Author Tulika Tripathi never contemplated publishing a book, and her approach to her debut novel, Alice in Corporateland, reflects that.
Author Tulika Tripathi never contemplated publishing a book, and her approach to her debut novel, Alice in Corporateland, reflects that. The managing director for the Asian operations of a global talent solutions company, who is now in China, recently released her book. She walks us through her journey so far.
Tulika was brought up in seven countries before she came back to Delhi to finish her B.Com in Lady Shri Ram College. What sets this 37-year-old apart is her ambitious nature which began surfacing at an early age. “I began working when I was 14 and did odd jobs to sustain myself,” recalls the former model. She worked and paid her way through college.
Incidentally, acting was also part of her odd jobs as she has done movies like Darr and Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge. “DDLJ happened when I was 15. Yash uncle was looking for a college kid to play the role of Kajol’s friend. Thanks to that movie, I travelled across Europe and earned enough for my MBA,” adds the graduate in Economics. “My father thought I was mad,” chuckles the MD who was sent by her company to Harvard for a course in High Potential Leadership Programme.
Speaking about her book, Tulika shares that Alice’s magical journey starts from her first day at work to the stage in her career where she attains a leadership post. All this was penned while Tulika was flying across nine countries. “I decided to write my book during my ‘gardening leave’. Alice’s story is crisp and talks about life in the corporate world, but in the language of a fairy tale,” says the author who has already started work on her second book. Instead of flooding the story with heavy jargon, Tulika has infused characters like Pinocchio, Rapunzel and Cinderella, and has woven their importance into the storyline at apt instances. “This was to ensure that it is a fun read with an underlying message,” states Tulika.
Meanwhile she reveals that without her father and husband’s support, the book would not have turned out as it has. “My dad read the book with a magnifying glass, while my husband helped me add the punch and humour in it,” says the author who also loves painting. “I still paint at times, however, my current love is trekking. My husband and I spend hours walking up the mountains in Hong Kong over the weekends,” she states.
