Che Kabir Chaudhuri, 18, a final year commerce and history student of Shri Ram School, Gurgaon has just authored his debut book “Discover The Superhero in You” based upon lessons from superhero comics for everyday life. He is also the co-author of “What Marx Left Unsaid” a forthcoming book on ideal wage ratio between the highest paid worker and the lowest paid worker in an economy. He is a fine athlete who loves to play basketball and soccer; plays the guitar and loves sketching. He loves watching videos on science, atheism and socialism.
He hit 18 on 6th October 2018 and officially became a 34 percent owner of The Daily Indian Media, one of India’s leading online news portals and the company that owns one of India’s leading news magazines, The Sunday Indian, and business magazines like 4Ps Business & Marketing, Business & Economy and The Human Factor. In a free-wheeling interview with Editor-In-Chief ARIJEET DUTTA , the budding author shares his literary dream…
A month before Che Kabir Chaudhuri’s 18th birthday, his father asked him what would he want as a gift for the special day. And his immediate answer was – a chance to become a regular blogger for The Daily Indian Media. Instead of that, he was gifted 34 percent of shares of the company; and of course, a chance to write a monthly blog on a topic that he has been already writing on for the last two years!
Yes, that’s right! The last two years! In case you are wondering what he could have been writing on since the age of 16 that could make serious sense, well, it’s a topic that interests all 16-year-olds. Superheroes!!!
So, we ask Che, what made him start writing on superheroes? And the answer shouldn’t be surprising, at least to many kids – “It’s my father’s aversion to superheroes!” But really, many fathers are averse to the idea of their kids wasting time reading superhero comics, aren’t they? But then again, all kids don’t start writing on superheroes. “That’s true! Actually, my father wrote a book called ‘Discover the Diamond in You’ when I was studying in Class 3. And, hard to believe it, but he made me read it then. Yes, I had to read it! The good thing is, I think I understood the book more or less way back then. And that’s the time from whereon, whenever he would ask me to not waste time reading a Superman or Spiderman comic-book, I’d tease him that I would write a book called ‘Discover the Superhero in You’, and only then perhaps would he understand how beautiful these books were. During those times, I even used to draw sketches for my supposed book (sketches that I still retain). Of course, during those times, our banter was more of a joke.”
So when did the joke become serious, we ask Che?
“When I was in Class 8, he made me read his book again. And this time, I was sure that I actually wanted a book by that title. I knew what I wanted to write on. I had become a superhero comic lover and I actually believed that these books and movies left us with great life lessons – lessons in leadership, motivation, friendship, ethics… Each superhero with a different superpower had some new lesson to teach. So, when I was in Class 10, I started writing on the topic. I even wrote a cover story for the ‘Cult’ magazine (which comes out as a supplement with the noted Business & Economy). The corporate professionals I interviewed, and even those who read it finally, gave a terrific response and I knew I was on the right track. I am glad I was able to finally finish the book during the summer vacations this year,” says the young Che with the look of a smiling superhero.
We hear that a leading publisher is all set to publish his book in May 2019 – in fact, not just one, but two of his books. We ask Che to tell us a bit about the second book.
“The second book isn’t really my book. It’s slated to be released in April 2019, a month before my solo book on superheroes is launched! My grandfather has been too benevolent to include my name as a co-author in this second book. Well, it’s like this – from the time I was a little boy, he used to explain to me about why the highest paid worker in any economy shouldn’t earn more than three times the lowest paid worker. The year they taught us the compound interest formula in school, my grandfather re-explained his theory to me through very simple and basic equations. You see, it’s his original theory, which is an explanation of the Marxist concept of equality. Last year, he was finalizing his book and he gave the same to me to edit. While editing, I found about 60 minor mistakes in the mathematical equations that he had used in the book (with the help of a mathematics professor). He was so impressed that he made me a co-author. All I can say is, yes, I am well-versed with the theory outlined in the book and that’s why I could correct those equations, which I believe would have been difficult for a pure mathematician to comprehend without properly understanding what my grandfather wanted to convey,” says Che.
From Marx to Superman, this thoughtful and intellectual author shifts and speaks with equal ease and conviction on them both. With a revolutionary name like Che, he surely looks destined to revolutionize the age at which people write their first book – or rather, the first two books, should we say?
We couldn’t be more impressed talking to anyone who has just turned 18. That’s Che Kabir Chaudhuri’s tale of two books.
