The Middle of Everything: An Absolute Humdinger

The Middle of Everything by Vivek Atray

The humour of PG Wodehouse, the wit of RK Narayan, the sensitivity of Somerset Maugham and brevity of O Henry – Vivek Atray in his latest creation weaves a beautiful mosaic which will hold you in thrall. The Middle of Everything is a delightful collection of literary gems from an amazing wordsmith.

The book ‘epitomises a larger, hopefully more meaningful, perspective of life with a sense of aboveness, a quantum of hope, and an air of loving positivity,’ says the blurb.  I couldn’t agree more.

Vivek, a former Indian Administrative Service officer, is an author, motivational speaker, mentor, columnist, and visiting professor. Having worked as an Indian civil servant for 25 years, he took voluntary retirement to pursue his passion for speaking and writing as a full-time profession. He has 14 TEDx talks and 5 highly popular Josh talks. More than 10 million people have tuned into his videos on YouTube and podcasts. The author brings all his varied experience and diverse flair to his creativity and the result is an engrossing page turner.

Vivek doesn’t write on weighty subjects, serious concerns, or controversial themes. He takes simple, everyday incidents and characters and, by the sheer sleight of his brilliance, makes us chuckle, chortle, ponder, and sometimes just smile.

For instance, when writing about the sunset years, he says, “The evening of life has the potential to be as joyful as any other phase of life. What is needed is a resolute smile on the lips and a lilting song in the heart.” Touche!

The book touches upon fitness freaks,  hair trouble, issues of weather and whether, maid problems, stage fright, occupational hazards, changing times, shopping blues et al.

The normal, the ordinary, and the simple, embellished by Vivek’s dexterity, take on an avatar that entertains and enlightens. In the piece on passwords, he goes on to dissect various kinds—the uncomplicated, the adventurous, the innovative, and the creative—to hilarious effect.

The author’s razor-sharp power of observation stands out in almost every piece. Commenting on the lamp lighting ceremony, which sometimes can cause embarrassment, he says, “The cotton wicks simply refuse to light up, you see. They are either too thin, or too thick, or too dry or too oily, depending on the ‘school of lamp lighting’ to which the supervisor in charge belongs.”

Vivek’s gentle sarcasm spares no one – his sometimes ‘bitter half’, the supercilious boss, the sycophant subordinate, the officious bureaucrat, the blustering braggadocio, and the writer himself.

The book is peppered with metaphors, similes and delectable turns of phrase – “…her hair looks as if it’s just been cropped by a lawn mower which is in need of serious repair.”

The cover, by the talented Kavya Atray, is attractive and complements the contents perfectly.

The collection, endorsed by Kapil Dev and General VP Mallik, is an absolute humdinger of a book.

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About the Author

Ramendra Kumar ( 120 Posts)

Ramendra Kumar (Ramen) is an award-winning writer, performance storyteller and inspirational speaker with 49 books. His writings have been translated into 32 languages and included in 26 textbooks and many anthologies in various countries. Ramen has written across all genres ranging from picture books to adult fiction, satire, poetry, travelogues, biographies and on issues related to parenting and relationships. His writings have been published by the major publishing houses in India. His books brought out by National Book Trust (NBT), India have notched up sales of more than 4.9 lakh copies in just one year. Ramen has been invited to several international literary festivals as well as Indian events such as Jaipur Litfest and seminars organised by Sahitya Akademi and IGNOU. The author has won a total of 41 awards in the competition for writers of children’s literature organised by Children’s Book Trust (CBT) over the years, which is among the highest by any writer. Ramen was chosen as the ‘Author and Storyteller of the Year’ (2022), on ‘Talking Stories’, London, UK’s number one Radio Programme dedicated to the art of storytelling. He was nominated as a Jury Member for the Best Children’s Author Category of The Times of India’s ‘Women AutHer’ Awards, 2020. Ramen was also selected as a mentor for the Scholastic Writers Academy. An alumnus of the prestigious Hyderabad Public School (HPS), Ramen is an Engineer & an MBA. He and his inspiration, his wife Madhavi, were General Managers at SAIL, when they took Voluntary Retirement to pursue their respective passions. Their children are bonsai celebrities in their own right. While Ankita is a youth icon and a travel blogger with an Instagram following of 296 K, Aniket creates cool Apps and designs covers for his dad’s books. Ramen is now a Cancer warrior and an inspiration to many. His website is www.ramendra.in and he has a page devoted to him on Wikipedia.
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