Featured Author Interview with the Unstoppable Ajay Sharma

Once in a while it happens that even before you speak to someone you know it is going to be special. I had that lingering feeling when I was getting ready to interview Ajay Sharma, our Featured Author for the month of February 2014. I can’t put a finger on exactly what caused this sense of anticipation. Was it his bio? Or were it his stories? Or was it simply my sixth sense? I guess it was all of these to some extent. And when I did speak to him, I was left speechless by his ability to connect easily, and to convey warmth, trust, and transparency through the very tone of his voice. His life has been punctuated by the lowest of the lows and the highest of the highs. And through all that he has always emerged a winner, maintaining his humility and earnestness, turning everything he touches to pure Gold. I felt humbled, honoured, and inspired after talking to him and I hope that the interview below will be able to do justice to this.

Ajay wrote his first story on Ghumakkar just over 4 months back, though he has been reading stories at Ghumakkar for quite some time now. Today he already has 19 brilliantly written stories to his credit. He recently opened a new office and has been quite busy setting it up. We were wondering whether he will be able to take time out to answer our elaborate emails and to talk to us. I was oscillating between anticipation and pure panic till I heard back from him.

When I spoke to him at 8pm, he had just arrived at his office. What was supposed to be a half-an-hour chat, quickly extended to 45 minutes and it still felt as if a lot remained to be discussed. Ajay talks just like he writes – naturally and unpretentiously. I had prepared a list of questions to ask him but those were quickly forgotten, as each of his answers made way for more questions. But by the end of it, I was glad that I hadn’t stuck to my original list. I am hoping that you will feel the same about this. And now, without further delay, here is how it went:

Ghumakkar: Once again, big congratulations to you, Ajay, for being chosen the Featured Author for the month of February 2014.
Ajay: Thanks, Vibha! Please convey my sincere thanks to Nandan and the rest of the editorial team for this happy surprise. It was totally unexpected.

Ghumakkar: Well, it was a unanimous decision, so let me assure you that it was well deserved. It is now time for us and our readers to try to get to know you better. Who is Ajay Sharma? Tell us everything.
Ajay: I would like to warn you though that you are asking for trouble. The answer can be longish.

Ghumakkar: We are all ears!
Ajay: Well, ok then. Don’t tell me I didn’t warn you.

I was born in an affluent and modern family. My father was a successful businessman, a very stylish personality and well-renowned in a small down-town in Bihar, now in Jharkhand. My mother hailed from Bengal, was a working lady, an officer with the Central Government, and then later with a PSU.

My grandparents were religious, highly educated Brahmins of UP. They lived in our ancestral, more than 150 years old Haveli in Allahabad, which they had bought from an English railway officer. My Grandfather, who had retired as Head Master from a Government Inter-College, donated his pension for lifetime to aid underprivileged students for their higher studies.

Ghumakkar: Hmm, interesting! How did your father, the son of a head master, end up going into a business?
Ajay: Well, that was because my father left home when he was in 8th standard and started a business with one of his older cousins.

Ghumakkar: Your grandfather did not approve?
Ajay: No! It was all against my grandfather’s wishes, mostly because my father did not complete his education. But my father more than compensated for his lack of impressive academics with his ability to run a business successfully. And our relationship with my grandparents was always very cordial, and we visited them often. In fact, my parents’ marriage was an arranged one and my grandfather had arranged it. I was very attached to my father and would always accompany him, often wearing clothes of the same style, and being called “Doctor Saheb” by my father and his friends and employees.

Ghumakkar: Why “Doctor Saheb”?
Ajay: My father wanted me to be a Doctor and study a lot, may be because he could not do this in his time. He provided for us really well. We studied in the best convent school in the locality and were blessed with a lavish life having all amenities including a big house, cars, drivers, and care takers. All was well. In fact, a little too well. On one dark day my father fell ill, followed by a heart ailment, and subsequently the paralysis of the left portion of his body.

