This is an introduction to Mr Girisam, who is a retired maritime chief engineer, author of multiple books, and a passionate storyteller hailing from India
Curator’s Note: Mr. A.K. Girisam, a retired chief engineer from India and passionate storyteller, shares insights into his life and career. He discusses his maritime journey, the influence of his family, and his evolution into writing, spurred by his early interest in storytelling. Though he faced setbacks as a writer, he found fulfillment on platforms like Medium, where he connects with readers through his experiences. Emphasizing the importance of health and well-being, Girisam enjoys cycling and yoga. He admires literary figures such as Gurajada Appa Rao and P.G. Wodehouse, and seeks to impact readers with humor and relatable narratives. This interview was conducted by Dr Mehmet Yildiz, owner and chief editor of ILLUMINATION Integrated Publications on Medium, Substack, Patreon, and Digitalmehmet
Dear Subscribers and Visitors,
Welcome to another episode of my conversations with professionals and leaders in their field. In today’s episode, I invited A.K.Girisam to introduce himself. Mr. Girisam is a retired chief engineer and a member of my writing and reading community. I found him both professional and approachable, with great knowledge, deep experience, and an excellent sense of humor.
Hi, Mr Girisam. Welcome. Let’s start with your background. Why did you choose your profession?
Hi Dr. Yildiz, thank you for the opportunity to interview! I am excited to share my background, my profession, and my views. Part of my excitement comes from the fact that my total disinterest in social media is usually a bit of a handicap for me. Aside from a couple of WhatsApp groups, I am entirely off the radar!
I hail from an Indian upper-middle-class family. My father was a Divisional Engineer in Telephones back in the era when having a landline at home was a rare luxury that very few enjoyed. Being the youngest of four brothers, I was thoroughly pampered.
I graduated in Mechanical-Marine Engineering and chose a career in the Merchant Navy primarily because I loved sailing on the high seas. Life at sea is anything but routine: different ships, diverse crews, and ever-changing foreign ports.
I am certainly not an academician. In fact, after graduation, I swore I never wanted to sit in a lecture room again! But by a quirk of fate, international maritime regulations forced me to attend revalidation courses every five years, meaning I had to nod through two weeks of lectures at a time until I retired.
After retiring from shipping, I served as the Head of Department at a maritime training college. However, waking up sleepy students made me feel guilty! So, I quit academia altogether. Today, I am happily enjoying my free time and writing my books and my blog.
What is your current field of interest?
At present, my main passions are reading and writing. I also love to travel. Whenever I visit my daughters in Germany and Canada, we explore wonderful places together with my grandchildren.
What do health and well-being mean to you?
It means everything to me. “Health is wealth” isn’t just cliché jargon. We truly realize its worth only after we lose it.
Germany is an absolute paradise for cycling, and I regularly go on 20 km rides when I am there. In India, the roads around my area aren’t level, and the heavy winds can be taxing, so I adapt: on days I don’t cycle, I make sure to log 10,000 steps. I also practice yoga. Touch wood, so far, all my health parameters remain normal!
What are your hobbies, or what excites or entertains you?
One of my favorite hobbies is bathroom singing when I am in Germany. Back home in India, I don’t restrict myself to the bathroom. I sing everywhere, completely ignoring my wife’s vocal protests! At present, I am thoroughly enjoying my writing stint on Medium and Illumination, and I plan to publish a few e-books in the near future.
What are the top three books that have affected your life?
More than specific books, it is the authors who have profoundly affected my life.
My great-grandfather, Gurajada Appa Rao, is a legend in Telugu literature. His masterpiece stage play, Kanya Sulkam, impacted hundreds of thousands of lives. The influence of that single work was so immense that the barbaric social practice of selling young girls into marriage with elderly men met a swift death. His hilarious, single-handed literary revolution breached the citadel of literature — which had long been guarded by elitist scholars — and opened the gates so that anyone who could read and write was qualified to become a poet or author. On a personal level, I like to think I inherited a small percentage of his sense of humor.
Another major influence is Mullapudi Venkata Ramana. All of his books are always within arm’s reach on my shelf; I read them constantly and never tire of them. One day, I hope to translate his works into English.
Finally, P.G. Wodehouse and Jerome K. Jerome have had a massive influence on my personal style of humor.
If I must narrow it down to three specific books, they are:
1. Kanya Sulkam by Gurajada Appa Rao
2. Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K. Jerome
3. Blandings Castle by P.G. Wodehouse
Have you written any books or academic papers?
I am no academician! I used to think platforms like this were reserved exclusively for scholars, doctors, and literary legends. But Dr. Yildiz has taken a leaf out of Gurajada’s book and opened the doors wide for a backbencher like me.
I have no lofty ambitions or academic qualifications to inspire, change, or preach to people. My sole purpose is to share my hilarious and adventurous maritime experiences with readers.
I have authored three books detailing my college days, sailing years, and social life, and my short stories have been featured in three anthologies. You can find my published works on my Amazon Author Page (under my book Merry Mariner).
Why do you write, anyway?
