July 2024 is a defining moment for our MBA alumnus, Dr Enakshi Sengupta. Her debut novel, The Silk Route Spy, is published by one of the world’s leading publishers, Harper Collins. The book will be released on 27 July 2024!
“There comes a defining moment in life when your achievement surpasses your purpose of existence,” said Dr Enakshi in a heartfelt LinkedIn post. “You cease to be the mundane or the ordinary and get counted amongst the few in millions.”
In the same post, Dr Enakshi expressed her gratitude as she reflected on the other esteemed authors who were published under Harper Collins as well, such as Paulo Coelho, Ernest Hemmingway, and Khushwant Singh.
“I am literally shaking and pulsating with excitement when I think that I am now one of those rare few,” said Dr Enakshi. “The Silk Route Spy is the memoir of my late grandfather-in-law – Nandlal Kapur and his journey as a British agent and a freedom fighter, leading a life of a double agent and traversing the world.”
Dr Enakshi highlights how surreal it feels to think that her book is now out there, available for people to peruse and read. “Millions of eyes will rest on my name; thousands will pick it up and buy it.”
Though writing is not her profession, and neither is it her livelihood, the book is her homage to her maker; for her loved ones in heaven and her sister. “My writings will always be a tribute to them,” expressed Dr Enakshi. “Writing is my meditation; it is the frenzy that allows the cacophony in my heart to pour on sheets of paper in ink.”
When asked about her time at UNM, Dr Enakshi stated that pursuing MBA with us was a “world-turning event” in her life. Prior to her MBA journey, she had already worked for a decade with two undergraduate degrees and a master’s degree. Furthering her studies was not in the cards at the time.
“My late husband Vijay Kapur was keen in having the both of us enhance our education, and at his insistence, we joined the MBA programme under Nottingham University Business School (NUBS) Malaysia in 2007,” Dr Enakshi told us. “This was the best part of my life. We both were fully immersed in a world of knowledge that unfolded before us with a myriad of sounds and colours.”
Dr Enakshi highlighted the supportive team of various professors and the beauty of our campus that houses a vibrant student community. These plus points assisted Dr Enakshi and her late husband in their pursuit of knowledge.
“We fell in love with the university and its ambiance and decided to stay back for me to pursue my PhD degree from the School of Education,” Dr Enakshi added in a heartwarming note. “I am what I am today because of the degrees that I earned at UNM. I joined the world of academia and worked in Central Asia, Iraq, and Afghanistan, imparting my knowledge and interacting with lovely people from different cultural backgrounds and making lifelong friends. I am indebted to my alma mater, University of Nottingham Malaysia.”
Though she studied in the business and education sectors, writing has become her mediation and obsession. “I decided to write the memoir of my grandfather-in-law who hailed from a cantonment in India and travelled to Japan. He married there, making it his home as a British spy and a double agent working towards India’s freedom movement.”
This historical and informative piece placed Dr Enakshi in some kind of trance.
“Traveling with him to Rangoon, becoming a part of the Shanghai Club, or setting up a store as a silk trader in Kobe. Towards the later part of his life, he stayed in Johor Bahru, escaping the bombardment during World War II,” said Dr Enakshi. “I am very fortunate to have the world’s leading publisher Harper Collins publish my book. My commissioning editor kept encouraging me to make the story better, fine-tuning it every time.”
We can only imagine the roller coaster of emotions and events that have been included in the book, where Dr Enakshi shares the story of Nandlal Kapur.
“I also owe it to my sister who motivated me throughout to continue with my writing,” added Dr Enakshi. “Writing this book was a beautiful experience, as if I was living the life of a double agent pre and during WWII. I hope to pen more stories, bringing to life the incidents that I have witnessed. I feel blessed to have the privilege to express myself in words. Everything I do, I owe to my late mother and my husband. I am because they are.”
Support Dr Enakshi in her writing endeavours today by pre-ordering your copy of The Silk Route Spy: The True Story of an Indian Double Agent.
You may buy the book from Amazon or Harper Collins Publishers India today.
The Silk Route Spy: The True Story of an Indian Double Agent
Was Nandlal Kapur a traitor or a patriot? A true story, like no other.
1920s India. Flames of revolt against colonial rule had engulfed the country, making the British tense.
They knew domestic spies were essential to track and quell the calls for independence. Nandlal Kapur, like many young Indian men, was recruited as a spy. But, while the pay was good and the life adventurous, Nandlal restless and uneasy, his love for his country at constant odds with his new reality.
As he travelled through India on various missions and met revolutionaries from all walks of life demanding freedom from oppression, he grew determined to attack the beast from within its and do his bit for his country – become a double agent.
The Silk Route Spy is a riveting account of an extraordinary life and brings to life a trying era in our country's history and gives us a glimpse of the risks taken and sacrifices made by those who freed India, in their own small ways.
Posted on 1st July 2024