Writing was never my thing. Until I was about 12, I remember writing some weird poems in a high quality (gorilla cover) notebook. Something that I vaguely remember as “Pappa office jaate hai , dhan kamake laate hai….khilone laate hai …and something similar from the hinglish = Hindi + English : fairly adulterated language zone that I came from. Books too were never a big deal for me as I barely managed the attention span to complete an entire book.
Then 2009 happened. I was a single, independent, carefree girl in the city of Mumbai. My mind was unfettered, relentlessly ambitious just like the high rises of the city, cluttered just like the traffic jams & painful long commutes in the city. I was working at a market research company and as part of the new joining / induction assignment, I was asked to present a very significant book written about Indian consumers – “We are like that only – By Rama Bijapurkar”. In addition to the regular gyaan & enormous data, reading this book & making a 2 hour long presentation, had a rather profound impact on me personally.
Two things happened ; 1) I was not able to find any reviews, references about this book on the internet. 2) And I just realized how ingrained is the “jugaad” mentality among Indians and how tough situations can make us frugal and extremely enterprising.
And then “BANG” ! My dual life started, much like an extramarital affair beyond my day job. A consumer researcher by the day, a reader and blogger by the night. And how much ever I dreaded the thought of replacing my company designation with this glamorous adjective and ( not to forget the countless number of times I misspelled this word) – I became an “Entrepreneur” by the night & the weekends!
I started writersmelon.com, very informally & humbly in 2009, with few of my friends from college. Mainly with an objective to create an awesome platform for Books, Authors & Writing. At that time I almost knew nothing about these three magical words and was only scanning the internet and eventually the events space in Mumbai to meet authors, bloggers or anybody with whom I could connect around the countless ideas that were jarring in my head. Ideas that could truly and effectively improve this space for authors, bloggers & most importantly the readers.
So what keeps me going? I think the people I meet & the words they speak & write. Words indeed are so bloody powerful ! Read a few good books and you will know what I mean. And then, tell me what is internet without these words? Or the more technical term that we like to use today “the content”?
Today, I proudly wake up to the website that I created & re created for the last 6 years, in between meetings, phone calls & daily commutes of my job. Something that could finally ‘replace’ my job, the fancy designation and most importantly the ‘monthly salary’ !
I also often go back to my old (gorilla cover) notebook once in a while. To find out what I truly felt & believed then vs now.
And thankfully not much has changed.
I realize that learning never stops. You are always a student and everything is a work in progress. So the things that remains same between the 12 year old me & the one I see in the mirror today is the curiosity to know more about the world around, the humility & courage to start something from scratch & continue to nurture that big, ambitious and often the incremental dream that I dared to see.
So go for it ! Be a dreamer & like the wise man says – “Stay Hungry” “Stay Foolish”
I am Priyanka Purkayastha, evidently the crazy, passionate founder of writersmelon.com – India’s leading community for books, authors & bloggers. After decoding consumers thorough countless interactions, excel sheets & power points, I finally quit my job as a market researcher. My life now almost magically revolves around books, authors & writing.
The best social media network to reach me are Instagram (purkayasthap) & LinkedIn (Priyanka Purkayastha).