Ghumakkar: Oh! How old were you and your siblings back then?
Ajay: I was just 9 and my youngest brother 4. My father was under treatment for almost 2 years in the best hospital in town and my mother managed her office and hospital, besides nurturing us as well, as before. In the process, a lot of money was spent, and our entire business collapsed. After 2 years of hopes, struggle, and very expensive medication, my father died.

Our house was sold, business ruined, and we were reduced to rags. My mother, who earlier worked by choice, now had no option but to work out of necessity. She opted for company quarters, and we shifted to a new address in a smaller house. I was emotionally hurt and could not believe that I lost my father for ever, who was a hero to me.

My mother continued our studies in the same schools and somehow retained one driver and our favourite car, a white Ambassador. It was not so easy with our limited income to continue with our academic expenses and social status, which was being stubbornly maintained by my mother for her emotional satisfaction. Days, months, and years passed with sweeter and bitter memories, but I could always feel an immense pain in my heart for my father’s death and the consequent solo struggle of my mother for our upbringings.

I wanted to grow older as soon as possible and start earning to ease my mother’s struggle. On the other hand, my mother wanted me and my siblings to concentrate in our studies and be successful in our lives. Soon after my Class 9th, I decided to take home tuitions to earn as much as I can.

Ghumakkar: Did your mother know?
Ajay: No! Not at all! She wouldn’t have allowed it. I started with two students of class VI and VII for Rs. 100/- each, followed by a few more later. After passing my 10th with distinction, I was selected for scholarship by my mother’s company and started getting Rs. 1,500/- every 3 months, which was good enough to pay my school fees and still left enough for my school dress and pocket money. I saved all the money that I earned out of home tuitions and invested them with my friends who were in small businesses and earned aggregated returns.

Ghumakkar: This sounds incredible, more so considering you were only 15 at the time. How much did these initiatives help?
Ajay: They did help. And time also gradually changed for better — my mother got a promotion and we were allotted a bigger bungalow, a company car with driver, and attendants at home. I, on the other side, continued with my best efforts in my studies and simultaneously more home tuitions with better remunerations. And I kept on investing those savings with my honest friends for even better returns. And then I also got an opportunity to apply for a job.

Ghumakkar: At such a young age? How did you come across the opportunity?
Ajay: This was in 1992, and I was 15 when my mother’s company organized a competition examination under a scheme of employment to employees’ wards as computer operators. I did not want to miss this golden opportunity and appeared for the exam with my whole-hearted dedication. I got selected out of more than 10000 candidates and was advised to report from 27 May 1992, on probation for 3 years because I was underage.

Ghumakkar: Did you take the opportunity? And what about studies?
Ajay: Yes, I had no choice. I took the job and also decided to continue my studies along with it.

Ghumakkar: How did you manage your time and did the home tuitions stop now that you had a job?
Ajay: No, nothing stopped. My school timing was 7am to 10am. After which I reached office directly in my school uniform. I went home for lunch and then changed into formal clothes. I continued the home tuitions after office, and added a little more, very valuable income to my important earnings. My monthly salary was fixed at Rs. 1,578/- pm for three years with no leave, except casual leave of maximum 11 days in a year. I had to avail those leaves for appearing in my exams. I passed my 12th from the CBSE board with both Maths and Biology, with distinction again. Biology, because I wanted to be a doctor to fulfil my father’s wish but later realized that it was not possible.

Ghumakkar: Were you worried about the finances?
Ajay: Finances, yes, and also time. My sister and brother were also in higher classes by then and needed more attention, guardianship, and finance. But I continued with my studies even after graduation and after my probation ended. I pursued my post graduations in two different subjects – political science and sociology — for increasing the chances of departmental promotions and increments. I did my Diploma in Personnel Management on a study leave of two years without pay and finally after successfully passing it appeared in a departmental examination and was promoted as an officer. Studies still continued and I also did a diploma in Labour Laws with Administrative Laws. I participated in a special 6 months training programme and was designated as the youngest National Trainer.

