Non-Fiction

Beyond Human is my third book, and the shortest one so far. And the one I’ve put most of myself in.

This book is me, or at least who I want to be.

A lot of my thoughts – from time management to stoicism to existentialism and, of course, “Nietzscheanism” (for want of a better word) as well as psychology and economics all come together in this book.

That doesn’t mean it’s full of dense theories or anything. Simplicity is far greater than verbosity. I’ve tried to start from scratch and connect everything to real life.

You don’t need any familiarity with any of these concepts to understand this book. You only need willingness to put in a little effort to think.

Unlike my previous book, In Search of Success, the book, Beyond Human is not really a “logical” work. It’s just the ideas that I choose to believe in – there’s no “rationale” for you to follow them if you think you don’t need to.

The connection between the two is that the first book talks of of the tools I use to know “how” to think. Beyond Human is about what I’ve chosen to do with these tools. Some ideas are similar, though Beyond Human goes “beyond” In Search of Success. You can still read it as a stand-alone book if you choose to.

It’s a book about focusing on what really matters to you, about letting go of the craving for validation, about fighting cynicism and unhappiness, about overcoming insecurity and gaining confidence in yourself.

I don’t write feel-good “motivational” or “inspirational” books.

There’s nothing about me in this book. Nor are there stories of how other people made it big.

I’ve always been sceptical of stories of people who just knew the one thing they want in life and set their heart on it.

That wasn’t the case for me, and for many of the people I know. How do I know what I want? Do I want it, or am I just blindly following someone else – friends, family, society?

And how can I achieve it? Today, everyone’s a self-proclaimed expert, promising to make you rich or get you your dream physique in a month. Whom should I listen to?

It’s questions like these that this book is about. If you think you’ll find the answers to your life and figure out your purpose when you’re done reading, you’re in for a disappointment.

There are only ideas in this book, no facts. No can can spoon-feed you the answers to your questions. You need to find your own answers. These ideas can bring you closer to these answers.

Fiction

Heroes are a dime a dozen. So are anti-heroes – what you call villians.

What about someone who’s none of these? That’s the unhero. A person who doesn’t believe in the futile sacrifice of his own happiness at the altar of duty, family, society, glory or any such construct. But also a human who doesn’t go out of his way to harm anyone; he’s not an anti-hero either.

Few generations live through the demise of a civilization, particularly one as great as that of the Indus Valley. The Unhero is about the choices ordinary people make, often without knowing why they choose as they do, in extraordinary times. Part history, part existentialism, it’s meant for those who believing in questioning the choices that others seem to thrust on them.

(Paperback cover may differ until new version is available – content is the same).