He started writing when he was 8 years old, he wrote first poem which got published in his School Magazine. That opportunity encouraged him to write. After retirement from Punjab and Sind Bank (a nationalized Bank in India), he decided all of a sudden to publish his book on short stories. Rajiv Bakshi known as a published author. Journey from Guwahati to Machhiwara came out in 2015, this covers 20 short stories comprising, tragedy, comedy, wit and humor.
Rajiv has completed Master Degree in English Literature from DAV College, Jallandhar, northern part of India. “When I joined bank, I had been sending short stories for my banks magazine. As far as I can remember most of my stories got published in that magazine. Seeing ones name in the print gives one a lot of confidence. When I retired as a Senior Banker, I was asked by my Boss on the eve of my retirement party; ‘what do you plan to do after your retirement? The answer from my end was, “I plan to write my memoirs in the form of a short story book”. This is how my interest in writing in the second innings of my life started” Rajiv recalls.
As a writer, person brings the global issues to the personal level. Writer’s job is not to solve the problem of the world, but to illustrate and write how individuals and small group of people cope and deal with these issues. “These days the main issue is corona virus which has been declared as pandemic by World Health Organization on 11.3.2020.This has led to the downfall of the economy globally. Authors can help in building moral and positive thoughts”, he mentioned.
Social responsibility of a writer is primarily to entertain and to provoke thinking on the part of readers. In this process the readers can be entertained. The Author needs to tell the readers about the way of handling situation after aligning with official authorities guidelines. The writer needs to help the weaker section and to educate people.
If you have a passion, then start working on it. Do not be disheartened if your writing or the script is rejected by the Publishing houses. These days there are lot of publishing houses which are encouraging the fresh talent. Send a few chapters of your book to a few publishing houses. I am sure if the writing skill is good, they will send you a green signal to get the book published by them. One revision of book is not sufficient. Errors invariably creep in. One needs to revise ones manuscript minimum three or four times. There should not be a hurry to publish your book.
Authentic writing is always personal. New writers always need to write about their own experience. “Try your hand writing for various newspapers and magazines. My first Middle was published in a reputed newspaper: Tribune, almost after 35 years of start of my writing career” Rajiv Said.