Ghumakkar: Wow! Post Graduations in four subjects. Did things start looking up after that?
Ajay: Yes, things were much better. Financially we were in a better condition. My mother decided to quit her job and engage in social activities. Soon, she was nominated as the district president of a national party for women and started enjoying her social life gracefully with much honour. She also actively participated in educational and training programmes of National Institute of Training for Mines and Metal Workers and was a senior trainer and its founding member. My sister and brother were also doing well in their studies. In 2002 my sister was married in a very well off family in Jamshedpur. My brother shifted to Delhi after his Engineering from IBM. The same year he also got married and is living happily with his spouse in Delhi.

Ghumakkar: And when did you decide to shift to Delhi?
Ajay: Right after! I got an opportunity to work for a leading US-based MNC in Gurgaon as a Manager (HR & Admin.). I left the PSU, opting for VRS after working for 11 years.

Ghumakkar: This is like going against the tide, isn’t it? PSU jobs are hard to come by. What prompted you to leave it and take up a private job?
Ajay: I couldn’t see any further growth in the near or even distant future in the PSU, as the promotions there were based on seniority and not merit. The earliest I could expect the next promotion was 17 years later. I could not wait that long. Moreover Jharkhand held some terrible memories, and I wanted to stay away from them.

Ghumakkar: Did your mother move with you to Delhi?
Ajay: No she stayed back in Allahabad and I used to visit her every weekend. In fact it was on one of these trips when my appendix burst while I was on the train. I had to undergo an operation, and I was in a coma for 20 days subsequently. Upon regaining consciousness, I was advised bed rest for 6 months. The MNC Job was gone and I was penniless, and I had to depend upon my dear ones for almost six months. Those days taught me one big lesson about life, and I think everyone should follow it. There’s nothing wrong in thinking of and doing things for others, but one must not ignore oneself in the process. I had always done things for others, often sacrificing my own wishes and needs in the process. But you most often do not get the same returns in your hour of need. With my mother’s blessings I was back on track but had to start from the scratch. However, I got a job as a Manager (HR & Admin.) in one of India’s leading Telecom firms in Delhi.

Ghumakkar: So, you were an officer in a PSU, and then a Manager (HR & Admin.), what came next?
Ajay: After the operation, I wasn’t keeping too well. And when you are an HR Manager, in some firms you need to take care of Admin and Facilities departments as well. I had to run around and travel a lot. My health suffered. So I decided to opt for something less strenuous and joined an enforcement firm as an office manager. It is there that I learnt about law and legal consultancy. Now I am the CEO of a leading company and heading North India by extending services as legal consultancy to more than 35 panel banks.

Ghumakkar: Looks like you have the Midas touch. Touch wood! What are your thoughts whenever you take on something new? What do you think makes you succeed?
Ajay: I have always believed that everyone can teach me something or the other. Right from the time when I was working in the PSU till today, I have learnt from everyone – my boss, my friends, my driver, the peon in the office. All of them have taught me valuable lessons about business and life. I believe in staying humble, and I believe in being open. I don’t like to argue or to try to prove that I am right. Usually if you are indeed right, the other person will realize it later, if not immediately. Argument doesn’t serve any purpose.

Ghumakkar: This is such a simple funda, and it sounds like it would work. Ego does stand in the way of learning.
Ajay: Yes it does!

Ghumakkar: Through all this, when did you find time to get married?
Ajay: I had never thought about marriage. In fact, for the most part, I had thought I won’t marry. I had responsibilities. My mother passed away in 2008 after a short illness, and in 2009, my brother-in-law (my sister’s husband) also died. 2010 brought more bad news with my grandparents breathing their last. I had to play a stronger role for my sister, who had two lovely daughters. I love my sister as my daughter, and she also respects me as much as she would have respected our father. I decided that I will stay single throughout my life so that I can support my sister and my nieces without any issues.

