A journalist Manish Gaekwad who once sold illicit alcohol has told how he became a writer and it’s so inspiring! In the thread, he writes how he rose to do a lot in life, and now 22 years later he got where he wanted.

How did I become a writer? I am often asked to give tips and advice. I still don’t know where to start.

It took me 22 years to get here.

In 2000, while making and selling desi daaru for 5 rupees a glass with my family in a slum in Poona, I spotted an advertisement that changed my life.

– manish gaekwad (@manishgaekwad) July 18, 2022

From a transcription job to fraud specialist at GE Electric and later screenwriter in Mumbai, while being an incredibly avid reader, he slowly paved the way for the publication of his own book in 2018.

medical transcriptionist jobs

It was an ad to apply for a position as a medical transcriptionist.

I didn’t know what that meant.

All I understood from the ad in the newspaper was that the qualification was for a candidate with command of English.

It was that or my cousins ​​would soon find me a job as a hotel bellboy.

– manish gaekwad (@manishgaekwad) July 18, 2022

How was it possible?

They were looking for candidates with basic grammar and spelling skills.

I had read a ton of books at boarding school in Darjeeling. It helped.

They trained me with others for two months. I was decent at transcribing a doctor’s audio notes into text.

– manish gaekwad (@manishgaekwad) July 18, 2022

I was not a particularly bright student in school or college. With no one at home in the kotha to guide me, I didn’t know where to start?

How could I become the writer I dreamed of, reading books on the sly as a child and an unprecedented adult?

– manish gaekwad (@manishgaekwad) July 18, 2022

Teleconsultant for a gastronomic club

I made friends with a girl there.

We exchanged our landline numbers. We started chatting.

She once said that she got the job of telephone operator for a food club at the Grand Oberoi where they phoned guests and offered them membership in the club.

They needed an errand boy to deliver the documents.

– manish gaekwad (@manishgaekwad) July 18, 2022

Another time I was sent to a tannery. I fled after handing over the document. The stench of the place made my stomach curdle. A vomited volcano reached my mouth.

My manager lent me his tuxedo for an art show. I memorized the spelling before sipping Beaujolais nouveau rouge.

– manish gaekwad (@manishgaekwad) July 18, 2022

Citibank call center

I applied there. I have the job. It was Valentine’s Day. I had a rose and thought I was special.

Anyway, I hated to tell the Bengalis who repeatedly called throughout the day to check their account balance. As if he had disappeared into their nightmare at afternoon nap time. I also drew doodles.

– manish gaekwad (@manishgaekwad) July 18, 2022

So I had to review Exxon Mobil gas card accounts and report any suspicious purchase activity.

I chose Dave Matthews as the American name. Like the group.

My remote location was, I think, Massachusetts. I still can’t pronounce it without sounding vulgar.

– manish gaekwad (@manishgaekwad) July 18, 2022

Employment at SmartAnalyst

A girl, who is still a very close friend, staying in the same Pg accommodation where I was, asked me to apply to her company, Smartanalyst. I got my next job in a week!

At least here I didn’t need to talk. We scoured the internet for information on Nike shoes and space lollipops.

– manish gaekwad (@manishgaekwad) July 18, 2022

At KPIT Cummins

At KPIT, I was developing Blogeverywhere for Sabeer Bhatia. It never took off.

I felt my writing career was here. But that was the end. Sab khatm!

I wrote movie reviews for Seventymm in Bangalore.

A tech magazine published my article on USB sticks. That was it!

– manish gaekwad (@manishgaekwad) July 18, 2022

Writing film scripts

Am I now ready to be identified as a writer?

Umm, yes, but how can I tell others that I haven’t trained anywhere, I don’t have any special knowledge to impart.

– manish gaekwad (@manishgaekwad) July 18, 2022

I read. I traveled the country. I wrote prolifically, especially when no one was reading and what I now also consider illegible.

18 years ago, I tried my first verse:

If we make death easier
Isn’t it so with the alibi of life

It must have freed me to write.

– manish gaekwad (@manishgaekwad) July 18, 2022

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