VIDEO: India’s tea seller who has authored 25 books says time management is key

This is Laxman Rao, an author-cum-tea seller based in India’s capital city of New Delhi.

“I was born in 1952 in a village called Amravati. I was an avid reader of author novelist and screenwriter Gulshan Nanda. He was my first inspiration,” says Rao.

Rao came to Delhi hoping to become a popular writer. Today, he believes he has achieved that. He has authored 25 books.

Time management

“I am good at time management. I read and write for around five hours, daily, after which I come to the tea stall,” he says. Money generated from sales of books isn’t enough to make both the ends meet.

Rao writes 7-8 pages every day and that is how he keeps working on new books. (Screengrab)

“When a customer comes to me for the first time, he knows me only as a tea-seller. When they discover that I am also an author, some of them buy my books,” he says.

Rao writes 7-8 pages every day and that is how he keeps working on new books. Eighteen of his 25 books have already been published so far.

Kindle and Amazon

“I pay the publishing house to get my books published. My books are also available on Kindle and Amazon,” says Rao.

By conventional standards, Rao started late in life. He was 37 when he finished senior secondary schooling and 50 when he did his under-graduation. He finished his Masters at the ripe age of 63.

“Some people want to pursue engineering. Others want to take to other professions. Around 50 years ago, I decided that I would become an author, and I accomplished my dream,” he says.