However, life is unexpected. And a couple of years back, I suffered third degree burns on my hand on Diwali. I was in a lot of pain. And I was all alone. I have never felt as lonely as I felt then. My colleagues Girish and Kausar kept on insisting that I should get married, and encouraged by them, I created my profile on a matrimony website. They took it forward, talking to and even meeting people on my behalf. I met Ratna through this matrimony site. She is an advocate and was then working with Patna High Court. Within one month of meeting, we were married and Ratna shifted to Delhi to live with me. She is a very caring and loving human being. I am blessed to marry her and am living a happy married life. I am still a father to my siblings and my wife supports me in my duties more than expected.

Ghumakkar: How lovely! Congratulations on finding the right one!
Ajay: It was a late marriage by Indian standards.

Ghumakkar: Times are changing! Society is evolving!
Ajay: True!

Ghumakkar: Between travelling, writing, reading, work, and personal life, how does a regular day from your life look like?
Ajay: I lead a simple life. A normal day starts with a relaxed morning wake-up, a cup of tea after refreshment, quick look through the Newspaper, with TV News playing in the background, a bath followed by a habitual bowing & praying, breakfast then office, a review to my colleagues assigning them the day’s jobs and then issuing advisories to Banks mostly on phones and sometimes by visiting the zonal/regional offices. Coming back late evening, chit-chatting with my lovely wife, watching TV, Dinner, Bed Time. Off days are generally laid-back & spent watching TV.

Ghumakkar: And when did travel become a part of your life? What types of places do you like travelling to the most.
Ajay: Frankly, travel just happened. In 1993, I bought my Yamaha Rx 100, out of my own earned and saved money. My first travel also happened during that time when we visited Digha, a beach in West Bengal at the coast of Bay of Bengal in East Midnapore.

After this I was tied up with my job and studies until my probation was over. My serious travel started when some of my friends from Kolkata planned a 21-day-long tour to the North East, and invited me along. We visited Bhutan, Darjeeling, Nepal, and all the seven sisters in NE. After that we also conducted few very organized trekking expeditions in the upper Himalayas including Annapoorna Base Camp and Sandakfu. My life best experience is the trek on Rupkund-Hemkund track, a 13 days expedition. I have also visited other states and almost all worth visiting hill stations and beaches, but wild safaris always thrill me and satisfy the most.

Ghumakkar: Like most of us, do you also have a list of “must-go” places?
Ajay: My wish is to visit all renowned and lesser known jungles in the country. Mountains are every ones favorites I feel, and so are mine. Exploring lesser hit places are also on my wish list. However, my must-go places comprise of Andaman-Nicobar and Sunder-Bans where I am planning to go soon. A trek to Kailash-Mansarovar is a dream and I wish to fulfil it too before I grow too old. I may very soon hit the NH-2 to travel the whole of east and NE on a long-long drive.

Ghumakkar: Amen! All of these are places are in India or close. Don’t you plan to travel to international destinations?
Ajay: Frankly no! India is too vast. I don’t think one can explore India completely in one life time. When do we then have time to venture out? Let me first explore India, then I will think of other countries. I had a very interesting conversation regarding this with a friend recently. He is an international traveller and had recently visited Switzerland. I asked him how did he find Switzerland. He replied, “It was awesome! Just like Manali!” Need I say any more?

Ghumakkar: No! You’ve made your point.
Ajay: Good! I rest my case.

Ghumakkar: We are hoping that Ghumakkar has been your friend through your travels. Please tell us how did you reach Ghumakkar?
Ajay: I always keep browsing travelogues. It was perhaps in 2011, when while searching something informative about driving on the Delhi-Leh-Manali-Delhi circuit, I found Mr. Rahul Rattan’s fascinating log “3 idiots, 1 Alto and Leh Ladakh” on GHUMAKKAR. Let me tell you, my instinct to drive on this route was latent since my early days. When I was young I bought my Yamaha Rx 100 just to go riding madly on this route. Despite my best efforts, none joined me and I was not daring enough to complete the trip without a co-passenger. I still have that bike with me after riding it more than 1.5 lac kms, though it not in use since 5-6 years now.
Anyways, after reading Mr. Rattan’s travelogue, I frequently visited Ghumakkar for enjoying reading the amateur, natural, and lay man travelogues, which generally gave me the feel of a virtual tour of the places described by the brilliant writers, even better than the professional write-ups.

