From listening to bedtime stories to developing a flair for reading novels like Alice in Wonderland, The Jungle Book and Harry Potter series, Hazaribagh man 26- year old Kajol Aikat started writing short stories and poems during his high school days. His first novel Unsocial Amigos was amongst the top 500 international bestsellers in romance fiction on Amazon.com and top 100 best selling e-books in fiction on Google Books.
In 2019, the author was nominated for the Padma Shri in the Field of Literacy and Education from Jharkhand while his research on sustainable socioeconomic development for the LGBTQIA+ community was recognized by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in 2020.
“It all started with my father reading me bedtime stories. Later even though I started writing poems as a hobby, it was something that provided me solace from all the worldly troubles. During this time I also realized that the world needs more good stories, which are beyond the rudimentary values and can challenge certain establishments. All these things came together for my first novel- Unsocial Amigos,” said Aikat.
His first novel published in 2014 as well as the second one titled Reasons to Live (2015) are of the romance- fiction genre. Aikat has also authored four short stories- Life isn’t a Fairytale (2015), The Cotton Seed ((2017), Soul Break –I (2017) and Soul Break –II (2018). Aikat is currently drafting his next work of fiction on minority sexualities which is slated to release in 2021.
“For me life and everything that happens around me are what inspire me to write. To me every single person is a story in him waiting to be tapped by a storyteller. In my opinion writing is not just limited to authoring books or novels but much more beyond that. With the rise of digital media a plethora of options have opened for those who want to make a career in this field,” remarked the author who is currently working with Google India as a Content Developer in Gurgaon.
A statement made by his father ‘Gurbat mein kalakari nahi hoti’ (a poor man cannot be an artist) was what pushed Aikat to return to the corporate world which he had once decided to quit in 2017 and make a full time career in content development.
“Seeing my books doing well across various platforms, my parents have finally approved of my choices and are now keen to support me in all my endeavors. I now realize that my parents were worried about my financial security and their point of view was justified. They have always said that ‘you yourself sponsor your dreams,” added Aikat.
Born and brought up in Hazaribagh, Aikat did his schooling from DAV Public School, Hazaribagh and his BBA from BIT Mesra, Ranchi. His father Shaymal Kumar Aikat is a retired government employee and his mother Mitra Aikat is a homemaker. He is currently enrolled for an MBA with Narsee Munjee Mumbai for the session 2020-22.
