This sidewalk tea-seller has authored and published 25 books
Laxman Rao, 65, a tea-seller in New Delhi overcame all odds to publish 25 books in Hindi. His works—ranging from fiction and plays to analyses of Indian politics and economy—are now sold through e-commerce websites and Kindle.
Rao’s journey as a writer began in 1977, under a tree, on the pavement outside Hindi Bhawan at Vishnu Digamber Marg in ITO, New Delhi. You can still meet him there, and buy a cup of tea for ₹10. His desire to write was fanned by Gulshan Nanda’s books, some of which— Sharmeelee, Kati Patang, Daag and Khilona—became Bollywood movies. “Surprisingly, what started as an interest in my teenage, developed into a passion. This passion made me write in Hindi, like Nanda,even though Marathi was my mother tongue,” he said.
Rao’s journey to Delhi was not easy. “Before coming to Delhi, I worked as a servant at a doctor’s house in my village [Talegaon Dashasar in Amravati, Maharashtra] for two years,” he said. “He got me a job at a spinning mill in 1970. I worked there for five years before the mill shut down. Then I briefly took up farming.”
This story is from the August 13, 2017 edition of THE WEEK.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the August 13, 2017 edition of THE WEEK.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
BIOPIC AND BEYOND
Randeep Hooda may have proved his acting credentials with biopics, but typecast him at your own peril
Flutter of flimsy wings
Butterfly Research Centre in Bhimtal boasts 3,500 butterfly and moth specimens
SIMILAR STATES, DIFFERENT BATTLES
The Congress seems to have the edge in Telangana while in Andhra Pradesh, Chandrababu Naidu and Jagan Mohan Reddy are locked in a bitter battle
A RIDE TO REMEMBER
On board Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy’s bus as he was attacked
Winning 14 of 17 seats is my target
Anumula Revanth Reddy is on a mission to demonstrate a democratic and egalitarian facet of power and leadership.
LOTUS TAKES ROOT
Buoyed by its slowly growing acceptance among the voters in Tamil Nadu, the BJP is mounting its fiercest offensive ever
BLANK CHECK
Several factors favour an increase in the BJP’s vote share in Kerala, but whether the party can win a seat remains uncertain
CONGRESS HAS A HISTORY OF MAKING ADJUSTMENTS WITH COMMUNAL FORCES
In April 2021, as Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan was leading the CPI(M)’s assembly poll campaign to win a second consecutive term, a spirited debate erupted in Kerala over an epithet that party workers had bestowed on him.
POLL PLOT
Congress hopes its five guarantees’ will blunt BJP’s aggressive push
MODI'S GUARANTEES REMAIN IN SPEECHES, MY GUARANTEES ARE FULFILLED
The transformation is unmissable. The old-school mass leader Siddaramaiah has suddenly switched into the new avatar of a master strategist.