Understandably, Rashmi Bansal is pleased. Her latest book, I have a Dream, has topped the Crossword Best-seller Books Non-Fiction list, as she proudly says on her blog, Youth Curry. The author of Stay Hungry Stay Foolish and Connect the Dots, touched down in Chennai recently for an event at Landmark, Citi Centre, to introduce her latest work. It is a compilation of the inspiring stories of 20 social entrepreneurs “who found new ways to solve old problems,” to put it in her own words. “My first book was about 25 MBA entrepreneurs who had struck out into paths of their own making,” she says. “It was successful, but I did receive comments about how it dealt with people who were already in a lucrative position, and with the means to go their own way,” Rashmi admits. Being an MBA from IIM Ahmedabad may have had something to do with it – she had a clear idea of who her heroes were, and how they had accomplished their aims. Her second was markedly in the opposite direction “They certainly weren’t MBA graduates,” she chuckles. I have a Dream more or less pursues her previous formats, but this time, it’s all about people who decided to walk away from the path well travelled and help out their fellow beings. Segregated under sections labelled ‘Rainmakers’, ‘Changemakers’ and ‘The Spiritual Capitalist,’ the 40-year old Mumbai author has penned the stories, and ages of people like Bindeshwar Pathak, who set up Sulabh International, Anita Ahuja of Conserve India, Dinabandhu Sahoo of Project Chilika and a host of others. Their stories are described in detail, from their childhoods, to their achievements. “It was a huge project, involving lots of travel. I mean, there was only so much I could do through email,” Rashmi admits. The motivational speaker had a tough time selecting just 20 out of the numerous social entrepreneurs all over the country. Her selection touches people from diverse backgrounds, such as Saloni Malhotra, a 23-year old engineering graduate who formed India’s first rural BPO to Dhruv Lakra of Mirakle Couriers – all of whose employees are deaf. But why are they all focussed on Northern India? “I wouldn’t really say that,” she counters. “Of the 20 people I’ve written about, three or four are rooted in the South. Selco’s Harish Hande is one example. And yeah, I certainly agree that South India has its fair share of social entrepreneurs. I’ve been asked to look into it by a few people, and I will,” she vows. Yet another criticism leveled at her work is that there’s a proliferation of Hindi conversation which makes it difficult to follow. “See, the people I talk to, do so mostly in Hindi, so 98 to 99 per cent of the conversation is in it. And I like to preserve the flavour by keeping their words in the language. It makes it real.”Rashmi herself has fond memories of Chennai, a city she’s visited often. “I’m in love with Saravana Bhavan food, and there’s nothing quite like the lovely long Marina Beach,” she laughs.
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