. Whatever I want to say and convey, it’s all there in the book. Just want to say thank you to them. You are the motivation behind this book. I dedicate this book to all the students around the world. Pick up the book once it’s released and follow it. That’s it.