There’s a common thread to all young ppl who believe in friends, who want to break free of parental expectations, and who dare to dream – i.e., Chetan Bhagat’s novels.
Chetan Bhagat’s “The Three Mistakes Of My Life” is the story of 3 friends who cling to their dreams despite the personal and social nightmares they face in new India. This story inspired Narendra Lagudu, a civil engineer, to become a voracious reader and then chase his dream of becoming a published author.
The early life of Narendra Lagudu
Narendra Lagudu is the typical small-town lad from Vizianagaram, Andhra Pradesh. But unlike small town lads, he had big dreams. He was passionate about his dreams and wanted to give his best to nurture and make his dreams a reality.
Like all middle-class folks, Narendra’s parents wanted him to do well in academics and become an engineer. It is lame to do anything else other than Engineering or Medicine in South India. It is followed by getting into a decent job, earn well, get married, and “settle down.” They did their best to instill a sense of “responsibility” in him and make them proud within their social circles.
But Narendra Lagudu was made of different mettle. He was a rebel at college, spent more time in the canteen and cinema halls than in his classes, fell in-and-out of a college crush, got depressed, flunked in most of his papers, and took six years to complete a 4-year engineering degree. Nevertheless, he became a civil engineer.
Narendra Lagudu adds, “The only useful habit I picked up in those years was reading. One of my friends introduced me to Chetan Bhagat’s books. It not only do good reading but also gave me the wings to take up writing. Suddenly, there were so many stories in my head. And I wanted to share them with the world.”
Narendra’s aspirations faced plenty of familial and social challenges. For one, nobody took writing as a serious career. Two, they thought he could not write. Three, they found it a rather silly notion that a qualified civil engineer should choose writing as a career. Four, they did not think that this tag of “writer” sells in the marriage market.
Narendra Lagudu used to pick up books from the AH Wheeler outlet, which was no more than a trolley stacked with books, at the local railway station. He spent most of his pocket money on books that had exciting covers and fancy titles. He confides, “I did not know anything beyond judging a book by the cover. Because of that, I ended up reading a lot of bad books. What caught my fancy was that even bad writing got published, and there was an audience for such bad writing. It was a liberating thought that I could write far better, and I was a great storyteller. I had this desperate need to share my stories with the world.”
He says, “I was quite confident that my life itself can be a great story. So I started writing, and within a few days, I got a job offer that I couldn’t ignore. Being employed means very little time to write, and I managed to write three pages in one year! But my mind and heart were with my book, and so one fine day, I informed my mother that I am taking the plunge as a full-time writer, and I quit my well-paying job. Of course, everybody at home thought I was crazy.”
Narendra Lagudu completed his first book in a month, and he was motivated to start the next one. He also realized that writing is just one small part of reaching your ideas to the world, and publishing was a different cube game altogether. He says, “To be a published author, your skills as a writer is only 30% of the process, and 10% of the effort must go into marketing. But 60% of the effort is about the publishing process.”
Like in Chetan Bhagat’s books, this dreamer-writer had two friends who believed in him and supported him – Hari Kiran and Sathish. While Hari Kiran helped him refine his stories with rewrites, Sathish supported him with finances when he was out of the job. Narendra preferred to chase his dreams with the support of his friends rather than his family. In 2018, Hari Kiran and Narendra Lagudu launched StorySpace, a platform for aspiring writers that promote their work.
When Narendra started writing “A Day In Their Life,” he says, “Words just flowed, and everything worked out perfect with this novel. I was quite satisfied with the output. When I went back and read my first two books, they didn’t ring well for me. I decided just to discard them.”
Narendra Lagadu approached publishers and publishing agents to get his book published. He was advised to take the self-publishing route with an investment of 60K-1Lakh, but he felt self-publishing was not his style. He wanted an excellent publisher to acknowledge that his story was worth taking to the market.
He wanted that validation. But, soon, the reality struck him that when you approach publishing agents or publishers, they ask you to fit into “whatever sells.” Coining his manuscripts as “Paper Play” (a la Screen Play).
Narendra Lagadu never wanted to abuse his craft by writing sexy or offensive content on his paper. He rejected some publishers on those grounds and was never desperate enough to get published. Choosing the right publisher was an essential part of the process.
But this calm and composed writer had to face his somewhat disparaged parents who were worried that their son wasted his life with unrealistic dreams and no earnings. He had to bow down to their demands, and he took up an assignment as a civil engineer. He says, “I was posted in different places, and I found that despite working hard, I was an easy target for a few of my senior officials and peers. The politics and maliciousness were getting too much for me, and one day, I said enough is enough, and I quit that job too. I left for Hyderabad and continued my writing, shacking up with a few friends.”
In 2019, backed by his friends, Narendra Lagadu finally found the right publisher – Bigfoot Publications. They were thrilled to read his manuscript “A Day In Their Life.” His work reached the markets on the 4th of March 2020. With the nation on lockdown from the 21st of March, the book is still on stands, waiting for things to get back to normal.
This published author was featured in the local press and national dailies as “a civil engineer who chased his dreams for the love of writing.” Narendra feels, “As much as parents cannot cast their dreams on children, even children should not expect parents to support their dreams. Though my mother supported me, she was like every other mother – She wanted me to get into a job and have a secure future. Even when I was a published author, my parents weren’t enthused about it. But the truth is, nobody expected that my work would get published or I will be featured in dailies.”
Narendra Lagadu believes that with dedication, discipline, and self-interest, anyone can push themselves to achieve their dreams. Most people, he feels, quit too early. He adds, “I never thought I’d make this far. Despite the challenging environment, I didn’t want to quit. I think when you quit, you fail. As long as you keep trying, you are a winner.”
Now, THAT perspective should help everyone find their purpose and true calling.
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