The writing bug bit me early in childhood. My pampering parents proudly displayed my paintings and short stories to every visiting guest instead of hiding them behind their backs in embarrassment. That early encouragement fueled my passion.
However, I was brought down to Earth with a thud when almost every story I sent out was promptly returned by publishers (using my own self-addressed stamped envelopes!). Later, when I read works by literary stalwarts, I fully empathized with how the pygmies felt when confronting Gulliver.
The writing bug bit me again decades later when I had free time while sailing. Encouraged by my niece, I published Merry Mariner. That brought another bitter reality check: the book received only eight reviews while the rest of my social circle ignored it! My grand illusions of my book standing side-by-side with Jerome’s Three Men in a Boat evaporated overnight.
Then came Medium with grand Illumination, which reignited the fire inside me. Reading the warm, appreciative comments from you and fellow readers leaves me ecstatic. I have finally found a true home for my stories.
Why do you write on Medium?
We have to face harsh realities. The internet, Netflix, and AI did not exist in our generation, so we relied heavily on books and movies for entertainment. Today, entertainment is available 24/7 on mobile screens, making traditional readers an endangered species.
Just as J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter revived the reading habit for a whole generation, Medium is a boon for modern readers and aspiring writers alike. The 5- to 10-minute read format is a brilliant concept. I write on Medium because I have found my true audience as readers who genuinely enjoy my storytelling.
Do you write on other platforms like Substack? If so, how do you find them?
I repost my Medium stories on Substack. I also serve as an editor for the New Literary Society. While the payout restrictions on Substack via Stripe are a bit of a disappointment for writers in my region, I still think it is an excellent platform overall.
What are your values as a writer?
I firmly believe that any positive change a person experiences must come from within when their own mind and heart prod them. No amount of lectures, seminars, or forced preachiness works when there is internal resistance.
Just as in Kanya Sulkam, where there are no long-winded lectures about social evils and none of the characters undergo an artificial “reform,” the audience enjoyed a laugh-riot, went home happy, and then let their own consciences compel them to end the custom.
Such is the power of good writing. I have no grand illusions about reforming society single-handedly, but if readers enjoy my stories and experience a positive shift in perspective, such as reconsidering old grudges after reading my piece “Is It Impossible to Forgive?” then I am deeply content.
How do you connect with your readers?
I connect with my readers primarily through the comments section on Medium. I sometimes wish I could master Dale Carnegie’s How to Win Friends and Influence People, but reading his book didn’t help me much, so I rely on genuine, heartfelt interactions instead!
Why did you join ILLUMINATION, and how do you find it so far?
ILLUMINATION was one of the very first publications to accept my stories about six months ago. The editorial encouragement gave me a massive confidence boost, providing the perfect stage to publish my seafaring experiences for an appreciative audience. I find ILLUMINATION to be an outstanding publication. The articles are educational, inspiring, and constantly expand the reader’s horizons.
What are the top five stories that you want to share with your audience and why?
I am tempted to say all of them are top stories! If Gandhari — who had a hundred sons — were asked to pick her top five, she would be at a total loss too! However, after some thought, I would select these five:
1. Gurajada Apparao: A Stand for Stolen Innocence
Why: A tribute to my great-grandfather’s legacy. It is a story that I believe will touch every heart.
2. Is It Impossible to Forgive?
Why: We all face the dilemma of holding onto raw wounds when people hurt us. This offers a deeply human, alternative perspective on forgiveness.
3. Steering Failure in Suez Transit
Why: A real-life maritime crisis on the high seas that could easily compete with a Hollywood thriller.
Why: A nostalgic walk down memory lane that opens the door to a lost world of childhood innocence, wonder, and simplicity from the last century.
5. When God Walked a Child to School
Why: A timeless story told to me by my aunt; I feel it is essential that the present generation of children gets to experience such heartwarming tales.
What are the success factors for you as a writer?
The journey is still very much in progress, so I can only give a final answer when I reach the destination! But I can tell you this: the journey itself is thoroughly exhilarating.
What do you recommend to new writers?
Read, read, and read. Unless you read widely, you cannot succeed as a writer, even with all the AI tools in the world.
Younger writers are fortunate to live in an era with so many self-publishing platforms. Unlike my generation, your manuscripts don’t have to end up in an editor’s wastepaper basket.
So, write what you are passionate about, and savor the sheer excitement of creating!
What are your plans as a writer or as a professional?
As a professional: To savor my retired life, stay healthy, and keep my days stress-free.
As a writer: To simply keep writing! I am continually surprised by how many untold stories are still waiting to be unearthed from my nostalgic treasure chest. I am immensely grateful to Dr. Mehmet and the ILLUMINATION editorial team for giving me the shovel and the spotlight to showcase them.
The overwhelming appreciation my sailing stories have received from non-maritime and non-technical readers has been a wonderful surprise. A big thank you to ILLUMINATION and to you!
[End of the Conversation]
Many thanks to A.K.Girisam for giving a glimpse of his interesting life. You can follow him on Medium and Substack and connect with him on ILLUMINATION Slack Workspace.
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