Thank you, Rana Sir!

Post 5 of #sg100peopleToThank. More about this series is here.

Thank you, Rana Sir!
I don't know how to introduce Rana Sir. Apart from his work, he is a mentor and a bounding board to I think at least a 100 people. I am lucky to be one of those 100. Lucky would be an understatement. There is no one else who's opinion I hold higher. 

Here's a story from my first EVER meeting with him. First ever. He did not know who I was and what I was capable of. And he definitely did not know if he'd meet me again. I met him at Oberoi Mall for a coffee or something. I was trying to get my startup to work, I had this book (which became The Nidhi Kapoor Story) and I was going through this really tough time personally and professionally. I needed a guardian to tell me that things would be alright and I just needed to continue to walk. 

And sir did exactly that. Without me telling him that I was seeking an answer like that. In fact, he was so good, such great at making conversations that it felt as if I was the only one talking. I think, in the meeting that lasted an hour or so, I would have spoken for about 58 minutes. The other 2 were Rana Sir asking me questions that I was trying to respond to. 

Ok, I am digressing.

At some point, he asked me what I was up to. This is how that thread went on...

RB: So what do you do when you are not worrying, young man (till date, he calls me a young man). 

SG: Sir, am trying to write a book!

RB: Book! Wow! What kind of book is it? 

SG: Sir, it's a Bollywood crime fiction. An actress gets murdered and there are these cops that are trying to chase the killers. 

RB: Sounds interesting. Is it done? 

SG: No sir. I am at some 35K words and I need at least 55K more to go. 

RB: And when do you plan to get those done? 

SG: Um... I am not sure. I am at that phase in the book where I am not sure if I want to work on it. I am thinking I will quit it midway and think of something else. 

RB (without missing a beat): Ok, and how much do you want to price it at? 

SG: Sir, I think 99 bucks. That's what most first time writers get for their books. 

Again, without missing a beat, he flipped his wallet out. Took a 100 rupee note, handed it to me and said, "Young man, you will finish the book and then you will get me the first copy of the book. This is the advance"

And tears welled in my eyes when that happened. 

He did this to me in our first meeting. It dawned onto me that he is special and I MUST get him to spend more time with me. And I did whatever it took to get him to give me his time. To date, I continue to hound him for his time and often he can't respond. But whenever he can, he is generous and affectionate. 

Can I also say that Rana Sir is one of those few people that has made this hard city of Mumbai a tad more tolerable? And just for that, I can't stop thanking him! And I can safely say that if not for Rana Bawa, the book would NOT have happened. And I would have been a far different person than what I am right now. 

Thank you, Rana Sir. For your time. And for your advance. And for all the support. As promised I will do whatever it takes to get to MCA, 100 crores and 120 years! 

Others posts in this series: 1, 2, 3, 4

PS: Fast forward a few months (after the first meeting with Rana Sir). I actually finished writing the book and got it published. And when I got the first preview copies, I went to his office at midnight and delivered the copy that he had ordered. 

And, here is a page from the acknowledgements part of #tnks. 

Shot from my first book, The Nidhi Kapoor Story (website) 

In life, if you meet some guy called Rana Bawa (its a very uncommon name), please get him on your side. Over and out for the day.