Ghumakkar: How did an avid reader then get transformed into an avid writer?
Ajay: Gradually and spontaneously the instinct of writing was growing stronger. I had written earlier but those were mostly academic articles. Honestly, I was not sure if I can write anything which may attract readers, with remotest wish of receiving any appreciation. A few days after returning from a short trip to Bharatpur in September 2013, I was in office till late evening, waiting for an urgent reply to an email. To kill the pain of waiting, I was browsing the photographs clicked in Bharatpur when I suddenly decided to compile the memories of celebrating my wife’s 1st B’day after our wedding in the wild. The following day, I created my id to sign in to Ghumakkar and after fulfilling the formalities, I posted A Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary on this site.

Soon thereafter, I got the greatest and most awaited news from Nandan and Archana that my story will be live on 22nd September 2013. My excitement was beyond imagination and I wanted to share this immediately with my wife, but restrained myself till the story actually comes live. On 22nd September 2013, early morning I was on my laptop, but to my surprise, my story was not published.

Thanks God, I had taken the right decision by not boasting about the proposed publication. However, I was also really sad and decided to never try my hand at writing ever again. Half-heartedly, I emailed Archana and Nandan. that my proposed story was not published. A few minutes later, I received a reply by Archana that it was now LIVE! That just a technical fault!

Wow! I was back to my laptop and the moment I found it live, informed my wife about it. She was surprised and delightedly informed as many people as she could immediately. Suddenly, I was loaded with many felicitations on phones, mails, and messages. Soon after, I was surprised to read the valuable comments of fellow Ghumakkars followed by rich appreciation by Nandan. Thus began the journey of my association with Ghumakkar as a writer.

Ghumakkar: We are sure you are by now a favourite author of many of our readers and authors. But who are your favourite authors on Ghumakkar?
Ajay: This is a very difficult question. Each writer is unique and everyone has their own style. But there are a few who have stood out for me for one reason or the other. I like reading the stories by Prof. Rakesh Bawa. He writes from his heart. I respect Mr Ram Dhall for the maturity that his writing reflects. Nirdesh’s style is also unique. His travelogues are critical, informative, and enjoyable. Mahesh Semwal and Mukesh Bhalse write travelogues that flow naturally. Avtar Singh is again a good writer with great narration skills. On the whole, the list is very long and I may be forgetting some names here.

Ghumakkar: We are sure these authors will be delighted to see their names here. And now, just before we end this interview, what would you want to say something to the Ghumakkar community on this special day of yours?
Ajay: The natural write-ups with essence of genuine feelings of the writers and minute lay-man details, which are not found on any other travel website, have kept me glued on to Ghumakkar. Honestly, it is an addiction now and I do not need to take out time to stay connected even when I am very busy. My mobile and Tab help me browse it all day.

Ghumakkar has been an excellent platform for people like me who can try raw hand in writing, while re-living their travels and get rewarded with humble appreciation and selfless support and blessings from fellow ghumakkars. I am grateful to everyone for their support.

Ghumakkar: Thanks a lot Ajay! It has been lovely talking to you. We hope to see many more stories from you in the near future.
Ajay: Sure, you will definitely see some very soon. And it was lovely talking to you too, Vibha.

And thus ended our little conversation. There were so many revelations and learnings that after a point I stopped keeping track and just went with the flow. I hope you have enjoyed this interview as much. Getting to know such wonderful people is the best part of being with Ghumakkar!

Till the next time…
V